A tale of corruption with an ending you really can’t guess; it’s mesmerising stuff. The story starts slowly but then becomes faster and faster, real edge-of-the-seat stuff. As it builds through unexpected turns, the characters gain depth and a fantastic thriller ensues. Lots of action, moral issues, the effect of guilt (or the lack of it) and small town frustrations (Maine) make up one of the best first novels we’ve read.
This was first published in 2004 and it won the Crime Writers’ Association John Creasey award for best first crime novel and has been, quite rightly, republished. A must-read.
Click here to read the Reader Reviews of Defending Jacob by William Landay.

Nothing much happens in Versailles, Maine. Until a body is found in a cabin up by the lake. The dead man turns out to be from the Boston DA’s office, a prosecutor who had been investigating a series of gang-related murders in that city. Ben Truman, Chief of Police, heads down to Boston to follow the few fragile leads he has in the case.
| Primary Genre | Thriller and Suspense |
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Nothing much happens in Versailles, Maine. Until a body is found in a cabin up by the lake.
Mission Flats features in the following genres: Debut Books of the Month, Thriller and Suspense, Crime and Mystery, eBooks of the Month, Recommendations, Fiction
Paperback, Paperback (b Format), Ebook. £11.69, down from the £12.99 cover price. Temporarily Out Of Stock.
Mission Flats was written by William Landay and published by Orion (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd ) an imprint of Orion Publishing Co
Mission Flats has 509 pages
£11.69, reduced from £12.99. Temporarily Out Of Stock.