Description

An inventive and ambitious speculative courtroom thriller – Shutter Island meets The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

‘I look up to find twelve strangers staring back at me… I realise I’m the one they’re waiting for.’

Lila Dalton has no memory of how she got to this courtroom. The man in the docks is accused of mass murder, and she’s his barrister – but she can’t remember anything about the case. She can’t remember anything at all.

Lila is stranded on an island hundreds of miles from the UK, where the most serious crimes go to trial. The next plane out doesn’t leave for days.

And she’s being watched. Someone keeps breaking into her hotel room to leave cryptic notes, threatening her with deadly consequences if she doesn’t get her client off…

Can Lila Dalton win her case and solve the mystery of her own identity?

Publisher Review

'I found this book unputdownable from the first page. As the mystery deepens, readers will be on the edge of their seats, desperate to know what happens next' - Sophie Hannah 'Stuart Turton meets Agatha Christie - a locked room puzzle with hints of the supernatural, brilliantly told through the lens of the judicial system. A truly intriguing and intelligent mystery which had me gripped from the start. Totally recommend.' - Sarah Moorhead, author of The Treatment 'A strikingly clever debut and high concept legal thriller which grips from the first page and never lets up. The claustrophobic setting and fast-paced narrative make for a great story' - Guy Morpuss 'Original and feverishly compulsive' - Sabine Durrant, author of Finders, Keepers 'Inventive, bold and insightful, The Trials of Lila Dalton is a captivating exploration of the nature of truth. L. J. Shepherd's gripping debut transcends crime fiction and presents a speculative tale that challenges our notions of justice' - Adam Hamdy, author of The Other Side of Night