Review: The Guilty One by Lisa Ballantyne

The Guilty One by Lisa Ballantyne

Publisher: William Morrow 

Pages: 480 

Format: eARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  An eight-year-old boy is found dead in a playground . . . and his eleven-year-old neighbor is accused of the crime. Leading the defense is London solicitor Daniel Hunter, a champion of lost causes.

A damaged boy from a troubled home, Daniel's young client, Sebastian, reminds Daniel of his own turbulent childhood--and of Minnie, the devoted woman whose love saved him. But one terrible act of betrayal irrevocably shattered their bond.

As past and present collide, Daniel is faced with disturbing questions. Will his sympathy for Sebastian and his own memories blind him to the truth? What happened in the park--and who, ultimately, is to blame for a little boy's death? Rethinking everything he's ever believed, Daniel begins to understand what it means to be wrong . . . and to be the guilty one.


Kritters Thoughts:  From the beginning, the reader is swept into a story where one little boy is dead at a playground and another little boy is presumed guilty of his murder.  At the same time, a story about one of the solicitors, Daniel, is being told as he moved into different foster homes and eventually into Minnie’s home where he finally finds his match.  With contrasting chapters, the reader sees two young boys’ stories and how a rough childhood can greatly impact how they will face the world on an everyday basis. 

I adored having both the stories going on at the same time and finding the similarities between the boys and how Daniel’s past completely affected how he was approaching the accused boy.  There were moments where I almost wished for more of Sebastian’s family history and a few more details to show how he became the boy he was and how that could have gotten him into the situation he was in. 

My one concern for this book was the pace of the trial.  As the evidence is shared throughout the book, I thought the pace of the trial was a little slow and could have picked up a little bit.  Thankfully at the same time that Sebastian’s story was slowing, Daniel’s in the past was picking up pace and really hit a great stride.  I ended up loving his story so much more than the main story of the book.

Overall, I thought this book was different from a few other trial books that I have read where the accused is the only story going on; having Daniel’s story made this book even meater!

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2013 Challenge: 11 out of 50

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The tour schedule: 

Tuesday, March 19th: Kritters Ramblings

Wednesday, March 20th: Excellent Library

Thursday, March 21st: she treads softly

Monday, March 25th: JulzReads

Tuesday, March 26th: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Wednesday, March 27th: Book Journey

Monday, April 1st: Bloggin’ Bout Books

Tuesday, April 2nd: Tiffany’s Bookshelf

Wednesday, April 3rd: Speaking of Books

Thursday, April 4th: Lectus

Monday, April 8th: A Bookworm’s World