... but I continued to read for the excellent characterizations and the fine writing. This novel explores so many themes in one plot; sexual freedom vs. sexual fear, liberal idealism vs. small town insularity, religious progressiveness vs. religious hunger. The novel's POV moves from that of the central character who finds the dead child at the novel's beginning, to the POV of the character accused of putting the baby there. This section is keenly observed and beautifully written, and truly puts the reader into the mind of a woman drunk on simple physical passion. The two women couldn't be more dissimilar, and yet, they share some surprising commonalities. With its intricate plot, courtroom scenes, and central whodunnit plot driving the action, this is a fine suspense novel that should satisfy all readers who like that genre. However, the writer takes the time to explore so many other interesting aspects of her characters' lives (what DID happen to all those socially progressive liberals who dropped out in the 60s and 70s?) that the book works as a fine "literary" read. Also, this book offers humor, something sorely lacking in too many suspense novels.

The Sabbathday River was highly entertaining and engrossing. It was hard to put down as the mystery of the dead babies began to unravel. I found the characters both likeable and believeable and especially enjoyed the depiction of the hypocrisy and puritan attitudes of the small New England town. The book also does a great job showing what can happen when one gives herself up completely to another only to discover what complete betrayal feels like. The father of Heather's baby is one you definitely love to hate, even though she doesn't seem to realize just what a "creep" he is like the reader does!! The only part of the book that "bogged me down" a bit was the characters trying to come to terms with their Jewish heritage and religious beliefs. This was hard for me to incorporate into the whole "scheme of things" of the story. Even though I had figured out the "mystery" of the "river baby" long before the book ended, it was still a great read and I highly recommend it.

My book group read this book this summer, and we enjoyed it immensely. In fact, many of us reported that once we'd gotten into the story, we had trouble putting it down. It's a gripping mystery, but much more: most of Korelitz's main characters are struggling--some more than others--with the remnants of sixties' idealism, and with developing a sense of what it means to have truly grounded friendships, communities, responsibilities and value systems. The central mystery is solved by the end, but Korelitz leaves us with much to talk about.

Korelitz is a strong, funny writer. Her principal characters are beautifully drawn; she has a good ear for dialogue and is wonderful at creating memorable physical scenes.

I agree that the townsfolk are not as sharply delineated as the central characters -- like the villagers in Fielding's Tom Jones, they are more like a Greek chorus than a sympathetically-drawn group of individuals. But this is not a major detraction. Nor can I figure out why one reader below complains that no DNA tests were done; the book is set in 1985 and we learn in the appendix (in case we hadn't figured it out for ourselves) that DNA tests weren't available at that time. That part of the story couldn't have happened today; but the rest could have -- including the truly frightening demonstration of how easy it is for the police to extract confessions -- but maybe they were right to use those techniques in this case; I won't spoil the ending by saying.

I liked the lead character. She was protrayed as brilliant and compassionate and devoted to fairness in the law. However, after building her up to be this kind of person, the author then allowed her to make some exceedingly foolish moves, such as keeping key evidence (that could get her killed) in her purse while she went alone and unarmed into a dangerous situation with the villains. Also, for a supposedly brilliant person, she was very quick to dismiss the statements made by her client as insane ravings instead of investigating, even though she had evidence that something was amiss. I found the premise of implanting a drug into people to turn them into jury zombies to be highly improbable. The quality of the writing was excellent and the dialogue was witty. However, I quickly figured out the plot and I actually felt frustrated at times when the characters just didn't react to obvious clues and danger. Didn't keep me awake and in places I even found it a bit preachy about the jury system.

This book wasn't a yawner, but it wasn't a page turner. Sorely unrealistic, this book was good for bed time reading as it woud not keep you awake. On the good side, there were no slopy ends that were just tied up to end the book. If you are looking for a nice book this will work.

"A Jury of Her Peers" is a mediocre legal thriller about a dedicated public defender named Sybylla Muldoon. Sybylla devotes her life to helping her indigent clients, even though she receives very little appreciation for her efforts. While defending a homeless client who has slashed and maimed a nine-year-old girl, Sybylla learns of a nefarious right-wing plot to undermine the jury system. While investigating this plot, Sybylla places her life in jeopardy and she uncovers some horrible secrets concerning her parents. Does this sound impossibly complicated and far-fetched? Well, it is. Although the author gets credit for creating Sybylla, who is an attractive and witty individual, the mystery gets more and more preposterous as the book wears on. Ultimately, the sometimes witty dialogue and the compelling courtroom scenes do not make up for the weak and implausible story.