A heart-pounding roller-coaster ride of suspense that grabs you from the first page and doesn't let go until the final twist. Really enjoyed this one.

Christina Dalcher's "The Sentence" presents a captivating alternate reality—a world where the death penalty remains a rare occurrence, but with a fascinating twist. This thought-provoking novel takes place in a society much like ours, where a single pivotal change shapes the narrative's landscape, offering a distinct and engaging reading experience that lingers long after the final page.

Dalcher adeptly navigates a delicate balance between a less extreme dystopia than "The Handmaid's Tale" and an element of speculative fiction that piques the reader's curiosity. The result is a story that compels us to explore the implications of its central premise while delving into characters' lives and their moral struggles.

The novel unfolds through the eyes of two characters, each lending a unique perspective to the intricate narrative tapestry. Justine Callaghan, a prosecutor, stands at the forefront. Wrestling with the consequences of a trial outcome, she grapples with the ramifications of her decision not to seek the death penalty, given the life-altering risk she would face if her conviction were overturned. Dalcher masterfully captures the tension between justice, fear, and personal responsibility as Justine navigates her tumultuous journey.

On the other side of the narrative lies Death Row Inmate #39384, whose diary entries provide an intimate glimpse into his life and thoughts. These poignant reflections draw readers into his world, shedding light on the circumstances that led to his conviction. This dual perspective creates a symphony of emotions, allowing us to connect deeply with both Justine's internal struggles and the inmate's heart-wrenching experiences.

Dalcher's narrative structure expertly unveils the characters' pasts and the evolution of their beliefs. Justine's connection to the Remediation Act, her commitment to justice, and her internal conflicts blend seamlessly into her present circumstances. The revelation of new evidence after an execution prompts her to embark on a quest for truth, leading to unexpected revelations about the case that once seemed straightforward.

"The Sentence" goes beyond its speculative premise, delving into complex themes like morality, justice, and the far-reaching consequences of our decisions. Dalcher's characters are three-dimensional and relatable, allowing readers to connect emotionally and intellectually with their struggles and choices. This depth adds a layer of authenticity to the story, turning it into a powerful exploration of human nature.

As readers follow Justine's moral journey and Death Row Inmate #39384's heartrending reflections, they're invited to consider their own beliefs and the impacts of their actions. This invitation to introspection makes "The Sentence" a memorable and meaningful read, one that resonates on multiple levels.

The novel's rich narrative and compelling exploration of ethics make it a perfect candidate for book club discussions. Christina Dalcher has created a thought-provoking gem that gracefully tiptoes between the familiar and the speculative, offering readers a captivating tale that both challenges and satisfies their intellect.

Stunning!

Christina Dalcher is fast becoming my favourite author! Queen of the dystopian novel.

The sentence takes the discussion around the death penalty to the extreme…what if as a prosecutor you could only request the death penalty if you agreed to be executed if it turns out you got it wrong?

I love everything about this book….except the abomination of making tea in the microwave!!! The style, the characters, the utterly gripping plot…this book has it all.

Horrifying and wonderful all at the same time. This would make the best book club discussion book. A must read!

Vox was my most re-read book on my shelf so I was delighted to be given the chance to read The Sentence. This was not an easy read but in a good way. Following tales of death, capital punishment and first person accounts of living on death row, this book was challenging in terms of morals and how I view the legal team responsible for deciding whether to pursue an end of life judgement. What if the person was later found to be innocent?

An immensely powerful read that will stay with me. I was so invested in Justine (a prosecutor dealing with troubled cases and balancing home life with her son, sister and nephew following the murder of her husband) and Jake (an inmate sentenced to death) that I struggled to leave them behind.

One I will remember for a very long time. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read

This is my third Dalcher book and in the past, I've always been enthralled by the concept and world-building and then let down by the writing and the pay-off. But this is the first Dalcher I've loved from start to finish. The concept is thought-provoking and bound to make any avid capital punishment supporter take a step back. What if you had to be so 100% certain of a criminal's guilt that you put your own life on the line as well. When sending them to be executed and if they are later exonerated, the prosecutor will be condemned to suffer the same fate.

As someone who has always been anti-death penalty, reading this book has made me feel even more certain of this. The protagonist, a prosecutor, has just sent a man to the electric chair. Only, there's new evidence that perhaps he didn't do it after all.

The narrative jumps between the present and harks back to Justine's university days. It turns out that this new criminal justice regime was partially her brainchild.

I won't add too much more, for fear of spoiling what is a very gripping read. I definitely preferred this to both VOX and Q.

Christine Dalcher is making a niche for herself in high concept quasi-dystopias - worlds very similar to our own but with one key thing changed. The Sentence takes place in an America where the death penalty still exists but where prosecutors can only seek it by agreeing to be out to death themselves if the accused is later found innocent.

I loved the sound of the concept but from quite early on the book fell flat to me. I didn’t connect to the main character - prosecutor Justine Boucher - and found the book’s acceptance (even promotion) of the carceral system disappointing.

‘The one decision you can’t take back’ - cover tag line

My thanks to HQ for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Sentence’ by Christina Dalcher.

While not an out and out dystopian tale, Dalcher’s legal thriller is set in a recognisable near future USA and contains dystopian elements.

Virginia Prosecutor Justine Boucher-Callaghan has only asked for the death penalty once, seven years ago in a brutal murder case that had involved a child. In doing so, she put her own life on the line as under the State Remedies Act, a law passed in 2016 that states if the convicted is later found innocent, the prosecutor who requested the death penalty will be sentenced to death. Justine had no doubt that Jake Milford, the man she sentenced to the chair, was guilty. Until now…..

In the novel’s opening Justine is holding a press conference about her latest prosecution and has cause to think about Jake, who had finally been executed only two days previously, as his widow Emily was standing there clearly grieving. Reporters swarm them both asking ‘Do you think your husband deserved to die?’ ‘What would you do if new evidence came to light?’ Then a woman in a blood-red suit comes up and whispers in Mrs. Milford’s ear. Cue dramatic music…

The story is mainly told by Justine as she deals with the possibility that if indeed there is new evidence in the Jake Milford case it will place her life in jeopardy. Ironically throughout her legal career, Justine has campaigned against the death penalty and is very familiar with how the Remedies Act works as she had helped draft it in tandem with others including her late husband, Ian Callaghan, a brilliant law professor.

The red-suited woman who had appeared at the courthouse was a member of Vita, an activist group dedicated to investigating possible cases of wrongful conviction and ensuring that the Remedies Act is enforced. Justine had once been a founding member.

Indeed, their signature look was inspired by the bright red suit that Justine bought in her senior year at Harvard Law to address a rally. She had never thought that people would adopt it as a uniform as she had just wanted to stand out: “a girl in a red dress always stands out.” The red suited women had echoes for me with the uniforms of Atwood’s handmaidens.

The other narrative is provided by Jake Milford, who has been on death row for six years and is facing execution. His entries are headed as ‘Death Row Inmate #39384’ and he relays his story bit by bit.

I found Justine a relatable protagonist who clearly had sought a way to limit the use of capital punishment never realising that she might find her life impacted by her youthful idealism. Jake’s story including his time on Death Row is harrowing.

Overall, I found ‘The Sentence’ an intriguing legal thriller that addresses the complex issue of capital punishment and proposes a fascinating ‘what if’. A well paced thought provoking novel.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

This was a phenomenal read.

I loved the premise: if a prosecutor asks for the death penalty and the convicted is later found innocent, the prosecutor faces execution.

Justine has only asked for the death penalty once. And the convict's wife has new evidence.

I loved the way this was told in chapters from Justine's perspective and those from the condemned.

It really makes you think about the idea of the death penalty, about innocence and guilt and about the repercussions the death penalty has on everyone from the condemned and their family, to the judges and prosecutors.

I loved the way the story developed and how we consider how this new development affects Justine and her family, but also the family of the condemned man.

The Sentence kept me turning the pages and not wanting to put it down. I absolutely loved the ending.

A brilliant read.

Gripping. Thought provoking. Tense. Clever.
I could not put this one down. Well paced, well written , a super read.
Highly recommend and this would be a fantastic book club selection, so much to think and talk about.

The Remedies Act demands that the lead prosecutor is willing to stake their own life on the certainty of guilt when asking the death penalty. If the convicted are found innocent, the lawyer requesting the execution will also be sentenced to death.
Set in near future USA, it has a very dystopian feel to the book and is frightening plausible.
Can you every know with absolute certainty that someone is guilty of innocent.
The perfect book club choice due to the ethical, legal and political topics.
A gripping, tense and thought-provoking book
Thanks @cv_dalcher, @hqstories & @netgalley for the eARC

Having read previous books by this author, I knew it was likely to look at a divisive subject with maybe a touch of dystopia, and I was not wrong!

In The Sentence, there has been a caveat added to the death sentence, in that if it is proven that the convicted is innocent, the prosecutor who pushed for the sentence, must be put to death in the same way. The prosecutor in this story, Justine, is in a very vulnerable state when she comes back to work and is given Jake Milfords case, but due to her current state of mind, makes a bit of a snap decision, but is she right to?

Throughout this book we see all the different sides of the lives that will be affected by this decision, which makes it quite complex in places, but I think it works to make it a very well-rounded read. It is also thought-provoking and certainly made me think about how you never really have the full picture and is it right to make a decision based on that?

Recomended if you are incthe mood for a book to get you thinking.

Justine Boucher is a prosecutor in the commonwealth (once state) of Virginia. She has only asked for the death penalty for one of her cases - the brutal murder of a child. It is a case that haunts her for a number of reasons, not least because the introduction of the controversial Remedies Act meant putting her own life on the line too.

She has always been sure she sent a guilty man to chair, but now she is not so sure. A piece of evidence has cropped up that calls the trial verdict into question, and the clock is counting down for Justine to discover what this means for her own survival.

Set in near-future USA, The Sentence delves into the morass of knotty issues around the death penalty. Told through the eyes of prosecutor Justine Boucher, a woman formerly involved in a campaign to abolish the death penalty, this explores what would happen if the decision to subject someone to state-sanctioned execution is boiled down to a single question - whether or not the prosecutor is 100% certain that they are guilty of the crime. The introduction of the Remedies Act dictates that should any prosecutor calling for the death penalty subsequently be proved to be wrong, then they will forfeit their own life in recompense, so this is not a decision to be taken lightly.

Justine suddenly finds herself questioning whether she was right to send Jake Milford, a man who entered a guilty plea, to the chair at a time when her personal life was in free-fall, especially when it appears she may have been wrong. There are those who would dearly love to see her pay for a mistake, and their sinister intent adds a delicious sense of menace to what is already a tense situation, as Justine frantically tries to make sense of the unexpected.

The narrative moves back and forth in time, creating a picture of how and why Justine is now in such a perilous situation, but the whole truth only comes to light when Dalcher works storytelling magic by weaving together the threads of Justine and Jake Milford's stories. This happens by the flow of the novel being periodically broken up by glimpses into the mind of Jake Milford himself, in his written 'death-bed' testimony, as the condemned man awaits his fate on death row. This brings about a way for Justine to make amends in a very clever twist.

Dalcher has really done her research here, and in the telling of this gripping tale she forces you to confront the many issues that surround the arbitrariness of sentencing any human being to the death penalty, laying them out in such an accessible way. Intriguingly, she never answers any of the intelligently posed questions she throws at you herself, merely presenting the complexities, the contradictions, and the nitty gritty of both sides of the argument for you to make up your own mind. Growing up in the UK where the death penalty was suspended before my birth, this really made me think about the differences between our legal system and that of the USA too.

The Sentence is the most thought provoking book I have read since Nikki Erlick's excellent debut, The Measure, and it will stay with me in much the same way. It is astonishingly powerful novel and guaranteed to leave you thinking long and hard about your own beliefs when it comes to the question of the death penalty.

First of I really love the striking cover, the red colour certainly draws your eye to it and then the scales of justice gives you your first clue as to what the book is about. The byline, 'The one decision, you can't take back' fits the book perfectly and hammers home the finality of The Sentence.

Do not think for one moment this is a straight forward court case based type drama, far from it!
The book has a somewhat different justice system than our current day one. The death sentence is available to be asked for by any prosecutor brave enough to put their own life on the line. As any prosecutor who presses for the death sentence and then that person that has been given the death sentence is then later found innocent is actually then sentenced to death themselves! They actually forfeit their own life for making that mistake.

The main character Justine has just returned to work after the shock murder of her soulmate, husband and father of her unborn baby so naturally her mental state is not where it would normally be.
When Jake Milfords case is given to her she literally reacts, she doesn't think about the possible future consequences. Jake Milford is accused of murdering a child and cannot account for his whereabouts when the heinous crime took place. Justine at this early stage in her grief is seeing things in very black or white terms. Usually she wouldn't make the choice she pushes for which is the death penalty.
It's only later when it's too late for Jake that he is proven to be not guilty, though some would say the innocent child was murdered because his association with him. Jake's wife, now widow approaches Justine with the evidence saying she isnt sure what she is going to do with it yet.
Justine finally confides in new partner Daniel who goes into full 'escape mode' as a close friend of his has had a case where the man she sent to his death was found innocent and has paid with her own life.

The book let's you into all the different lives involved, theres lots of flashbacks and the story of what happened almost step by step so you get plenty of background and current day information on each character. It's quite complex and heavy/in-depth in places. There's Justine - the prosecutor. Jake - the accused sentenced to death then his existence on death row, then finally his execution. Emily - Jake's wife, now single mother of Jake junior, who has the dilemma of what to do with the new evidence, does she want to go down the 'eye for an eye' route or accept the evidence is too late for Jake and just get on with life with Jake junior. Finally there's also Mary, Jake's first sweetheart, that marries his brother, a life long abuser. Mary the reason Jake couldn't say where he was at the time of the little boys murder.

The book certainly has you thinking about both the justice system in the book and comparing it to our current one. Is it right an innocent man should pay with his life for something he didn't do? Is it right a prosecutor who thought she had all the facts an sentences what turned out to be an innocent man to death, then pay for her mistake with her own life?

All these questions make this a must read book!
Powerful, thought provoking, so many variables.
What would you have done in Jake's position? Or Emily's? Or Mary's? Or Justine's?

So many different perspectives and one slight change to help one person could drastically affect and change another's life for the worse.
I'd like to think Mary chose to answer 'no' to the decisive life altering question Justine asked. That Mary & her son Caleb, the name her husband thought it weirdly fitting to chose to "keep her in her place" and Emily & Jake Junior had a happier life together as single parents. That Justine got to live a happy life with Daniel, getting married, more children maybe and got to watch her son grow up and have a family. I guess we will never know for sure and I believe that's exactly how the Christina Dalcher meant this book to end. The author wants you to decide on what you believe is the appropriate ending for Justine.The way there are pros & cons to the justice system in the book that you have to make your own mind up about is sort of the same way you make your own mind up about what you think and feel about the different characters in the book and the choices they made.

Summing up this is an amazing read, really thought provoking. The only concise description I could come up with for the book was that quite a few of the characters were faced with an unbelievable connected conundrum. It's the kind of book that keeps popping back into your head.

Happy publication day!!!!

I had to let this one sit with me before deciding my final rating and I cannot stop thinking about how powerful this story is. After reading and loving the author's last book I was so excited to read more.

The story follows a prosecutor in a near future where in the aim to reduce death penalty cases the prosecutor's life is forfeit if it's found that the executed was actually innocent.

I found the premise so interesting, the story is then told in multiple time periods through our main characters and diary style entries from the accused.

This one was heartbreaking and would make an amazing book club discussion as the morality questions raised are so intriguing.

I am excited now this has been published so I can discuss this one with others as I have so many spoilery thoughts.

A definite autobuy author for me.

Christina Dalcher writes about dystopian futures that are one a few steps away from our current reality. In The Sentence, in an attempt to outlaw the death penalty, a law is passed that if a death penalty is found to be incorrect at any time in the future due to new evidence, the prosecutor must face the death penalty themselves.
As a result, prosecutors virtually never ask for execution, except in a watertight case. Unfortunately, Justine Boucher did so 6 years ago, and now that case is springing a leak. She now needs to find out the truth and decide how far she is willing to go to uphold her principles.
This book is fascinating, it made me question my opinions on the death penalty and several other aspects of the law. It’s certainly not an easy read, some of the descriptions of executions are particularly harrowing. I loved the character of Justine - she is determined and principled woman, who has endured much sorrow in her personal life, yet she won’t put her future happiness ahead of her honour.
This is such a good book, a proper page turner as well as totally absorbing and thought provoking.

The only way for a prosecutor to pursue the death penalty is to sign their own life away and risk execution themselves if they are later proven wrong. Justine has taken that risk believing that the man she convicted was guilty, until she receives new evidence that could change everything.

I absolutely raced through this brilliant legal thriller.

I loved how believable the concept felt to me, it was presented in a way that I could actually imagine this happening in real life. It is an incredibly thought-provoking idea that really had me wondering what would happen next. You will definitely find yourself questioning your own opinions and ideas on the justice system.

The story is so powerful and had some really gut-wrenching emotional moments. The writing was excellent and I was hooked from start to finish.

The Sentence is such an original story and I can't recommend it enough.

Thank you NetGalley and HQ for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

The premise of the story set in America and a law that states some one is. found guilty and is sentenced to death, and subsequently found to be innocent, then the prosecutor must also pay the same price. Execution. So what would you do if you were the lawyer who then starts to doubt that the person you argued to be given the death penalty may in fact have be innocent. How far would you go? Would you stop arguing for the death penalty, would you want to risk your own life.

The novel is an interesting premise, particularly as here in the UK at the moment, we have someone what has spent 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit. He refused to admit guilt which would have seen him release ten years ago. And it turns out that the police had evidence that would have completely exonerated him back in 2009. So it was interesting reading the novel with what is a timely story arc. Justine Boucher is the prosecutor who argued for the death penalty for a particularly horrific murder of a young boy. The accused has pleaded guilty. Surely it is a slam dunk. But... We get the back story of Justine and find what has led her to this point.

I was absolutely gripped by the story and read it in a day. I could not put it down and needed to get to the end to see what happened. It is one of the rare novels that stays with you after you finish it. Questions like, what would I do, what lines would you be prepared to cross, you question your own integrity and what it would take to make you change your mind especially when your own life is on the line. I can wholeheartedly recommend this book. It is gripping, that is full of suspense. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

The Sentence is a riveting and scalpel-sharp legal thriller set in what appears to be alternate-present-day America where the justice system now has a decidedly dystopian edge to it. Harvard-educated prosecutor and widow Justine Callaghan (formerly Boucher) is struggling slightly with the more stressful aspects of her legal career. For instance, across America of late there have been calls to outlaw the death penalty with different states falling into opposing sides of the argument. Unable to abolish it completely, a compromise has come into being - the State Remedies Act 2016 is an attempt to stop the use of capital punishment in criminal cases from the day of ratification. At the beginning of the book, Justine is the lead prosecutor in the trial of The People v Charlotte Thorne, the brutal murder of a young university student. She has overwhelming evidence of her guilt and a confession, but she is still not willing to risk pushing for the death penalty to be on the table.

Only two prosecutors have sought the death penalty in Virginia for the past 7 years; this is because the Remedies Act states that any prosecutor who seeks the death penalty where the person convicted later has their conviction overturned and is exonerated will take their place on death row, as this is what the law sees as full and fair reparation for the miscarriage of justice. This means that a prosecutor's career has now become equivalent to a game of high-stakes Russian roulette with the possibility of lethal injection at the end of it. We then learn the plight of Jake Milford, aka Death Row Inmate #39384, who 7 years ago Justine sought the death penalty for due to the crimes he was convicted of - the torture and murder of a child which affected her particularly profoundly due to being a mother herself. A mountain of DNA evidence and lack of an alibi convinced her enough to go for it. However, not long after his execution new evidence regarding his guilt/innocence arises sending Justine into a state of terror and panic.

She considers her options: fleeing to safety, destroying the evidence, making someone else aware of the new details or investigating them herself. She opts for the latter, but what will she discover and will she have to pay with her life for the huge mistake she may have made? This is a powerful, thought-provoking and unputdownable read from start to denouement and strikes the perfect balance between intense thrills and shocking twists in the tale and moments where legal ethics and morality are explored. The death penalty is still a divisive issue, and I loved how Dalcher discussed this topic while also creating a dystopian aspect to it. It was all handled very adeptly. It's tough to pull off a thriller that'll make the reader think as well as often have their heart in their mouth, so I cannot recommend this enough. Original, complex and extremely topical, this is a compulsively readable and fast-paced tale that leaves you with a hunger for more.

The main concept of this book really did pique my interest. It's centered around the death penalty, or capital punishment as it is also know. So... if a prosecutor seeks the death penalty and is granted it, they put their own lives on the line should that guilty party later be proven innocent.
Think about that for a moment.
As the book goes on we learn that the death penalty was removed completely once and this was an amendment made to allow it back but deter those from actually using it.
To date, it has been used only once. That is until lawyer Justine Boucher has a complete slam dunk of a case with overwhelming evidence and also a confession. So she seeks and is granted her request for execution.
And then there's a glitch in the other case which starts to make Justine nervous.
And then the wife of the guy she condemned to death find something in his things that could cast doubt.
And I am going to leave the rest to you. Suffice to say it pretty much blew me away. With twist after turn and shock after surprise, it really kept me on my toes, with jaw dropping revelations all the way through! And moral dilemmas aplenty too.
It would make for a cracking book club read due to its subject matter and thought provoking revelations. And a really brilliant ending which I think might also split opinion. I loved it!
But I think also you would need to go in as blind as you can for maximum enjoyment.
I haven't read this author's other books - but I have Vox and Q on my TBR and they are definitely getting bumped up as soon as I clear a space, and I have just added Femlandia to that.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This is another Christina Dalcher classic - an amazing thought provoking read that kept me reading late into the night to find out what happens. It has left me with lots to think about.