The Ending

Discuss the September 2015 book of the month Defending Jacob by William Landay
User avatar
Heidi M Simone
Official Reviewer Representative
Posts: 7054
Joined: 17 Jul 2015, 20:19
Favorite Book: Harry Potter
Currently Reading: Beyond the Wand
Bookshelf Size: 556
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-heidi-m-simone.html
Latest Review: The Movie Chair by Shari Borkin
Publishing Contest Votes: 27
fav_author_id: 0

Re: The Ending

Post by Heidi M Simone »

Exactly! Unless her parents didn't live in the country (which I don't remember if that was mentioned or not), you would think they would've heard regardless if she shared the information or not. Being her parents, you would also think that they would want to support her. Although...look how Laurie turned out - killed her one and only son. Maybe her parents weren't also the greatest.
Heidi
Official Reviewer Representative

"There is nothing as powerful as a mother’s love, and nothing as healing as a child’s soul." – Unknown
User avatar
CThomas33
Posts: 12
Joined: 13 Oct 2015, 10:41
Bookshelf Size: 49
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-cthomas33.html
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU

Post by CThomas33 »

Never saw that ending coming. Wow! I knew he was guilty the whole time, nowadays this seems to be more and more common with the child who feels he can get away with anything because mommy and daddy will take care of it. Poor mom.
User avatar
quadbrookie
Posts: 110
Joined: 29 Jul 2015, 08:34
Favorite Author: More than one
Bookshelf Size: 14
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-quadbrookie.html
Latest Review: "Darker" by Michael Stephenson
Reading Device: B00KC6I06S

Post by quadbrookie »

Yes, they just reek havoc on the rest of society because mom and dad have the money to donate to the school or whatever fund to keep them out of trouble!
Latest Review: "Darker" by Michael Stephenson
User avatar
SharisseEM
Posts: 273
Joined: 30 Sep 2014, 04:32
Favorite Author: Mia Sheridan
Favorite Book: Stinger
Bookshelf Size: 34
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sharisseem.html
Latest Review: "The Bonding" by Imogen Keeper
fav_author_id: 3312

Post by SharisseEM »

The ending was certainly a shocker but I think it fit the book nicely. It was a battle of doubt till the end. Whether Jacob was innocent or truly guilty despite the evidence. I think both parents were just damaged by the end and Laurie just felt that she had to take drastic measures to save herself and her son as well as any of his future victims. It's sad but I think she was just driven into a corner. She had to do something about her son.
“I don't suffer from my insanity -- I enjoy every minute of it.”
Latest Review: "The Bonding" by Imogen Keeper
User avatar
Taylor Razzani
Posts: 319
Joined: 08 Jan 2016, 19:56
Favorite Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... 59294">The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books)</a>
Currently Reading: The Bachman Books
Bookshelf Size: 56
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-taylor-razzani.html
Latest Review: The Hand Bringer by Christopher J. Penington
fav_author_id: 2684

Post by Taylor Razzani »

I was surprised by the ending too! I liked how the ongoing dialogue between Logiudice and Andy turned to a trial against Laurie. Definitely didn't see that one coming! It makes sense that she finally snapped. I didn't really like her in the beginning but the hell she went through during the trial and the fact that she realized her son was a bad egg eventually made me warm to her. It's tragic that she resorted to that.
Sarah_Khan
Posts: 869
Joined: 27 Jan 2016, 11:56
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... 3700">Gone With the Wind</a>
Currently Reading: Circe
Bookshelf Size: 336
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sarah-khan.html
Latest Review: The Formidable King by Alyssa J. Montgomery

Post by Sarah_Khan »

I loved the ending! It was so unexpected I would never, in a million years have guessed it. I also thought the ending wraps up everything pretty nicely, so we weren't left hanging. :)
User avatar
FilmStar
Posts: 184
Joined: 14 Feb 2018, 08:35
Currently Reading: Rich and Pretty
Bookshelf Size: 24
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-filmstar.html
Latest Review: My Author Is Dead by Michel Bruneau
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU

Post by FilmStar »

Yeah I guess the mother realized that her son was never going to change and that nothing was going to help him so it was like a mercy killing except she didn't expect to survive after. Looks like she was capable of murder as well if she could bring herself to do that to her own son.
User avatar
amybo82
Posts: 651
Joined: 07 Sep 2014, 17:27
Favorite Author: David Sedaris
Favorite Book: cannot pick just one
Currently Reading: Calypso
Bookshelf Size: 1517
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-amybo82.html
Latest Review: The Adventures of The Gorilla Billies by Mark J Stopford
Reading Device: B00TA9FD2M
Publishing Contest Votes: 17
fav_author_id: 2790

Post by amybo82 »

Or maybe the mother was the killer all along! I felt really let down by the ending. I just wanted it to all wrap up, and I felt like it was left too open ended.
A book is a dream that you hold in your hand. –Neil Gaiman
User avatar
Leen282
Posts: 1111
Joined: 28 Mar 2020, 00:53
Currently Reading: Live Your Life of Abundance
Bookshelf Size: 131
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-leen282.html
Latest Review: Beautifully Scarred by Cewanda Todd

Post by Leen282 »

It's been a while since I read the book but I remember being surprised by the ending. Definitely not expected, harsh, but making the book all the more remarkable.
User avatar
Dominik_G
Posts: 697
Joined: 29 Jun 2020, 14:45
Currently Reading: Secret Window
Bookshelf Size: 32
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-dominik-g.html
Latest Review: A Long Dark Rainbow by Michael Tappenden

Post by Dominik_G »

I've just read Killing Jacob and... huh. I didn't see this coming at all.
I don't think Laurie had future victims or anything like that in mind when she decided to kill Jacob - and herself, I'm sure that was her intention. I had the feeling that she simply wasn't able to deal with the doubts any longer. Obviously, she wasn't in a sane state of mind. Maybe she thought she just needed it to end - in a definitive manner - and this was the only way she could think of how to achieve that.
Krishi Shah
Posts: 141
Joined: 19 Jul 2022, 06:17
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 104
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-krishi-shah.html
Latest Review: Creative Destruction by Alastair Bowman

Post by Krishi Shah »

I feel very conflicted about Laurie's actions and I'm not sure if they actually made for a perfect satisfying ending.
User avatar
Onyinyechi Obi
In It Together VIP
Posts: 130
Joined: 02 Dec 2023, 09:29
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 29
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-onyinyechi-obi.html
Latest Review: Worldlines by Adam Guest

Post by Onyinyechi Obi »

I was in disbelief when Hope experienced everything. He had been guilty all along! I believed he wasn't the one. They might be playing the "blame game," as he wasn't even in high school yet. If no one reports who did it, you're all going to get into trouble!
Post Reply

Return to “"Defending Jacob" by William Landay”