The Trials of Lila Dalton

The Trials of Lila Dalton by L.J. Shepherd is a sharp and suspenseful debut that blends courtroom drama with psychological mystery, led by a protagonist who wakes up with no memory of who she is or why she’s standing in front of a jury.

Lila Dalton finds herself in a courtroom, dressed like a lawyer, with twelve jurors staring back at her. She doesn’t know where she is, how she got there, or even her own name at first. It turns out she’s defending a man accused of killing twenty-seven people in a mass attack, and it seems the evidence is stacked against him. But Lila has no idea how the case came to be in her hands. Even more chilling, she’s on a remote island where the most serious crimes are tried, and she can’t leave unless she wins.

The pressure builds when threatening calls warn her that her child will be harmed if she doesn’t get her client acquitted. With no one she can fully trust, Lila begins to dig into the case, slowly uncovering secrets not just about the trial but about herself. As the story unfolds, the mystery only deepens. Lila has to piece together what happened, who she is, and how everything connects before time runs out.

This is a story filled with unexpected twists and eerie tension. L.J. Shepherd crafts a layered, fast-paced narrative that keeps readers guessing. It's a locked-room thriller with a legal twist, where memory loss and hidden motives blur the line between truth and deception. For a debut, it's not only bold but refreshingly original.

If you enjoy legal thrillers with strong female leads and mind-bending mysteries, The Trials of Lila Dalton is a book you won’t want to miss.