The Body in Question

Ciment divides this book into two parts, the first starting with jury selection and ending with the verdict, and the second dealing with the aftermath of the trial. I thought that the first part was all-around excellent; highlights included the case itself, the feeling of constriction accompanying the sequestration of the jury, and the maintained anonymity of the jurors, with the author referring to them only by letter and number.

The second part of the book, in which the protagonist faces the fallout of her decisions, both her affair and her conduct as a juror, was quite sad, and initially led me to rate the book four stars. After sitting with the ending for a while (I'm writing this review approximately three weeks after finishing the book), my initial feelings have mellowed and I've come to really appreciate the latter half of the novel. In this section, the anonymity the protagonist relished in the first part is dramatically obliterated at great cost to her, her lover, her husband, and the accused whose fate she determined.

Despite the fact that it takes place in Florida, this is not a feel good summer read. Nevertheless, I would highly recommend it.