The Trials of Lila Dalton

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Description

You are standing in the middle of a courtroom. The judge, jury and prosecution team are waiting for you to speak. But they don't realise: you have no idea who you are.

Lila Dalton finds herself the lead defence for a man accused of a terrible crime, his fate in her hands. She doesn't know how she got there, but is surprised to discover that she possesses legal knowledge, and
that everyone else seems to know who she is.

Outside the courtroom, things are even more unnerving: the courthouse is on a peculiar island where the locals are hostile, threats are slipped beneath her door, and her phone calls are tapped.
Hints from strange sources suggest that someone from her forgotten past is in very real danger - but are the threats genuine, or a warning from her missing memories

As the trial progresses, Lila must decide who and what she can trust - and whether that includes herself...

Reviews

'Remarkable... there are echoes of Kafka, Orwell and Alices Adventures in Wonderland' - The Times, Best Thrillers for February

'Shepherd cranks up the menace, layering the story with one obstacle after another, revealing snippets of back-story, as evermore sinister forces circle. The narrative quickly assumes a nightmarish quality, redolent of a dream where there is no way out and new terrors lurk at every corner. Writing with verve, Shepherd delivers a creative tour de force.' - Financial Times

'Theres a fever-dream quality from the very start of this debut novel... an inventive and exciting read' - Guardian, The Best Recent Crime and Thrillers

'The well-constructed account of Lilas nightmare comes across as a howl of frustration at the state of the British legal system' - Literary Review

'A mind-blowing, audaciously inventive thriller' - Chris Whitaker, award-winning author of We Begin at the End

Author Bio

L. J. Shepherd lives in Cardiff with her rescue cat, Coral. She studied English Literature at Christ Church, Oxford. After graduating, she decided to pursue a career in law. Laura began practising as a barrister in 2017. Since then, she has prosecuted and defended in many jury trials in the Crown Court. She is now a Human Rights barrister instructed in high-profile public inquiries.