Plano Reads: “The Murder List”
4 mins read

Plano Reads: “The Murder List”

Read a review of The Murder List by Hank Phillippi Ryan, our Mystery Book Club pick for September.

You can join us to discuss The Murder List on Thursday, September 15 at 7 p.m. at Davis Library or you can attend through Zoom! If you would like to attend the meeting virtually, please register here.

The Murder List by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Currently available through the PPL Catalog as well as Libby

Description from Libby:

Law student Rachel North is the ultimate reliable narrator–she will tell you, without hesitation, what she knows to be true. She’s smart, she’s a hard worker, she does the right thing. She’s successfully married to a faithful and devoted husband, a lion of Boston’s defense bar. And her internship with the District Attorney’s office is her ticket to a successful future.

Problem is–she’s wrong.

Rachel. Jack. Martha. Who is next on The Murder List? And in this cat and mouse game–the battle for justice becomes a battle for survival.


“Second-year Harvard law student Rachel North and her husband, hotshot Boston defense lawyer Jack Kirkland, plan to go into practice together after she graduates, with both eventually serving on the state’s special “murder list” lawyers qualified to handle homicide cases for indigent clients. But when North is selected by cutthroat prosecutor Martha Gardiner as one of her summer interns, Kirkland who considers Gardiner Satan in pearls protests, while North sees it as an opportunity to gain knowledge about the enemy. As the narrative moves between the viewpoints of Kirkland, Gardiner, and North (in the first-person), flashbacks describe North’s previous work for State Senator Tom Rafferty, on whom she had a crush, and her service on the jury for a case Kirkland lost, which led to their meeting. Turns out Gardiner had her own particular reasons for choosing North as an intern, as a closing plot twist shows. A compelling legal thriller from the popular author of the Jane Ryland mystery series, this will have readers’ sympathies shifting from one character to another as it winds to an unsettling end.”

–Michele Leber Copyright 2019 Booklist

–From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.



Hank Phillippi Ryan is the USA Today bestselling author of 13 thrillers, winning the most prestigious awards in the genre: five Agathas, four Anthonys, and the coveted Mary Higgins Clark Award. She is also an on-air investigative reporter for Boston’s WHDH-TV, with 37 Emmys and dozens more journalism honors. Book critics call her “a master of suspense,” “a superb and gifted storyteller,” and she’s the only author to have won the Agatha in four different categories: Best First, Best Novel, Best Short Story, and Best Non-Fiction. Her newest is Her Perfect Life, a chilling psychological standalone about fame, family, and revenge. It received starred reviews from both Kirkus and Publishers Weekly, calling it “a superlative thriller.” B.A. Paris says, “Shocking, suspenseful… kept me guessing until the end.” Julie Clark says, “You will read this in one sitting!” It is now nominated for the Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel. Her next is The House Guest, coming February 2023.

Hank is a founder of MWA University, host of CRIME TIME on A Mighty Blaze, and co-host of First Chapter Fun and The Back Room.

-From the author’s website


Read-alike titles available on Libby and through the PPL Catalog:

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