It has been an incredible first week for Defending Jacob. Last Tuesday, the day the book was published, it hit #1 on the Barnes & Noble bestseller list and stayed there for most of the week. The ebook also spent most of the week at #4 or #5 on the B&N list. Amazon named it a Best Book of the Month and Editors’ Pick for Kindle, and sales promptly spiked there as well. Reviews ranged from flattering to really flattering to “Holy crap!” And all the while I’ve been on tour, visiting eight cities so far (I’m in Seattle as I write this, Portland tomorrow).
Today the week reached a surreal climax: I was told Defending Jacob will debut at #4 on the New York Times bestseller list. (That asterisk means the sales figures for Defending Jacob are barely distinguishable from the title above it.) (Update: To clarify, the book will appear on the print edition of the Times list on February 19. That list is available online here.)
I suppose things could get better, conceivably. But it’s hard to imagine.
Wow! Congratulations!
Good heavens, look at the names just above yours. You’re in good company, or they are! Congrats. 🙂
Hi Mark. It’s not shown but the names below me are even scarier. Some guy name Stephen King.
This book is the best I’ve read in many, many years. I believe you have a unique grasp of the legal thriller. You are in a league of your own. I am looking forward to seeing how the book is optioned for the movies and who plays the various parts.
Dear Mr Landay, I am a hard core reader, but I’m very picky. The MINUTE I started reading your book, I knew
this was going to be one of those books that will be very big. I’m so thrilled to find a new author who really makes his characters both likable and believable. I told my Mom about the book and she said it the best book she had read in years. She suggested it to her book club. I admit I’m not even completely done because a book like this should be treasured and enjoyed, like drinking a good glass of wine. My Mom keeps calling me to see if I’ve finished as she wanted to talk about it. It reminds me a bit of Scott Turow “Presumed Innocent” but even moves
faster. I read on the back jacket that you are writing another book, and I hope you like writing and will have a couple of books a year come out. Its so rare to find such a wonderful new author, and you have a gift. I have a lot of people that ask me for my recommendation for a book they would like and they tell me the type of book they
read and I give them a list of authors who write the type of book they like. Trust me, I have never tried to write a book, but when I tell any of my fellow book readers about a new book, they usually buy it because I have almost
a sixth sense about who is going to be a well know author. I started reading many authors before they became
“well known” and I wasn’t surprised.
You have such a talent, and your writing mysteries and court room dramas, which for some reason are not being written about as much as espionage books, which I don’t care for as much. There are quite a few of use that
like mysteries, with trials, etc. and for some reason everyone that used to write those books turned to
espionage, spy, type of books. Some of these were my favorite authors, but then they started writing
the spy genre, when their mystery/court room books were best sellers. Their other books don’t sell as well.
So I hope you stay in the mystery genre, we feel a little bit left out, so thank you, thank you for your wonderful book. My Dad is now reading your new book, and he asked where I heard about you, and he wanted to know if you had written any other books, (we bought two of the other books you wrote).
For a person who loves to read and you gets so excited when I have a new book to read, you made me such
a happy girl. Keep up the good work. Its so cool to have found a new writer..
If you have any idea when your other book might be coming out, we’re ready!!
Your newest, greatest fan,
Jill Guenther
P.S. I’m not a person who has is brimming with confidence, but knowing a good writer when I read a book, is just something I’m really good at finding the best of the best authors, and I’ve never been wrong. You will be a house
hold name very soon, I can just feel it. Good Luck, and really thank you!
Thanks, Jill. Your message just made my day!
Defending Jacob is absolutely phenomenal, Mr. Landay. The character development was deeply thorough and, most importantly, consistantly played. All of the players acted and reacted throughout the book as you characterized them in the first few chapters. I think this is a rare gift that many of today’s writers don’t have. The storyline was endlessly fascinating. The courtroom description and narratives were so compelling that I actually felt irritated if I was interrupted (for my kids who “wanted dinner” …geez). I am a constant reader and very rarely read a book where my brain is moving so quickly my eyes can barely keep up. I’m moving on to Mission Flats next. If you ever stop writing, your readership will track you down, Mr. Landay. Please don’t test us on this. 🙂
Thanks for such a kind message, Bryn-Carol. What a nice way to start off Monday morning!
Just finished “Defending” got no housework done – forget Fifty Shades – so real – I wanted to go to Newton to see the crash site – Ann of Worcester, MA