A thrillingly suspenseful debut novel and a fierce howl of rage that questions the true meaning of justice.
David R. Dow is the Cullen Professor at the University of Houston
Law Center, and the Rorschach Visiting Professor of History at Rice
University. A graduate of Rice and Yale, Dow's areas of expertise
include constitutional law and theory, contract law, and death
penalty law. Working with students in his death penalty clinic, Dow
has represented over 100 death row inmates during their state and
federal appeals. He is also the founder and director of the Texas
Innocence Network.
He lives in Houston and Park City, Utah, with his wife Katya, their
son Lincoln, and their dogs Delano and Soul
Praise for Confessions of an Innocent Man
"Best Mystery Books of 2019"—The Wall Street Journal
“Every person wrongfully convicted of a crime at some point dreams
of getting revenge against the system. In Confessions of an
Innocent Man, the dream comes true and in a spectacular
way. As I zipped through the pages, I kept thinking, ‘This
book is too thin. I want more.’ ”—John Grisham, New York Times
bestselling author of The Reckoning
“Mr. Dow [is] a born writer if ever there was one.”—The Wall Street
Journal
“Suppose you were arrested, tried, and sentenced to die for a
murder you didn’t commit, then vindicated and freed at the last
possible minute. What would you do? Would you try to go back to the
old life you’d nearly lost? Or would you punish those who’d stolen
it from you? In Confessions of an Innocent Man, David R. Dow,
who knows more about death row than any other person who’s never
lived there, puts you in the place of a victim of the system whose
soul has been shriveled by rage, then invites you to take a look in
the mirror. The result is a terrifying modern-day revenger’s tale,
one whose furious, irresistible momentum will sweep you up—and make
you think.”—Terry Teachout, drama critic for The Wall Street
Journal
“An impressive fiction debut....The plot is a page-turner, and the
addition of Dow’s knowledge of the legal machinery of death and his
nuanced characterization of his lead elevate this above similarly
themed legal thrillers.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“[Confessions of an Innocent Man] explores wrongful
convictions, the death penalty and appeals process, life on death
row, and exoneration. It’s also about duplicity—the honest and
hardworking man becoming a criminal only after a wrongful
conviction; a legal system that seems too often to pit police,
prosecutors, and judges against the truth—and features an
ingenious, well-planned, and perfectly executed revenge. This
fast-paced legal thriller powerfully captures themes of love,
surrender, despair, and vengeance. It will appeal to fans of
Phillip Margolin and George Pelecanos, and pair nicely with Anthony
Ray Hinton’s memoir The Sun Does Shine.”—Library
Journal (starred review)
“A debut novel that's a page-turner with a message....[Dow’s]
criminal justice work is a clear influence on this novel, and his
passion bleeds through on every page. The claustrophobic nature of
prisons, the routine cruelty, the anonymous suffering, the decrepit
conditions—they all come through in straightforward, well-written
prose. . . . A solidly suspenseful novel.”—Kirkus Reviews
“This thought-provoking debut...[an] absorbing tale of misfortune
takes readers inside the mind of a good man who’s desperate to
prove his innocence as well as inside the world of a
maximum-security prison and the horror that is death row. . . . The
questions of who gets justice and why court procedure seems to take
such precedence over individual lives will stay with readers after
the satisfying ending to this surprising read.”—Booklist
“A powerful, thought-provoking debut thriller that’s not to be
missed...Taking readers inside [his protagonist] Rafael
mindset, Dow projects his anguish and pain, prompting an emotional
response from readers who, with every page, will find themselves
holding their breath as he sets out to right wrongs in his own way,
cheering him on as he goes. The characters are well-developed, the
pacing is fast, and the story is absolutely stunning. Confessions
of an Innocent Man is a red-hot debut that falls somewhere between
a work of psychological suspense and a legal thriller, and should
attract fans of both.”—The Real Book Spy on Crime Reads
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