★ 01/28/2019
Defense attorney Dow, the founder of the Texas Innocence Project, makes an impressive fiction debut. Wealthy Tieresse Kerryman courts Rafael Zhettah, a chef from a humble background, after she has a meal at his Houston restaurant, and the pair soon marry. Their fairy tale romance comes to an end two years later when Tieresse is bludgeoned to death with a candlestick in their home and Zhettah is arrested for her murder. Zhettah was sleeping with one of the waitresses at his restaurant at the time, but his alibi isn’t enough to persuade a jury of his innocence. On death row, Zhettah struggles to maintain his sanity, even as a team of dedicated appellate lawyers battle to avert his execution. Eventually, Dow reveals the truth about the circumstances behind the teasing opening prologue, in which Zhettah offers cake to two fellow prisoners, whom he addresses as “Your Honors,” on the one-year anniversary of their captivity. 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. Agent: Simon Lipskar, Writers House. (Apr.)
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
2019-01-21
An acclaimed professor, memoirist, and activist delivers a debut novel that's a page-turner with a message.
Rafael Zhettah doesn't want or need much out of life. He likes to cook at his restaurant, he likes to be alone, and not a single part of him expected to marry a billionaire and then be sent to death row for killing her, a murder he didn't commit. Dow (Law/University of Houston Law Center and History/Rice University; Things I've Learned from Dying, 2014, etc.) is the author of two memoirs detailing his experiences with the Texas Innocence Network, devoted to helping death row inmates with their appeals. His 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. "Men do not go crazy from being locked in a cage. They do not go crazy from the outside pushing in. They crack from the inside pushing out. When you take away hope, madness fills its place, and madness is loud." Dow knows his stuff. Authenticity is this novel's strongest element, but the message can sometimes drown out the drama. Narrated by Zhettah in a quick, direct style, the novel feels like two books in one. The first half is about Zhettah's time on death row. The second features his intricate and intriguing plan for revenge—two judges, a missile silo, two planes, a parachute, some light computer hacking, and lots of MREs feature in his plotting. In this novel, justice is not just blind, it's hamstrung, but the reader knows from the start that the scales will be balanced by the end.
A solidly suspenseful novel by an anti-death penalty activist that—despite some surprising detours—reads like a novel by an anti-death penalty activist.
Narrator Henry Levya and author David R. Dow combine to deliver an emotional wallop with this first-person mystery focused on retribution. Levya convincingly inhabits the mind of Rafael, an Everyman who is thrust onto a Texas death row only to be spit out six years later. Dow’s knowledge of Texas’s death penalty system and its inhabitants is mind-blowing—a lawyer, he has represented more than 100 death row inmates—and his sparse, clear style illuminates these details. The plot might be a bit outlandish, the premise might be muddled, and the conversations between prisoners and captors might drift into the cerebral, but none of that detracts from the emotional and intellectual impact of this audiobook. As Rafael, the ex-chef, learns, revenge is a complicated dish, whether served hot or cold. R.W.S. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Narrator Henry Levya and author David R. Dow combine to deliver an emotional wallop with this first-person mystery focused on retribution. Levya convincingly inhabits the mind of Rafael, an Everyman who is thrust onto a Texas death row only to be spit out six years later. Dow’s knowledge of Texas’s death penalty system and its inhabitants is mind-blowing—a lawyer, he has represented more than 100 death row inmates—and his sparse, clear style illuminates these details. The plot might be a bit outlandish, the premise might be muddled, and the conversations between prisoners and captors might drift into the cerebral, but none of that detracts from the emotional and intellectual impact of this audiobook. As Rafael, the ex-chef, learns, revenge is a complicated dish, whether served hot or cold. R.W.S. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine