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The Execution of Noa P. Singleton

A Novel

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

An unforgettable and unpredictable debut novel of guilt, punishment, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive
 
      Noa P. Singleton never spoke a word in her own defense throughout a brief trial that ended with a jury finding her guilty of first-degree murder. Ten years later, having accepted her fate, she sits on death row in a maximum-security penitentiary, just six months away from her execution date. 
   Meanwhile, Marlene Dixon, a high-powered Philadelphia attorney who is also the mother of the woman Noa was imprisoned for killing. She claims to have changed her mind about the death penalty and will do everything in her considerable power to convince the governor to commute Noa's sentence to life in prison, in return for the one thing Noa can trade: her story. Marlene desperately wants to understand the events that led to her daughter’s deathevents that only Noa knows of and has never shared. Inextricably linked by murder but with very different goals, Noa and Marlene wrestle with the sentences life itself can impose while they confront the best and worst of what makes us human.
Now with Extra Libris material, including a reader’s guide and bonus content

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from April 8, 2013
      At the start of attorney Silver’s searing debut, Noa Singleton, a convicted murderer on Pennsylvania’s death row scheduled to be executed in six months, receives an offer of help from the most unlikely of sources—her pregnant victim’s mother, Marlene Dixon. A high-powered Philadelphia lawyer, Marlene has changed her views on the death penalty and will champion a petition to commute Noa’s sentence to life in prison—if Noa reveals what drove her to kill her one-time University of Pennsylvania classmate. But is this a good-faith offer, or just an attempt by a grief-stricken and guilt-ridden mother to exact some final revenge? The appealing but morally anorexic Noa is left to wonder as she proffers tantalizing peeks of her past (or are they self-serving fictions?), from memories of her narcissistic, manipulative mother to the ex-con father she would have been better off never meeting. This devastating read stands less as a polemic against the death penalty than as a heartbreaking brief for the preciousness of life. Agent: Richard Pine, Inkwell Management.

    • Library Journal

      June 1, 2013

      For the past decade, Noa P. Singleton, now 35, has been sitting on death row in Pennsylvania for the murder of wealthy Sarah Dixon, after having suffered the lifelong misfortune of being surrounded by selfish people with suspicious pasts and hidden motivations. Now, six months before Noa's execution, Marlene, the victim's mother and a successful lawyer, files a clemency petition for Noa--but why? Meanwhile, inexperienced attorney Oliver Stansted begins to find evidence that may save Noa as readers try to decide whether she is truly guilty or innocent. Silver carefully considers all of her characters' motivations, and the truth of what really happened is revealed in a stunning climax. VERDICT In this compelling debut by an award-winning writer and lawyer, the story of Noa's life is told through flashbacks and her own memories. A clever examination of the nature of destiny and the choices we make, this thought-provoking book is reminiscent of John Grisham's The Confession in its exploration of the death penalty. Silver has successfully written a suspenseful, absorbing tale. This is a special treat for mystery fans. [The author is speaking at the LJ/Random House author breakfast at BEA.--Ed.]--Mariel Pachucki, Seattle

      Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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  • English

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