Home › Fiction › The Murder Rule
  • The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan book cover
  • The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan book cover
1 2

The Murder Rule

by Dervla McTiernan

A law student with a hidden agenda

$17.88 USD
$27.94 USD $17.88 USD
Save 36%

Paperback New English

Delivery to your door
In stock·Dispatches in 1–2 business days
Standard shipping* from $4.35
Standard shipping transit* 5–8 business days after dispatch

Faster options are available.

Rates and delivery estimates depend on your destination and item quantity. Estimates are informational only; the final shipping method and rate are selected at checkout.
Secure checkout
American Express Apple Pay DiscoverGoogle Pay Mastercard PayPalVisa
30-day eligible returns Returns & refunds policy

Awards & Recognition

  • Critical praise

    Praised by The Wall Street Journal

    The Wall Street Journal praises the book's courtroom climax and sustained interest.

AlbakiReads Editorial

A law student with a hidden agenda

The Murder Rule brings psychological suspense into a legal setting, with its central conflict framed around a law student’s concealed purpose and a man on death row. The publisher description also points to a mother-daughter story shaped by a buried truth and a fight to uncover it. Its three stated rules—winning trust, becoming indispensable, and seeking repayment—suggest a plot organized around manipulation and revenge, while the courtroom context adds questions of justice and guilt. The book’s premise hinges on the gap between the law student’s public role and what she says she intends to do.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • For readers of psychological suspense set against a legal case.
  • For readers interested in stories about family secrets and concealed motives.
  • For readers drawn to mystery and detective fiction featuring women sleuths.

Themes

Justice and guiltDeception and manipulationFamily secretsRevenge

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

A New York Times best thriller of the year!

"Matters culminate in a courtroom fireworks display worthy of Perry Mason in his prime. The Murder Rule holds one's interest from its cheeky opening pages through its final scene." --Wall Street Journal

For fans of the compulsive psychological suspense of Ruth Ware and Tana French, a mother daughter story--one running from a horrible truth, and the other fighting to reveal it--that twists and turns in shocking ways, from the internationally bestselling author of The Scholar and The Ruin.

First Rule: Make them like you.

Second Rule: Make them need you.

Third Rule: Make them pay.

They think I'm a young, idealistic law student, that I'm passionate about reforming a corrupt and brutal system.

They think I'm working hard to impress them.

They think I'm here to save an innocent man on death row.

They're wrong. I'm going to bury him.

Shipping & returnsShipping options, delivery timing, and our return policy.

In-stock items normally dispatch within 1–2 business days. The ZIP-code estimator on this page is informational only; the final shipping method, price, and availability are confirmed at checkout for your full order.

For the initial delivery estimate we use these transit windows after dispatch: Standard 5–8 business days, Expedited 2–4 business days, and Priority 1–2 business days. Holiday delays are not included.

Eligible items can be returned within 30 days in accordance with our return policy.

Customer reviews

You may also like

View all