Primal Fear (25 in 2025 #16)

Author: William Diehl Title: Primal Fear Publisher: Ballantine Books Date Published: 09/01/1998

Read Dates: 08/05/2025- 08/06/2025
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Primal Fear is a multi POV legal thriller. Hotshot attorney Martin Vail has a flair for winning, and angering people in high places. He is pressured to take a high profile pro bono murder case, a seemingly open and shut case of a Bishop who was brutally murdered. Vail is called on to defend the primary suspect, the angelic looking young Aaron Stampler, who was found bloody and clutching the murder weapon at the scene of the crime. Determined to win, Vail has to pull out all the stops while maintaining a delicate balance in court.

This is my first time reading this book, although the movie is a favorite of mine. Even though I went in knowing the twist ending, it was still well worth the read. I enjoyed seeing what was cut out and changed from the book to the movie. Excellent legal thriller!

A Chicago pastor with a reputation as a saint is murdered, mutilated and disgraced. The night after the murder, Aaron Stampler, a disciple of the pastor with an angelic face, is found at the crime scene, kneeling with a butcher knife in his hand. Aaron claims that he did not commit the murder. The defense is taken on by Martin Vail - an outstanding lawyer, hated by prosecutors, politicians and judges. The famous lawyer has a magnificent team, makes sense of what happened from all points of view and thus begins a legal battle worthy of comparison with "Innocent until proven guilty".