Certainty by Laura Dave

A woman serving on a high-profile jury finds that doubt casts a long shadow.

Recently unemployed, struggling in a marriage rocked by infertility, Cora is desperately clinging to her desire to see the best in people. Then she receives a jury summons for the murder trial of Dr. Preston Becker.

The powerful pharmaceutical executive stands accused of running down two young girls on a rainy night in a busy New York intersection. At first, the case seems straightforward. The victims’ father was investigating Becker’s company, and their mother’s devastating testimony leaves little doubt that lives were shattered.

But as the trial advances, easy answers recede. Competing accounts carry conflicting truths. Was the crash a calculated act or a terrible accident? And why does every witness reveal new shades of gray?

Sequestered with eleven strangers, eleven different views of the elusive facts, Cora reaches the limits of certainty. She must confront the unsettling realization that all the evidence in the world is not enough to truly understand another person.

Kindle Edition, 34 pages

Expected publication December 1, 2026

 by Amazon Original Stories

2/5 stars

Certainty was one of November’s Amazon First Reads picks, with Laura Dave’s name on the cover, the author of The Last Thing He Told Me, I had high hopes.

This started out with real potential. The main character, Cora, seems to be on a mission to get herself onto a jury, I was immediately curious about why. Unfortunately, as the story went on, it settled into a sad murder trial all around, not much else.

I kept reading, waiting for something to happen. When it finally did, it came completely out of the blue and didn’t really make sense to me. Rather than a satisfying twist, it left me scratching my head.

For a story meant to be read in one sitting, I’d honestly like that hour back so I could have spent it on something else. Not every short story lands, sadly this one missed the mark for me.

The kindle copy was obtained through Amazon First Reads, in exchange for honest review.