Title: THE RULE
Author: David Jackson
ISBN: 9781788164375
Publisher: Viper
Pages: 336
Source: Private Copy
MY DAD SAYS BAD THINGS HAPPEN WHEN I BREAK IT…
Daniel is looking forward to his birthday. He wants pie and chips, a big chocolate cake, and a comic book starring his favourite superhero. And as long as he follows The Rule, nothing bad will happen.
Daniel will be twenty-three next week. And he has no idea that he’s about to kill a stranger.
Daniel’s parents know that their beloved and vulnerable son will be taken away. They know that Daniel didn’t mean to hurt anyone, he just doesn’t know his own strength. They dispose of the body. Isn’t that what any loving parent would do? But as forces on both sides of the law begin to close in on them, they realise they have no option but to finish what they started. Even if it means that others will have to die…
Official Summary
18 March 2025
I read the DS Nathan Cody series by David Jackson in 2022 and found myself racing through them. I have added more of his books to my TBR and The Rule has been waiting to be read for quite some time.
David Jackson has crafted a brilliant, nerve-wracking thriller in The Rule—a novel that is equal parts heartbreaking and chilling. With a plot that unfolds like a slow-motion car crash, you can’t look away, even as you dread what’s coming next. This was a five-star read for me, a book that lingers long after the final page.
At the heart of the story is Daniel, a vulnerable young man with an unspecified learning disability, whose life is carefully structured around The Rule—a simple guideline meant to keep him safe. But when Daniel unintentionally kills a stranger, his devoted parents make a fateful decision: they cover it up. What follows is a tense, morally complex spiral into desperation, as one bad choice leads to another, and the stakes keep rising.
Jackson does a phenomenal job of making the reader feel for Daniel and his parents. The father-son bond is particularly gut-wrenching, with Daniel’s dad trying to protect his child at any cost, even as the situation grows increasingly dire. The writing is sharp, the pacing relentless, and the moral dilemmas uncomfortably real. Would any parent act differently? How far would you go to protect someone you love?
What makes The Rule so compelling isn’t just the suspense—it’s the deep emotional undercurrent. Daniel isn’t a villain, nor are his parents evil. They’re flawed, desperate, and heartbreakingly human. The real horror isn’t in the violence itself but in the slow unravelling of good people who find themselves in an impossible situation.
As for the ending? Absolutely breathtaking. It left me with my heart pounding, questioning everything I thought I knew about right and wrong.
If you love psychological thrillers that are as thought-provoking as they are suspenseful, The Rule is a must-read. Dark, gripping, and emotionally devastating, it’s a book that sticks with you long after the final chapter.
Also By David Jackson
NO SECRETS
THEY ALL BELIEVE HIM
THEY BELIEVE HIS LIES. SHE KNOWS THE TRUTH.
You can’t lie to Izzy Lambert. Her highly developed empathic abilities allow her to read people’s emotions with terrifying accuracy – and consequences. As a child, her insights sparked her parents’ divorce. As an adult, she avoids getting too close to people for fear of what she might learn.
But now young girls are going missing in her town. The police have no suspects but, seeing her old school caretaker interviewed on the news about the story, Izzy comes to a chilling realisation: he knows where the missing girls are. When the police won’t take her seriously despite the lives at stake, she will risk everything to uncover the truth.
About the Author
Author bio from the author’s site
I was a latecomer to fiction writing, having spent most of my adult life producing academic papers and reports. After some limited success entering short story competitions, I submitted the first few chapters of a novel to the Crime Writers Association Debut Dagger Awards. To my great surprise, the book was not only short-listed but given the Highly Commended accolade, which stimulated the interest of agents and publishers and eventually led to the publication of PARIAH. Since then, I have written several more crime thrillers, including two series set in New York and my birth city of Liverpool. I still have a day job in Liverpool as a university academic, but now live on the Wirral with my wife, two daughters and a British Shorthair cat called Mr Tumnus.
This was one of those books I could not read fast enough. I cannot recommend this one highly enough. While a five-star rating has become a pretty rare occurrence in my GoodReads profile, this book earned it without any hesitation. I hope you will enjoy this story as much as I did. I would love to hear your thoughts, please leave a comment below. Until next time…. Happy Reading!
