A Massachusetts couple's life is turned upside down by the possibility that their son Jacob is actually a murderer, forcing them to confront the limits of what they'd do to protect their family or learn the truth.
That's the plot of Rosellen Brown's novel Before and After (and its underwhelming film adaptation). It's also the plot, right down to the state and name of the potential demon-spawn son, of William Landay's novel Defending Jacob and the Apple TV+ limited series adaptation that premieres this week.
This isn't to imply any sort of theft or narrative borrowing. Quite the opposite, actually. It's to point out that the parent's worst nightmare scenario in these stories — it's the rare TV procedural that doesn't feature at least one.
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