Legal Fiction Thrillers

Returning from her late shift as a barmaid at a casino in Lake Tahoe, Misty Patterson struck her violently jealous husband in self-defense. She admits that—but did she kill him? She says she can't remember. Like so many times before, Misty blacked out and the rest of the evening is a blank. Now her husband has disappeared, leaving behind a trail of blood, and she's the number-one murder suspect with no one to turn to for help.

As a newly minted assistant U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., Anna Curtis has already developed a thick skin to help her deal with the unsettling brutality she encounters daily with her overflowing stack of domestic violence cases. Yet when Laprea Johnson walks into Anna's life - battered by her boyfriend on the morning after Valentine's Day - there's something about this particular case that Anna can't quite shake....

The office of the public defender is not known as a training ground for bright young litigators. Clay Carter has been there too long and, like most of his colleagues, dreams of a better job in a real firm. When he reluctantly takes the case of a young man charged with a random street killing, he assumes it is just another of the many senseless murders that hit DC every week. As he digs into the background of his client, Clay stumbles on a conspiracy too horrible to believe.

In the ninth installment of New York Times best-selling author Sheldon Siegel's iconic San Francisco series, ex-spouses Mike Daley and Rosie Fernandez have come a long way from their days as small-time defense attorneys. No longer working in a converted martial arts studio on the earthy side of Mission Street. Rosie is now San Francisco's Public Defender, and Mike is the head of the Felony Division. Their daughter is in college. Their son is in middle school. For the first time in years, there is a semblance of order in their lives. It doesn't last long.

In a case based on a lie, only one man knows the truth. Attorney Dan Stidham breaks his self-imposed 30-year silence to expose details only he knows about the infamous West Memphis Three murders. Exposing what happened will allow him to close the door on a case that tormented him for years and to help exonerate the three innocent young men who spent decades in prison because of the malevolence of the police, prosecution, and judge.

What do you get when you mix beautiful people, family secrets, and a yacht washed up on Sunset Key with a hundred grand in cash and a dying man? Steve Solomon sees a case that can get Solomon & Lord off the ground. But Victoria Lord spies a golden opportunity to go out on her own.

When Dean Lincoln takes on the high-profile appeal of a man accused of killing a respected South Carolina judge, he knows the case is stacked against him. But as Lincoln digs deeper, he uncovers more than procedural missteps—he finds a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of power. With dangerous men closing ranks and witnesses going silent, Lincoln must risk everything to unravel a web of corruption before it buries him next.

What began as a weekend fishing trip, turns into the fight of his life when lawyer Ben Carter finds a young boy alone on the side of a road in upstate New York. Quickly linking the boy to a murder scene more than a hundred miles away, the pair travel to nearby Pittsburgh, where a mystery thrusts them both into the fight of their lives.

When online influencer Simone Baker asks Leland Munroe to defend her on a criminal charge, the small town lawyer is ready to say no. He’s not a criminal lawyer—despite what the people of Basking Rock seem to think. Social media and manslaughter are both far from his area of expertise. But with no other clients coming through his door, Leland takes the job to make ends meet.

An uncomfortable weekend awaits LA family lawyer Sandy Moss when she makes her way to her hometown in New Jersey for the wedding of her cousin Stephanie, sweetly nicknamed Skinny. Uncomfortable, because Sandy is not really looking forward to seeing her family, but at least her boyfriend, Hollywood movie star Patrick McNabb, is by her side.

A dark and daring debut novel exploring power, control and resilience against all odds, The Tribes tells the story of a cult member accused of a shocking crime and the lawyer who chooses to defend her.

Martin H. Ehrengraf, dapper and diabolical, may be Lawrence Block's darkest creation. He's the defense attorney who never sees the inside of a courtroom, because all his clients are innocent - no matter how guilty they may seem. Some even believe themselves to be guilty: They remember pulling the trigger, or wiring the dynamite to their spouse's car, or holding the bloody blade. But things have a way of working out when Martin Ehrengraf is on the case.

Qui a tué Carolyn, une talentueuse avocate aussi belle que sans scrupules, retrouvée ligotée dans son luxueux appartement ? Viol suivi de meurtre ou crime prémédité ? L'enquête menée en pleine campagne électorale par l'adjoint du procureur Rusty Sabich n'avance pas. Et quand on découvre que cet homme secret et complexe a été l'amant de Carolyn, il fait aussitôt figure de coupable idéal.

A young star dies while filming and Kaitlin O’Keefe, an ambitious and ruthless actress, gets the role. Pitting man against man, the sultry gray-eyed redhead claws her way into Hollywood's inner circle. When Kaitlin's body is found on a Malibu cliffside estate, a homicide investigation rips apart the lives of the industry elite, and the murder trial of the century shocks the world.

The dead body found in Flagstaff is not hard to identify - the District Attorney had been a well known figure. His wife admits that she pulled the trigger, but her attorney Thaddeus Murfee finds a confusing mess of evidence that tells a different story. When a beautiful teen girl arrives, Thad has to make a decision with terrifying consequences. The riveting story of one lawyer’s attempt to redeem himself, one wife’s attempt to free herself, and one young girl’s hope of a new life after years of unspeakable abuse.

Kip has been working with millionaire Max Ringle in a shady scheme to help rich, spoiled kids gain admission to elite universities. Ringle, the mastermind of the fraud, cops a plea and shifts the blame to Kip. Dr. Melissa Gold, Lassiter's fiancée, tries to keep the ailing lawyer strong enough for a grueling trial, even as his symptoms of brain damage grow worse. As a fiery showdown with Ringle brings the courtroom to a fever pitch, Lassiter risks everything - including his own life - to fight for his nephew's freedom.

Prosecutor Jessie Black has an airtight case against Tyrone Nash, a gang thug who shot a man behind a bar in West Philly. But what should be an easy trial turns complicated when Nash somehow intimidates her eyewitness, and he recants his testimony on the eve of the trial. Now Jessie's only move to stop the killer from walking is to call a witness she had hoped to avoid - Reggie Tuck, a smooth-talking jailhouse snitch who claims Nash confessed to him during a short time they shared a cell.

Christmas is coming and the world is joyful for everyone but Josie Bates. A devastating miscarriage, her employer's pending retirement, and her husband's overseas job have left her alone and adrift—until Lily Daye dies and names Josie executor of her estate. Josie has no idea who this woman is, but her will is simple and her possessions meager. In the spirit of the season, Josie accepts the job. Yet behind Lily's seemingly modest existence lies a complex, mysterious life.

No one mourned when San Francisco DA Wes Farrell put Paul Riley in prison eleven years ago for the rape and murder of his girlfriend. And no one is particularly happy to see him again when he’s released after The Exoneration Initiative uncovered evidence that pinned the crime on someone else. In fact, Riley soon turns up murdered, surrounded by the loot from his latest scam. But if Riley was really innocent all along, who wanted him dead?

In San Francisco's seamy Tenderloin district, a teenage street hustler has been murdered in a shelter for boys. And the dedicated priest who runs the struggling home stands accused. But despite damning evidence that he's a killer—and worse—Father Thomas Martin stands by his innocence. And attorney Peter Donley stands with him.