Legal Crime Fiction

Cold-blooded killer JimBone Wheeler blames Tom McMurtrie for putting him on death row. He once vowed that he’d bring “a reckoning” on Tom and everyone the southern lawyer holds dear. When Wheeler escapes from prison, he aims to fulfill his promise. Victim by victim, he’s getting closer to his ultimate target. But for Tom, who’s dying of cancer, the role of savior and protector is a struggle that is becoming more desperate by the hour.

Winner of six Lambda Literary awards, the Henry Rios mystery series is iconic and Michael Nava has been hailed by The New York Times as “one of our best” writers. Here, Rios delves deeply into his Latino identity as he defends a young man charged with assassinating a prominent Los Angeles Latino politician. The San Francisco Chronicle hailed the novel and its author: “A beautifully conceived but gritty novel.... Nava writes the kind of small, clean, powerful novels that build in emotional power almost invisibly, leaving us breathless at the end.”

Attorney Dani Rollins is bullish in the courtroom - pushing judges and prosecutors to their limits in defense of the innocent. So when she meets Teddy Thorne, a mentally challenged teen accused of selling drugs, Dani knows she’s got this in the bag. She can easily settle the case with a couple of court appearances. But when prosecutors move for an adult felony conviction, Dani suspects Teddy’s being used as a pawn in a sinister game. As the case moves forward, Dani is certain the judge and district attorney’s office have motivations beyond the crime.

Ruthless defense attorney Tatum Graham has been living large in Miami, but when his recently acquitted client claims another victim, Tatum has a crisis of conscience. Disillusioned, he heads to his small Utah hometown for a simpler life...but that’s not what he finds. Soon after he arrives, Tatum’s childhood crush offers him a job at the county attorney’s office and assigns him a murder case.

In best-selling author George Higgins' electrifying legal thriller, Jerry Kennedy, the guy his ex-wife calls "the classiest sleazy criminal lawyer", must defend the man that no one else will: Billy Ryan.

San Francisco judge Ramsey Hunt, longtime friend to FBI agents Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich, begins the murder trial of Clive and Cindy Cahill, only to have federal prosecutor Mickey O’Rourke, known for his relentless, aggressive style, suddenly turn tentative and distracted. Hunt suspects that something is very wrong - and then O’Rourke goes missing and Judge Hunt gets shot in the back. Savich and Sherlock receive news of the attack as a mysterious note is delivered to Savich at the Hoover Building.

In the Company of Liars is that rare animal - a truly original thriller, strikingly fresh and unpredictable. Told chronologically in reverse, from its enigmatic end to its brilliant beginning, it's centered around a woman on trial for murder - Allison Pagone, who is caught between competing forces, each represented by someone who may not care if the pressure kills her in the end.

Defense Attorney Robin Lockwood is summoned by retired District Attorney Francis Melville to meet with him at Black Oaks, the manor he owns up in the Oregon mountains. The manor has an interesting history - originally built in 1628 in England, there's a murderous legend and curse attached to the mansion. Melville, however, wants Lockwood's help in a legal matter - righting a wrongful conviction from his days as a DA.

Tatum Knight is a former contract killer. And he's Miami criminal defense lawyer Jack Swytek's newest client. Tatum is the older brother of Jack's best friend, Theo. Theo himself spent time on death row until Jack found the evidence to prove him innocent. Jack isn't so sure about Tatum.

When Michael Garrick, a young White House lawyer, begins dating the irresistible First Daughter, Nora, he's instantly spellbound, just like everyone else in her world. A world where power is an aphrodisiac, your father is the President, your close friends wear earpieces and carry guns, and everyone watches your every move...

Faced with evidence of stunning prosecutorial misconduct, a San Francisco judge has ordered a new trial for the Maxwell brothers' father, Lawrence, who was convicted of killing their mother 21 years before. A prison snitch soon turns up dead, with Lawrence the only suspect, and Leo teams up with hotshot attorney Nina Schuyler to defend Lawrence against murder charges both old and new.

Best-selling author James Grippando is back with another innovative and action-packed thriller featuring the ever-popular Jack Swyteck. Miami criminal defense lawyer Jack Swyteck guards his own family secrets as closely as anyone, and while his father's two terms as Florida's governor made some family rifts public, things are finally better between the two men. Whenever Harry Swyteck asks for Jack's help, he gets it, and suddenly he needs it more than ever before.

It's the holiday season, but there's little reason for cheer at one of New York's most elite colleges. A respected professor is dead, strangled and dumped in an elevator shaft. Lola Dakota's lifeless fingers clutch a few strands of hair, and a piece of paper in her pocket reads "The Deadhouse". Opportunistic murder seems unlikely as assistant DA Alexandra Cooper uncovers a distressing pattern of betrayal and terror. There's proof that Lola's husband wanted her dead. And why did Lola have a photograph of Charlotte Voight pinned to her office bulletin board?

Thaddeus Murfee is pursued by the Mob now that he has helped put a godfather behind bars. He decides to file suit on behalf of certain survivors of the Mob’s latest murder. He is pursued relentlessly and runs west, where he seeks refuge while he pursues his case against a godfather and attempts to take away his toys in hopes that will end their struggle in this legal thriller.

Alex Cross has never been on the wrong side of the law - until now. Charged with gunning down followers of his nemesis Gary Soneji in cold blood, Cross is being turned into the poster child for trigger-happy cops who think they're above the law. Cross knows it was self-defense. But will a jury see it that way? As Cross fights for his professional life and his freedom, his former partner, John Sampson, brings him a gruesome, titillating video tied to the mysterious disappearances of several young girls.

When amiable Italian immigrant Pigeon Tony discovers that local drug dealers are pressuring his young neighbor into joining their ranks, he resolves to put an end to the crime wave before it can take over the community. Pigeon Tony knows the law isn’t always on the right side, but it takes only one person to rally a revolution.

You can pick your friends, they say, but you can't pick your family. And lately, Mike Daley's family has been keeping him very busy. An ex-priest, ex-public defender, and ex-corporate lawyer, Daley and his former wife, Rosie Fernandez, now run their own San Francisco criminal defense firm. Most of their cases are fairly small-time, which is why it would be surprising that the person accused of murdering movie director Richard (Big Dick) MacArthur is calling them - except that the accused is Rosie's own niece, Angelina.

Killen Erwin slumps on the other side of the desk, silently waiting for his longtime friend to respond. It’s not a question of whether Thaddeus wants to help, but whether he can. Thad barely survived last week’s savage attack, and for the first time ever, he’s feeling unsure of his abilities in front of a jury. Now, Killen’s life has fallen apart: His wife is brazenly sleeping around, he’s facing charges for driving drunk and causing a death, and a special prosecutor is hellbent on destroying him.

Ry Slaight was a rebellious cadet who almost destroyed West Point when he exposed and solved the murder of a gay cadet in 1969. Now, nearly three decades later, Slaight's been promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed Superintendent of the Military Academy. When a female cadet dies during parade, an autopsy establishes that she had sex with multiple partners the night before. Was she the victim of a gang rape? Was there a cadet orgy? Don't ask. Don't tell.

After a traumatic injury took him off the job, prosecutor Solomon Shepard is back to work, teaming up with Sheriff Billie Gray to hunt down Utah’s most dangerous criminals. Shepard has spent years away from crime scenes and courtrooms, but one of those criminals still holds a grudge. Alonso Hafeez is out of prison after eleven years, and he’s determined to prove that Shepard tried him for a crime he didn’t commit. And he’s got something special planned: kidnapping Shepard and forcing him to revisit Hafeez’s case in an elaborately staged retrial.