Legal Fiction Thrillers

With money and hope in short supply, newly minted attorney Brigham Theodore decides it’s time to lower his standards. He joins a seedy fly-by-night firm in Salt Lake City out of desperation. After he loses his first case - a speeding ticket - he’s convinced his career is over. But to his shock, his boss hands him a slightly more complex case: capital murder.

Ten years have passed, but everyone remembers The Angel Killer. Sebastian Croll was just eleven years old when accused of murdering his playmate. Criminal attorney Daniel Hunter helped prove Sebastian's innocence in a trial that gripped the nation—and now the past is being unearthed when he gets a call from his old client. Sebastian's university professor has been brutally murdered—and everyone who knew her is in the frame of suspicion. As Daniel steps in to represent Sebastian for a second time, news about the boy's past spreads like wildfire, branding Sebastian as guilty.

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.

Retiring prosecutor Jessica Yardley can’t turn down one last investigation. This time, it’s a set of murders inspired by a series of grisly paintings called The Night Things. She’s the only one who can catch the killer, who’s left a trail of bodies in a rural community outside of Las Vegas. But the more Jessica finds out, the less clear her case becomes. Out of options, she’s forced to consult her serial killer ex-husband - to gain additional insight into the crimes and the killer’s motivations.

First published by St. Martin's in 1958, Robert Traver's Anatomy of a Murder immediately became the number one best seller in America, and was subsequently turned into the successful and now classic Otto Preminger film. It is is not only the most popular courtroom drama in American fiction, but one of the most popular novels of our time. A gripping tale of deceit, murder, and a sensational trial, Anatomy of a Murder is unmatched in the authenticity of its settings, events, and characters.

When San Francisco attorney Dismas Hardy gets a call saying his wife never picked the kids up from school, he's worried. Frannie's a great mother. Turns out there's a good explanation: She's in jail. Unbeknownst to her husband, Frannie has just appeared before a grand jury - and refused to share a crucial piece of information about her friend Ron, who's accused of killing his wife.

Peter Hale is a young attorney with a lot to prove. Crossing his father, one of Portland's most powerful lawyers, was a costly mistake. Now, cut loose from his job and his inheritance, Peter's has landed in the public defender's office of a small Oregon town - and in the middle of a high-profile case that could make or break his career. His mentally handicapped client, accused of the savage murder of a college coed, faces the death penalty.

Now a priest has been murdered, and a clue left at the scene suggests it to be the work of a vigilante. Was the priest a sexual predator? Could the Saint be back? For the members of the Stillwater law-enforcement community, it means that a killer could be in their midst.

For seventeen years, small-town public defender Andy Hughes has been underpaid to look after the poor, the addicted, and the unfortunate souls who constantly cycle through the courts, charged with petty crimes. Then, in the summer of 2020, he’s assigned to a grotesque murder case that brings national media focus to rural Patrick County, Virginia—Alicia Benson, the wife of a wealthy businessman, is murdered in her home. The accused killer, Damian Bullins, is a cunning felon with a long history of violence, and he confesses to the police.

Defense attorneys and former spouses Mike Daley and Rosie Fernandez have come a long way from their days working in a converted martial arts studio above a Chinese restaurant. Rosie just won her second term as public defender, and Mike is the co-head of the Felony Division. The ex-spouses-with-benefits are enjoying their newly empty nest. Their daughter is a USC alum who is making movies at Pixar. Their son is a freshman at UC-Berkeley. Finally, there is a semblance of order in their lives. It doesn’t last long.

Has Rumpole hung up his wig for good? Can it be? Yes, the beloved barrister is now retired (though far from retiring) and gently ripening to a rosy hue in the Florida sunshine. But a colleague's casual request for advice on a difficult case sends him winging back across the Atlantic, and before he's through, our hero will come up against a fanatical religious cult and a mysterious letter written in blood.

Barbara is in a world of trouble. Mitch tries to do what he can but soon finds himself on the outside looking in. Mitch takes on a new client that has been charged with felony murder, hoping it will distract him from Barbara’s challenges. It seems to help, but he finds it increasingly difficult to maintain his focus because he is sure he can recover the situation for Barbara. Mitch is in too deep before he realizes that he’s risking malpractice and that his new client might suffer for his mistakes. Mitch is at risk of losing everything.

When nineteen-year-old Jill Moss goes missing near the Utah-Arizona border, everyone has an opinion. Only Norma Gallagher, a search and rescue volunteer, knows the real story. Norma’s already found Jill, huddled in a cave and terrified that her abusive boyfriend, Jake, will kill her. If he ever sees her again. To protect Jill from a dangerous man, Norma quietly delivers the girl to her grateful parents in California, even though she’s conflicted. Keeping Jill safe and hidden from Jake, the press, and the public will be their secret. But secrets can’t last forever.

When a desperate woman comes to Daniel Pitt seeking a lawyer for her boyfriend, Rob Adwell, Daniel is convinced of the young man’s innocence. Adwell has been accused of murder and of setting a fire to conceal the body, but Daniel is sure science can absolve him - and Miriam fford Croft is the best scientist he knows. Miriam connects Daniel with her former teacher Sir Barnabas Saltram, an expert in arson, and together, they reveal Adwell’s innocence by proving that an accidental fire caused the victim’s death. But it’s not long before Adwell is killed in the same fiery fashion.

War hero General Randall Andrews has been nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court and George Carson leads the fight to defeat him. Before the final Senate vote on his nomination, Andrews is found shot to death in his Tampa home and George is arrested for murder. Judge Willa Carson believes with all her heart that her husband is the victim of twisted justice, but why won't he defend himself?

Change never comes easy, but it comes just the same, and it's on its way to the Park, to Niniltna, in southeast Alaska. This time it concerns the possibility of drilling for oil in a wildlife preserve near there, near Aleutian P.I. Kate Shugak's home territory. Battle lines are drawn across their community, but at least it gives Kate something to do. Still just months after her lover's violent death, though she doesn't know quite how, she is trying to get back into her daily life.

When a diplomatic delegation from Bhashyistan is blown sky-high on Bronson Avenue, the shares of a Calgary-based oil company promptly drop like a stone. In no time at all, Arthur Beauchamp is tangled up with wily civil servants, gung-ho cabinet members, recently released eco-terrorists, and possibly the most incompetent spy since Mata Hari.

Melanie grew up with the constant upheaval of foster care. Now that she's survived into adulthood - with a loving husband, a steady job, and a baby boy named Alex - she thought that turmoil was behind her. Until one Tuesday evening when she discovers Alex has been removed by Social Services. And no one will say why. It's a terrifying scenario for any parent, but doubly so for Melanie, who knows the unintended horrors of what everyone coldly calls "the system".

Darren Street faces the most personal and ruthless vendetta of his life. After forfeiting years serving time for a false murder conviction, former criminal defense attorney Darren Street finally got his freedom back and is trying to build a regular life. But when an unthinkable tragedy shatters his hard-earned normalcy, Street is left reeling from the devastating blow.

When attorney Ben Kincaid came to Washington, D.C., to defend a senator caught in a murder case, he never dreamed he'd end up a senator himself. After his client stepped down, Ben was appointed to complete his term. Now he must advise a Supreme Court nominee during his confirmation. The judge looks like a shoo-in, until he outs himself on national TV. Ben calls a press conference for the now controversial candidate. And then, on live TV, a brutally murdered woman is discovered in the judge's backyard.