West Bend Community Memorial Library

Legal Thrillers - If you love John Grisham, check out our list of legal fiction.

Turning Angel by Greg Iles - His latest, a gripping legal mystery set in Natchez, Miss., proves he doesn't have to stray far from home to explore the darkest recesses of the human heart. Penn Cage—lawyer, author and protagonist of The Quiet Game—has just learned that his best friend, Dr. Andrew Elliott, was the secret lover of 17-year-old Kate Townsend, a high school senior found raped and murdered. "Drew was our golden boy, a paragon of everything small-town America holds to be noble, and by unwritten law the town will crucify him with a hatred equal to their betrayed love." Though Penn is furious with Drew for his relationship with Kate, he signs on to represent him in court and unearth the real murderer. Things look bleak for Drew as a DA with political aspirations comes up with plenty of evidence against him. When people start to die and the secret lives of the town's high school students are revealed, Penn begins to doubt not only Drew, but himself as well.

Motive by John Lescroart - "New York Times" bestselling author Lescroart returns with a blockbuster novel where political intrigue, family secrets, and compromised justice collide. This courtroom thriller brings the beloved characters, Abe Glitsky and Dismas Hardy, face-to-face with the dark corners of their own past.

Criminal Intent by William Bernhardt - In the most scandalous case of his career, Tulsa attorney Ben Kincaid defends a radical parish priest on trial for murder and facing the death penalty. Ben knows his client is innocent, but proving it means plunging into a whirlpool of dark secrets and confronting a most unexpected evil.

Dark Justice by William Bernhardt - The eighth legal thriller in the acclaimed series featuring attorney Ben Kincaid--by the bestselling author of "Extreme Justice". On vacation in the picturesque Pacific Northwest, burned out Kincaid is looking forward to rest and relaxation. But all he finds in the small town of Magic Valley is mayhem and murder.

Doctored Evidence by Michael Biehl - Written by a healthcare industry insider, this legal/medical thriller uncovers a web of intrigue involving an ambitious hospital administrator, scheming doctors, a Medicare fraud conspiracy--and murder.

A Darker Justice by Sallie Bissell - Bissell delivers a white-hot tale of a federal judge in dire jeopardy and the woman who risks everything to save her.

In the Forest of Harm by Sallie Bissell - Assistant D.A. Mary Crow is home in North Carolina visiting her two closest friends, and to hike on their favorite Smoky Mountain wilderness trail. Her recent courtroom victory made her an enemy, who tracks her down to wreak vengeance. But he's not the only predator who stalks these women through this merciless terrain.

After Image by Jay Brandon - San Antonio District Attorney Chris Sinclair has not see his first love, Jean, since college. When a young woman's body is found buried in a shallow grave, like an afterimage in his mind, he sees Jean's face in hers and knows the girl is Jean's daughter. Chris wonders if she is not his daughter as well, and vows to discover the truth, even though he fears what that might be.

Executive Privilege by Jay Brandon - A wife is desperate to save herself and her young son from a husband willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that his family doesn't get away. The twist? The wife is the First Lady and the husband is the President of the United States.

Nuremberg: The Reckoning by William F Buckley - With his customary authority and audacity, Buckley has taken a pivotal moment in history and shaped it into absorbing and original fiction. The result is a riveting novel of insight and deep understanding exploring the characters and issues that made history.

The Great Divide by T. Davis Bunn - As a small-town lawyer struggles to rebuild his life, a simple inquiry escalates into a courtroom drama of international proportions. Marcus takes the case of Alma and Austin Hall, whose daughter Gloria has disappeared in China while investigating the labor practices of the worlds largest producer of sports shoes. Traveling to Washington, he uncovers a convoluted web of greed and deceit.

Winner Take All by T. Davis Bunn - Marcus Glenwood, the determined lawyer featured in "The Great Divide, " returns in this emotionally charged legal thriller about a missing child and a father who will stop at nothing to get her back.

Absolute Certainty by Rose Connors - Martha "Marty" Nickerson is an Assistant D.A. on Cape Cod. When a young man is accused of brutally murdering a college student, Marty makes the case so solid that even public defender Harry Madigan expects a conviction. When the guilty verdict comes in, the body of another teenager is found in disturbingly similar circumstances. Certain the killer will strike again, Marty and two colleagues try to unearth the secrets of the murders.

Fault Lines by Natasha Cooper - As a barrister specializing in children's cases, Trish Maguire is no stranger to child abuse. But a case of alleged abuse in a children's home is made more harrowing when the star witness turns up dead--seemingly the victim of a known serial rapist and killer.

Proof of Intent by William J. Coughlin - Sloan, the thrice-divorced, formerly hard-drinking defense attorney from suburban Detroit, finds himself working for a particularly difficult client. Miles Dane, a thriller writer of fading popularity, stands accused of beating his wife to death. Dane insists he didn't commit the murder, but his implausible story of a late-night intruder strikes Sloan as a defense he would rather not take into court. Dane alludes to another version of events that would completely clear him, but he won't tell Sloan what it is. As the media frenzy over the trial of the enigmatic writer intensifies, Sloan has no option but to begin digging into Dane's personal life.

Primal Fear by William Diehl - After a sainted Chicago archbishop is brutally murdered in his rectory, altar boy Aaron Stampler is found hiding in a confessional, clutching a bloody knife and swearing he is innocent. Brilliant "bad-boy" lawyer Martin Vail eagerly seizes the opportunity to defend Stampler, the young human monster. But first he must uncover the horrifying truth behind the archbishop's slaughter....

L.A. Justice by Christopher Darden - Best-selling author and renowned O.J. Simpson prosecutor Christopher Darden returns with a new legal thriller featuring an ambitious assistant district attorney and her homicide detective lover.

The Last Defense by Christopher Darden - The "literary dream team" returns with a gripping new novel about an African-American lawyer forced to defend a white vice detective who's a known racist and prime murder suspect.

Life Sentence by David Ellis - Jon Soliday and Grant Tully share a dirty secret from their teenage years: after a night of drinking and drugs, Soliday climbed through the bedroom window of a beautiful young woman and then blacked out. Consequently, he doesn't remember anything after that-not even how she ended up dead. Via family connections, Soliday eludes prosecution, and 20 years later he is chief legal counsel to Senator Tully, who is running a fierce campaign for governor. Soliday finds a legal loophole that can get Tully's opponent disqualified, but a setup, blackmail, and murder put a definite crimp in their plans.

Bone Vault by Linda Fairstein - Matters take a deadly turn when the body of a young museum researcher is found in an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus, and it's up to Assistant DA Alex Cooper to penetrate New York's exclusive museum society and track down the mysterious killer.

Cold Hit by Linda Fairstein - The mysterious death of a wealthy art collector leads Assistant D.A. Alexandra Cooper and NYPD detectives Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace on a quest for clues that takes them behind the scenes at glitzy East Side auction houses, to top-level police meetings, and into courtrooms, where justice does not always prevail.

Beyond Suspicion by James Grippando - Lawyer Jack Swyteck takes on what looks like an easy case, and wins, only to discover that his client has scammed everyone. When the client turns up dead in Jack's bathtub, Jack and an ex-con named Theo must find the killer before they fall victim to the new powerhouse on Miami's notorious crime scene.

Under Cover of Darkness by James Grippando - In this latest from Grippando (Found Money), the marriage of high-powered attorney Gus Wheatley and his insecure wife, Beth--already unfamiliar terrain to both partners--is invaded by a serial-killer. Beth seems to have it all: the perfect home and a precious young daughter. Yet she vanishes one afternoon without taking a single piece of her life, including her child, who is left waiting all evening at private school. Rookie FBI agent Andie Henning has recently ditched her loser of a fianc at the altar and welcomes the opportunity to work on what turns out to be a high-profile serial-killer case. Gus's world continues self-destructing, as his daughter, sister, and colleagues judge and reject him, the killer piles up Beth lookalike victims, and eerie telephone clues indicate that she may be alive and in the killer's clutches. In the meantime, Gus learns some rather sad and unsavory things about the wife he thought he knew.

The Brethren by John Grisham - Housed at Trumble, a minimum security federal prison, are three former judges who call themselves The Brethren. They meet each day in the law library where they write briefs, handle cases for other inmates, practice law without a license, and sometimes dispense jailhouse justice--and they also spend hours hatching schemes to make money. Then, when one of their scams goes awry and ensnares an innocent man with dangerous friends, The Brethren's days of quietly marking time are over.

The Firm by John Grisham - Mitchell Y. McDeere has worked hard to get where he is: third in his class at Harvard Law. Aggressively recruited by all the top firms, and initially headed for Wall Street, Mitch surprised everyone by joining Bendini, Lambert and Locke, a very private, very rich tax firm in Memphis.

Equivocal Death by Amy Gutman - In this electrifying thriller, first-time author Gutman catapults readers into a world of deception, legal maneuvering, and murder. Just out of Harvard Law School, Kate Paine is on the fast track at Samson and Mills, the nation's most powerful law firm. Assigned to assist the charismatic managing partner in a high-profile sexual harassment case, she can hardly believe her good luck. But with the brutal murder of Madeline Waters, a beautiful female partner, Kate's carefully constructed world begins to collapse.

The Anniversary by Amy Gutman - It's been five years since the execution of Steven Gage, a devious, charming psychopath who took the lives of more than a hundred women.  In those five years, three women connected with his case have moved on. His attorney has rid herself of the stigma of defending Gage. A true-crime writer has started a new project after her bestseller about his rampage. And Steven's ex-girlfriend has made a new life for herself - one where she won't be reminded that she once shared her home with a monster. But someone hasn't moved on. On the fifth anniversary of Gage's execution, each of the three women gets a private note ... a chilling message that lets them all know they haven't been forgotten, and that in someone's dark imagination, Gage's legacy of terror lives on. At the time of his sentencing, Gage issued a terrifying edict that all three women hoped was meaningless. As threats against them turn deadly, the past explodes into the present. And one woman is in the fight of her life to uncover who is responsible - a killer who is determined to start up the string of murders right where they stopped.

Blood and Guile by William Hoffman - Not an avid hunter, Walter Frampton II, Esq., is invited on a grouse hunting trip by his best friend, Drake Wingo and Cliff Dickens, another old friend. One grouse is bagged when Walter and Drake hear three shots -- a distress signal from Cliff. The fourth member of their group, a polite stranger, has been accidentally shot and killed, but the details don't add up.

Law of Gravity by Stephen Horn - The "New York Times" bestselling author follows up his acclaimed debut novel, "In Her Defense, " with this thriller. When disgraced former White House lawyer Philip Barkley investigates the disappearance of a government employee, the search threatens to upset the balance of power in Washington.

Cold Justice by Jonnie Jacobs - San Francisco lawyer Kali O'Brien has taken on a case that hits close to home: the murder of her best friend by a serial killer who has stepped out of Kali's own past.

Witness for the Defense by Jonnie Jacobs - When Kali O'Brien handles an adoption case for Ted and Terri Harper, she breathes a sigh of relief when the teenage mother promptly signs the adoption papers. Then it becomes a case of murder when a controversial radio talk show host--the baby's father--is slain.

Blindside by Jim R. Lane - Navy intelligence officer Neal Olen faces the archaic machinery of military justice when he is recognized as the officer on whom a fictional character is based in a salacious novel.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence, and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina and quiet heroism of one man's struggle for justice.

The Hearing by John Lescroart - When a rising star in San Francisco's legal firmament is found shot in a dark alley, a lethal web of political corruption, legal conspiracy and cold-blooded murder begins to unravel. In a case that will send shock waves through the city and echo in the private lives of its most prominent citizens, the hearing is just the beginning.

The Oath by John Lescroart - Defense attorney Dismas Hardy makes a terrifying discovery while investigating the murder of the head of San Francisco's largest HMO: too many patients have been dying, and it looks like it is the hospital that is killing them. In "The Oath, " Lescroart pits Hardy and homicide lieutenant Abe Glitsky against each other in a story of bad medicine and hard-hitting justice.

Gone But Not Forgotten by Philip Margolin - Images of gruesome violence pervade this gripping tale of abduction and serial murder. Affluent housewives in Portland, Ore., are disappearing without a trace. In each case the only clue is a black rose and a note reading, ``Gone, but Not Forgotten.'' Upstate New York police detective Nancy Gordon arrives to tell Portland's DA of a similar series of murders she had investigated back East. After implicating powerful local developer Martin Darius in the crimes, Gordon herself disappears. When several mutilated bodies are found at a construction site owned by Darius, police take him into custody. Darius's newly retained attorney, criminal lawyer Betsy Tannenbaum--a zealous advocate of women's rights and a successful defender of battered wives--begins her own search, which leaves her wondering if Darius is a psychotic killer on the loose, or the victim of a government cover-up involving the President's nominee for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Ties that Bind by Philip Margolin - Still recovering from the traumatic events that concluded the bestselling "Wild Justice, " lawyer Amanda Jaffe uncovers the trail of a fiercely secret fraternity of powerful and dangerous men behind a political conspiracy.

Billy Strobe by John S. Martel - Billy Strobe is a lawyer and an ex-con, a man who believes in the law but always seems to be on the wrong side of it. Working to clear the names of the two men he respects most in life, his quest for justice will ultimately force him to choose between loyalty and the safety of himself and a woman he has come to love.

The Arraignment by Steve Martini - Martini crafts yet another legal nail-biter featuring perennial favorite attorney Paul Madriani. After a lawyer friend is killed along with his client in a hail of gunfire outside the federal courthouse in San Diego, Madriani takes on another client who he believes is involved at the edges of the double murder.

The Attorney by Steve Martini - Paul Madriani is back--as both defense attorney and sleuth--in this riveting new legal thriller by the bestselling author of "The Judge" and "Undue Influence." After Jonah, an elderly man who is raising his eight-year-old granddaughter, wins the lottery, he becomes the target of a blackmail attempt and is accused of murder.

Suspicion of Madness by Barbara Parker - Parker's sixth contribution to her "Suspicion of" series takes Gail Connor and Anthony Quintana on a working vacation to the Florida Keys. Shortly after their arrival, Anthony is retained to represent a former client, a 19-year-old who has confessed to murdering his mother and step-father, owners of the posh Buttonwood Resort on Lindeman Key-a murder the vacationing couple doesn't believe he committed. Even before Anthony and Gail can settle into their bungalow, they become acquainted with an assortment of soon-to-become suspects, who range from a handyman to an aging movie star. As the case unfolds, these characters reveal their unique claim to possible madness and motive. Meanwhile, Gail and Anthony toy with the idea of turning the trip into a honeymoon when a tropical storm threatens the Keys.

Suspicion of Vengeance by Barbara Parker - Gail Connor and Anthony Quintana return in Parker's riveting new thriller. When The Innocence Project--an organization that seeks to free innocent death-row inmates using DNA testing--asks Quintana to take on the appeal of a convicted killer, he jumps at the chance, little realizing that he and Gail will discover that a miscarriage of justice masks a surprising conspiracy . . . and a dark act of vengeance.

Violence, Nudity, Adult Content by Vince Passaro - With "Violence, Nudity, Adult Content, " the noted essayist and short story writer Vince Passaro offers a revelatory first novel of crime, sexual damage, and personal redemption--in a story that combines the grit of a Scott Turow courtroom thriller with an astute vision of a crumbling marriage, worthy of Russell Banks or Lorrie Moore. With present-day New York City teeming darkly as a backdrop to the relentless action, this thriller fires on all cylinders as a compelling literary page-turner.

Balance of Power by Richard North Patterson - President Kerry Kilcannon and his fiancée, television journalist Lara Costello, have at last decided to marry. But their wedding is followed by a massacre of innocents in a lethal burst of gunfire, challenging their marriage and his presidency in ways so shattering and indelibly personal that Kilcannon vows to eradicate gun violence and crush the most powerful lobby in Washington - the Sons of the Second Amendment (SSA).  Allied with the President's most determined rival, the resourceful and relentless Senate Majority Leader Frank Fasano, the SSA declares all-out war on Kerry Kilcannon, deploying its arsenal of money, intimidation, and secret dealing to eviscerate Kilcannon's crusade - and, it hopes, destroy his presidency. This ignites a high-stakes game of politics and legal maneuvering in the Senate, the courtroom, and across the country, which the charismatic but untested young President is determined to win at any cost. But in the incendiary clash over gun violence and gun rights, the cost to both Kilcannons may be even higher than he imagined.  And others in the crossfire may also pay the price: the idealistic lawyer who has taken on the gun industry; the embattled CEO of America's leading gun maker; the war-hero senator caught between conflicting ambitions; the female senator whose career is at risk; and the grief-stricken young woman fighting to emerge from the shadow of her sister, the First Lady.

Protect and Defend by Richard North Patterson - In a compelling new novel, Patterson makes a major departure that confirms his place among the most important writers at work today. A newly elected president faces the unexpected chance to nominate a new chief justice of the Supreme Court, but the Senate majority leader is determined to thwart the nomination for reasons that cross the boundary between the political and the personal. What results is the definitive novel of politics and law at the dawn of the 21st century.

Indictment for Murder by Peter Rawlinson - Jonathan Playfair, Knight of the Realm, stands trial for the murder of a man with whom he had fought side-by-side 50 years earlier in the mountains of North Africa. As he sits in the courtroom, Jonathan is consumed by long-buried memories of North Africa and the recurring scene of a man's death.

Buried Evidence by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg - Flawed heroes (or heroines) are nothing new in fiction. But Lily Forrester, the protagonist of Nancy Rosenberg's new novel, Buried Evidence, has a few skeletons in her closet that rattle alarmingly when her ex-husband threatens to open the door to her past. Unless Lily uses her legal connections (she's a Santa Barbara district attorney) to get him out of a drunken vehicular homicide charge in Los Angeles, he'll rat on her to the authorities. To further complicate matters, Lily's daughter Shana, a UCLA student, is the only other suspect in the hit-and-run incident. When her ex is murdered shortly after Lily bails him out, Shana, who found her father's body, is again a suspect. And Shana's being stalked by the psychopath who raped both her and her mother six years ago. Add a wrongful murder, a retired cop who lied to protect Lily, and a rich, handsome, successful lawyer who's still in love with her even though he knows her darkest secrets (or maybe because of them), and you have enough ingredients to keep this racy mystery moving a lot faster than traffic on the California freeways.

Natural Law by D.R. Schanker - In the sequel to Edgar-nominated A Criminal Appeal, attorney Nora Lumsey is hired by a drug-addicted prostitute under suspicion for the murder of a well-known professor. As the plot unfolds, evidence emerges of a police cover-up, a rape committed by one of Indiana University's star basketball players, and the sordid pasts of victim, suspects, and even Nora herself. But does a sordid past point to a criminal mind?

Courting Trouble by Lisa Scottoline - When she awakens one morning to reports that she's been killed, Anne Murphy, the redheaded rookie at an all-female law firm, decides to play dead in order to stay alive. Turning to her colleagues to help her solve her own murder, Anne and the other women race the clock to hunt down the killer.

Vendetta Defense by Lisa Scottoline - Attorney Judy Carrier takes on the defense of an old Italian pigeon-keeper who killed because of a 50-year-old vendetta. With help from Pigeon Tony's grandson, a terrific guy and a hunk to boot, it looks as if Judy might just get her client off the hook until the vendetta comes to life and a deadly case of murder takes an even deadlier twist.

Lines of Defense by Barry Siegel - When a house fire claims the lives of a kindly local retiree and an 11-year-old girl, Sheriff's detective Douglas Bard has a tough time accepting the district attorney's determination that the blaze was an accident.

Special Circumstances by Sheldon Siegel - When Mike Daley gets fired from a prestigious San Francisco law firm, he starts a private practice. His first case is huge--to defend his best friend and former colleague, who's accused of killing two people at his old firm. Working to prove his friend's innocence, Daley uncovers the dirty secrets of his former partners and begins to question the legal system itself.

Act of God by Susan R. Sloan - When the Seattle Family Services Center, a highly controversial abortion clinic, crumbles from the explosion of a handmade bomb, nearly 200 innocent men, women, and children are killed. Local police, under pressure to identify the terrorist, arrest Corey Dean Latham, a young naval officer. Attorney Dana McAuliffe, assigned to defend him, is challenged by public demonstrations, gatherings of the victims' families, and the constant presence of the media in both the public and the private lives of everyone possibly associated with the happenings. Yet she builds a defense for the man who's been convicted in the court of public opinion.

Absolute Rage by Robert K. Tannenbaum - When a fast-rising, blue-collar Teamster with designs on the union presidency is murdered in West Virginia, along with his wife and youngest child, the victim's two surviving children demand Chief Assistant DA Butch Karp take the case. Karp is wary about wading into such a politically dicey and potentially ominous situation. His fears are justified when his beloved Marlene and their three children are targeted by the killers.

Enemy Within by Robert K. Tanenbaum - Lawyer and law professor Tanenbaum (Reckless Endangerment) brings back his husband-and-wife team of chief ADA Butch Karp and former gunslinger Marlene Ciampi to fight corruption while bringing up their "mutant offspring" in the whirlwind of IPO-era New York City. Opening with two shooting cases Karp suspects are being rammed through "the system" for purposes of political expediency (it being an election year for the DA), the bedraggled-but-upstanding Karp finds himself in a dire situation involving allegations of racism, police conspiracy and potentially misguided use of the newly reinstated death penalty. His spitfire Italian wife, Marlene from Queens, having hung up her guns for a quiet job with a corporate security firm, is swept away on a tide of newfound paper wealth when her company issues a sky-high IPO following a suspiciously well-timed VIP rescue in Kosovo. Meanwhile, their eldest, wayward genius Lucy (who can absorb languages like a sponge), has gotten herself involved in a dicey situation through her charitable work with the homeless when a serial killer begins targeting her charges.

Past Tense by William G. Tapply - Boston attorney Brady Coyne begins to wonder about his new girlfriend after her stalker turns up dead on their front porch, then she promptly disappears.

Popular Legal Thriller Authors
William Bernhardt
William J. Coughlin
John Grisham
Linda Fairstein
John Lescroart
Philip Margolin
Steve Martini
Richard North Patterson
Nancy Taylor Rosenberg
Lisa Scottoline
Robert Tanenbaum
Scott Turow
Kate WIlhelm

Updated January 11, 2007