Book picks similar to
Color of Justice by J. Leon Pridgen II


suspense
afro-american
legal-thriller
courtroom-drama

A Thug's Love 2


Jessica N. Watkins - 2015
    I was back with my family, and I assumed that the nightmare had come to an end. Little did I know, the nightmare had actually just begun. Everybody around me was keeping secrets that would send me right back to a dark place; a place way worse than the prison that I had just emerged from. This time of my life was supposed to be my "happily ever after the bullshit." King's empir e was bringing in more money than he could count. I was about to get the wedding of my dreams. On the outside, things looked so perfect, and I was beyond happy. In fact, I was so happy that I didn't see the deceit that was happening right under my nose. They say that every friendship, every relationship, is bound to fall apart when you start keeping secrets. That couldn't be truer with King, Meech, Siren, Dolla and Jada. They were all keeping secrets that would tear apart our family and our business, and I was too busy in my own immense happiness to even see it. But soon I would. Merely weeks after my release, I would find myself, once again, in a world that was turned upside down, and yet again, all of the blame would fall on my undying loyalty to my King.

Blossom


Queen Pen - 2006
    Lavished with expensive jewelry, exotic getaways, and, most important, her first love, Blossom's life is transformed. But her fairy tale is quickly ended when a murder occurs -- meant for the two lovers -- and Dude's emotional pain and controlling temper cause him to change his attitude toward Blossom. Soon deceit casts a dark shadow over their relationship, and Blossom is left feeling abandoned and betrayed -- but still hopelessly in love. A portrait of life in urban black America, Blossom takes us on the rocky journey of falling in love with a street hustler, where tomorrow is never guaranteed -- even for Blossom, a woman full of such life and promise.

Misjudged: A Legal Thriller


James Chandler - 2020
    The mountains and streams of the west would be a refreshing, quiet place to start over after years of war and turmoil in his personal life.But after a local woman is brutally murdered, Sam realizes that things aren’t so quiet in this rural American town. The accused is one Tommy Olsen, a known delinquent who had been sleeping with the victim. Sam is repulsed by the crime and wants nothing to do with the case, but meets with Tommy to make sure he has legal representation.Yet things are not as they seem.What begins as a cut-and-dry case becomes infinitely more complicated as new facts are uncovered, and Sam agrees to serve as Tommy’s defense attorney.With the killer’s identity still unknown, Sam is enveloped in the small-town politics and courtroom drama of a murder investigation that keeps getting more shocking.But if Sam can’t uncover the truth, an innocent man might be punished...while the real killer watches from the shadows.

Holloway Falls


Neil Cross - 2003
    Gentle man. Wanted man. Holloway has secrets. Years ago, he witnessed his wife's betrayal and his life fell apart. Now someone's toying with his mind and the life of a missing woman, the prostitute Holloway pays to imitate his ex-wife. When she is murdered, his ex-wife's name scrawled on her abdomen, Holloway is trapped by the consequence of love and sex, of infidelity and violence in a world of his own terrible making. Hunted as a rogue policeman and a killer, he's on the run. And planning retribution.

Justice Redeemed


Scott Pratt - 2015
    Now the hotheaded young lawyer is in the public eye yet again—this time, accused of murder.Jalen Jordan retained Street for what seemed to be a minor traffic violation, but when evidence turned up linking Jordan to the death of two boys, Street wanted out of the case. To ensure his lawyer’s cooperation and silence, Jordan threatened to make Street’s son the next victim. Shortly after, Jordan’s own body turned up with a bullet hole in his chest.Now Street is on trial for his life, and the enemy he made in the DA’s office is clearly out for blood. It’s one lawyer out to frame another. Can a desperate father escape punishment for a crime he didn’t commit?

A Good Man Is Hard to Find


ReShonda Tate Billingsley - 2010
    . . set in one of the world’s most exotic locales. After her company is bought out by a tabloid magazine, career-driven journalist Ava Cole is less than thrilled to be covering celebrity fluff stories—even if her first assignment sends her to Aruba for the high-profile wedding of pop star India Wright. Maybe a solo excursion far from home will help her forget about her crazy family and her suddenly ex-boyfriend, who seems to have trouble with two simple words: “I do.” It doesn’t take long for the steamy island atmosphere to work its magic, and Ava finds herself enjoying a sexy flirtation with Cliff, the photographer shooting the singer’s nuptials. Just as their attraction heats up, Ava uncovers a bombshell of blackmail, deadly deceptions, and international intrigue that will all but destroy India Wright. With ominous threats closing in after the story leaks, whom can Ava trust with her explosive information, her heart—and her life?

Threesome: Where Seduction Power and Basketball Collide


BRENDA L THOMAS - 2001
    Follow along as the threads of love, happiness and self-worth are woven together to create the fabric of Threesome About the Author: Ms. Thomas is a native of Philadelphia and currently works as a marketing professional at a global law firm. She previously worked as a senior executive secretary for IBM and went on to establish the marketing edge of the basketball footwear and apparel company, AND 1. In addition to creating her own business, Admin Ink, she also worked as the personal assistant to NBA All-Star Stephon X. Marbury.

The Sisters of Theta Phi Kappa


Kayla Perrin - 2001
    Now, ten years later, they seem to have it all. Jessica is in the limelight, a TV personality whose star is on the rise. Ellie is an optimist, happily engaged in the quest for love. Shereen is a stunning and powerful executive, and Yolanda, the strong-willed leader of the group, has defied her roots to capture her vision of the American dream. But years before, these four women banded together to keep a devastating secret-and now, ten years later, someone will do anything to see the secret brought to light. None of them anticipated the consequences of keeping the secret-and now, someone is trying to shatter all their lives. Intense, powerful, page-turning, and emotional, The Sisters of Theta Phi Kappa will keep you guessing and will make you think about the depths of friendship, the price of loyalty, and the bonds of sisterhood.

The Prize


Geoffrey M. Cooper - 2018
    Pam Weller makes the discovery of a lifetime when she finds a drug with the potential for treating Alzheimer’s. But her success threatens the supremacy of Eric Prescott, a leading figure in Alzheimer’s research. Lusting relentlessly for the Nobel Prize, Prescott fears that Pam’s work will derail his ambitions. He seduces one of Pam’s research fellows and enlists her in a plot to brand Pam a fraud and steal her discovery. Leading Pam into a world where nothing is real, except threats to her career, her freedom and even her life.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------“Fans of Robin Cook-style medical thrillers will relish the interpersonal relationships, drama, and contrast between lab and scientific research special interests…..the result is a thoroughly engrossing science odyssey that touches upon social and research issues alike.” D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review“One of the highlights of this book is how comfortably Cooper manages to find a balance in presenting difficult scientific topics in an easy-to-follow narrative….An intense story about ruthlessness in the scientific community.” – Kirkus Reviews “Geoffrey M. Cooper creates stunning antagonists in THE PRIZE, while peeling back the curtain of the scientific community to reveal its humanity. A great read for science lovers and anyone who enjoys a big, juicy scandal.” Ditrie Marie Bowie, IndieReader 4.5 Stars“The Prize is a clever, suspenseful page-turner for seasoned lab-coat wearers and novice geeks alike. The real question here is...what took Geoffrey M. Cooper so long to start writing fiction. If he ever gets tired of test tubes and academic politics in real life, The Prize proves that he has the imagination and literary chops to have a robust second career as a writer.” – Colorado Book Review 4.5 Stars“The book provides a serious account of how scientific investigation can be side-tracked by chicanery…The end spirals to a climax that is only partially predictable.” – San Francisco Book Review 5 Stars“A fast-paced science thriller that would rival Michael Crichton or Patricia Cornwell” – Manhattan Book Review“For readers who enjoy medical thrillers, The Prize is a top-notch entry into the genre…an immensely satisfying read.” – Self-Publishing Review 4.5 Stars“A medical thriller at its best, featuring themes that are real and contemporary and characters that are highly believable. The reader gets sucked into a world of science and medicine, with characters that are driven and rock-solid… Geoffrey M Cooper demonstrates a great gift for conflict and plot, weaving scenes that are emotionally rich and focused, and keeping the reader excited about the plot with well-crafted suspense and red herrings. The Prize is surely a bestseller in the making, a page-turner that is intelligently plotted and accomplished with unusual finesse and mastery.” – Readers’ Favorite 5 Stars

Blood Defense


Marcia Clark - 2016
    J. Simpson trial prosecutor Marcia Clark, a “terrific writer and storyteller” (James Patterson). Samantha Brinkman, an ambitious, hard-charging Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, is struggling to make a name for herself and to drag her fledgling practice into the big leagues. Sam lands a high-profile double-murder case in which one of the victims is a beloved TV star—and the defendant is a decorated veteran LAPD detective. It promises to be exactly the kind of media sensation that would establish her as a heavy hitter in the world of criminal law.Though Sam has doubts about his innocence, she and her two associates (her closest childhood friend and a brilliant ex-con) take the case. Notorious for living by her own rules—and fearlessly breaking everyone else’s—Samantha pulls out all the stops in her quest to uncover evidence that will clear the detective. But when a shocking secret at the core of the case shatters her personal world, Sam realizes that not only has her client been playing her, he might be one of the most dangerous sociopaths she’s ever encountered.

Injustice


Lee Goodman - 2015
    Investigators see it as either a case of mistaken identity or the work of a jealous fiancé. As a federal prosecutor, Nick tries shepherding the case to a swift conclusion, but it keeps slipping away.Meanwhile, Nick’s relationship with his wife, Tina, hangs by the thinnest of threads. She is also a lawyer, working to vindicate a young man convicted of killing a child eight years previously. When old DNA evidence is uncovered in the murder case, its analysis hurls Nick’s universe into upheaval—his most basic assumptions about his life, the law, and the people he loves most are thrown into question.“Compelling” with “language that sings,” Lee Goodman’s latest novel is a truly “outstanding” page-turner (William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author).

Deja Karma


Vish Dhamija - 2015
    But Jay Singh is a closet alcoholic; he has a dark and ominous past. His mother has been accused and convicted of killing his father..something he doesn't accept even after twenty years.Flamboyant, wicket, lethal, Jay Singh never loses a case, though his methods might not always be within the law. If the law is after you - guilty or not - there is only one man who can save you. If Jay Singh takes your case, witnesses for the prosecution disappear or turn hostile, evidence evaporates, technology and science fail to provide any cogent support. What's more - Jay Singh can even provide you with an ironclad alibi.And then he gets a case that can completely destroy him.If he loses the high-profile he can kiss his career goodbye ; if he wins the case he better keep his obituary ready.

A Question of Proof


Joseph Amiel - 1993
    A Question of Proof is a profoundly moving courtroom drama in which a lawyer struggles to defend the woman he loves against the accusation that she murdered her husband. Tough and street-smart, a principled rebel against an establishment he has always scorned, Dan Lazar has risen from the working class to become one of Philadelphia's top criminal defenders. But now divorced and badly missing his young son, disillusioned by years of representing vicious criminals, humiliated by the politically ambitious DA's charge that he bribed a witness in a brutal rape-homicide case, Dan is burned out, depressed, and ready to call it quits. On the surface he would seem to have nothing in common with Susan Boelter, the beautiful and patrician wife of Peter Boelter, who runs the city's dominant newspaper and heads one of its most powerful families. But when Peter deserts her and files for divorce, moving to seize everything that is precious to her, including custody of their thirteen-year-old daughter, Susan turns to a reluctant Dan for help. Suddenly, Peter is found dead. Susan becomes the prime suspect in his murder. Driven by his love for her and by an inner need to defend someone in whose innocence he can truly believe, Dan starts to investigate. He soon discovers a maze of conflicting evidence and of growing doubts and mystery about the woman he thought he knew and loved. And he realizes that the truth he desperately seeks - especially about Peter Boelter's death - depends on finding the answer to a question of proof. From Philadelphia's courtrooms in City Center to the mansions in its moneyed suburbs, A Question of Proof is the gripping story of one man's internal battle between love and justice and the lengths to which a wealthy family will go to hide its secrets.

R.I.C.O. (RICO Book 1)


Tony Steele - 2012
    His plans to establish his own crime family are derailed when he takes a murder rap for his boss. His act of loyalty doesn’t go unnoticed by Paul, who makes Dmitri boss of Harlem after his release from prison. Soon his crime family, the Commission, becomes one of the most powerful, feared, and well-respected criminal organizations in New York.But the Commission isn’t the only crime family vying for position, and not everyone agrees with Dmitri’s business operations, including a member of his own family. Faced with threats from countless enemies, Dmitri still has to balance love with a new woman in his life, Isis Kelley. She managed to steal his heart … while it seems the world is trying desperately to steal his life.

Doing His Time (Who Said Dating a Baller Was Easy?)


Nichelle Walker - 2007
    But in the hood the Prince Charming are ballers and we dream of living happily ever Rich! Now imagine being swept off your feet and upgraded from a nobody into a ghetto superstar. Imagine a life of nothing but the best; clothes, jewels, whips and homes. Just picture your life as baller's bit*h! Ask yourself how much are you willing to sacrifice to be the hottest chick in the game? When Emerald found her ghetto Prince Charming Dollar he quickly upgraded her into a overnight ghetto superstar. Spoiling her with the hottest whips, the finest clothes, the fliest jewels and an unlimited cash allowance. Emerald represented a baller's chick to the fullest; she lived, breathe and swore by the hustlers anthem Balling! The night Dollar asked Emerald to marry him; she knew all her blood, sweat and spit had paid off. She'd be forever fly; Emerald knew the life of a baller's wife could only get more luxurious. But when a drop goes bad and Emerald back is pushed against the wall. How much will she be willing to sacrifice to stay at the top spot? Come ride along with Emerald while she discovers the truth about being a Baller's bit*h!