Book picks similar to
Power and Justice by Peter O'Mahoney


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Time of Justice


Robin James - 2020
    A faceless powerbroker has other ideas… Small-town prosecutor Mara Brent must be tough as nails to succeed in her male-dominated profession. But she harbors a soft spot for the victims who rely on her courtroom skill, especially the wheelchair-bound rape survivor she’s known for twenty years. So when her friend’s unsolved case reopens with a DNA match and an arrest, she’s determined to finally bring a monster to justice.Though the fiend is accused of dozens of similar assaults, only Mara’s case has the iron-clad evidence to put him away. But unexpected bombshells at trial threaten to muddy her black-and-white conviction into frightening shades of gray. She suspects there’s a sinister conspiracy out to torpedo the verdict… and her career.Can the hard-nosed attorney uncover the truth before a serial rapist walks free to strike again?Time of Justice is the first book in the pulse-pounding Mara Brent Legal Thriller Series. If you like strong heroines, page-turning twists, and dark suspense, then you’ll love Robin James’s edge-of-your-seat novel. Buy Time of Justice to bring the gavel down on a depraved offender today!

Lethal Defense


Michael Stagg - 2020
    A lawyer with secrets must prove it was justified.Attorney Nate Shepherd left a big firm to go out on his own. He sees nothing but opportunity when an out-of-town lawyer wants to hire him as local counsel on a high-profile murder case. Though his family worries that the case hits too close to home, Nate joins the defense team.When circumstances force him to take on a bigger role, Nate ignores his family’s fears and throws himself into his client’s defense. But as he digs deeper, every aspect of the case raises memories of a terrible event that Nate has tried his best to bury.Battling an aggressive prosecutor in court and a dogged reporter outside it, Nate fights to prove that his client’s brutal, bloody slaying of an evil victim was right. But when Nate’s own story is exposed, it threatens his client’s freedom … and Nate’s carefully constructed life.Can Nate fend off his own demons long enough to save his client?Lethal Defense is the first book in the gripping Nate Shepherd Legal Thriller series. If you like razor-sharp dialogue, iron-willed characters, and slippery moral quandaries, then you’ll love Michael Stagg’s fierce courtroom drama.Buy Lethal Defense and step into the courtroom today!

The Guilty Die Twice: A Legal Thriller


Don Hartshorn - 2020
    

Special Circumstances


Sheldon Siegel - 2000
     Debut author Sheldon Siegel bursts into the legal thriller arena with a riveting courtroom drama, exposing the world of big-time law firms and lawyers in a fresh, sharp-witted, wonderfully sardonic page-turner. Meet Mike Daley. Ex-priest. Ex–public defender. And as of yesterday, ex-partner in one of San Francisco's most prominent law firms. Today he's out on his own, setting up practice on the wrong side of town. Then his best friend and former colleague is charged with a brutal double murder, and Daley is instantly catapulted into a high-profile investigation involving the prestigious law firm that just booted him. As he prepares his case, Daley uncovers the firm's dirtiest secrets. It doesn't take long for him to discover that in this trial, ambition, friendship, greed, and long-standing grudges will play just as important a role as truth and justice. Brilliantly paced, crackling with energy and suspense, Special Circumstances reminds us why we love to hate lawyers — but can't get enough of courtroom drama when it's done this well.

Her Honor


William J. Coughlin - 1987
     Justice is twisted out of shape and anyone will do anything in their thirst for power. When the beautiful young Kathleen Talbot is assigned her first important case as a circuit court judge, she must confront more than her trial at hand. The case on the docket – a controversial “mercy killing” of a brain-dead victim by a vengeful officer – is a painful reminder of her own decision to have her terminally ill father’s life-support system cut off. At first, Kathleen’s sense of honor impels her to proceed, regardless of the consequences. But as the case progresses and the pressure mounts, she soon realizes that she, instead, has been put on trial. Meanwhile, with the position of executive judge up for grabs, political favours and backroom deals sweep through the courtroom, as judges are out to score the most votes. And Jane Whitehall, an ambitious and ruthless journalist, is determined to uncover a juicy, controversial story for the local paper. When Kathleen finds herself irresistibly attracted to Jeremiah Mitchell, the handsome, charismatic attorney for the defence, things become even more complicated. Despite her efforts to keep the relentless politics of the court from defeating her, the case suddenly explodes into hideously accusing headlines… And to what extent, will Kathleen’s honor protect her? Her Honor is a stunning legal drama and the very human story of a woman judge’s struggle to balance pride, passion, love and honor. Praise for Her Honor “ Her Honor is fascinating, a crackling and insightful book. I loved it” — Robert B. Parker, author of the Spenser Series “Combines a compelling insider’s knowledge with a powerful storyline. If you want to learn about the way it really is inside a courtroom and also be royally entertained, read this book …William Coughlin is habit-forming.” — James B. Patterson, Edgar Award-winning author of The Thomas Berryman Number “Enjoyable, informative … a well-written page-turner that gives insight into backroom judicial politics.” — Stanley Shapiro, producer and author of A Time To Remember “A humdinger! An irresistible story … and an exciting tapestry of the day-to-day running of criminal court … William Coughlin really knows his stuff!” — William J. Caunitz, author of One Police Plaza William J. Coughlin has combined a career as a United States administrative judge in Detroit with that of a best-selling novelist. His four previous highly acclaimed and successful novels are The Twelve Apostles, His Father’s Daughter, In the Presence of Enemies and Shadow of a Doubt.

The Professor


Robert Bailey - 2014
    But when a power-hungry colleague uses a recent run-in between McMurtrie and headstrong student Rick Drake to end his career, he is left unsure what to do next.Meanwhile, a devastating trucking accident in Henshaw, Alabama, leaves a young family dead. Drake, now a fledgling lawyer, takes the case against the freight carrier and soon begins to uncover the truth behind the tragedy that is buried in a tangled web of arson, bribery, and greed. On the eve of the trial and with his case unraveling in the midst of a dangerous cover-up that threatens to silence his star witnesses, Drake realizes that only his estranged mentor, Professor McMurtrie, can help him now.With everything to lose and only justice to gain, will McMurtrie and Drake overcome bad blood to defeat a ruthless adversary? Can the Professor turn back the clock and recover all that he’s lost? Revised edition: This edition of The Professor includes editorial revisions.

Conclusive Evidence


Al Macy - 2019
    But a pair of tragic events threw him into a bottomless depression, and he retreated into the practice of family law. Now, he tries to settle cases in ways that make everyone happy. He’s a nicer person, but has he lost his edge?His kinder, gentler life is disrupted when the police arrest his estranged twin sister, Carly. She’s accused of shoving her husband off a cliff into the storm-tossed Pacific Ocean. Worse, the vicious detective on the case has a grudge against her and has vowed to send her to prison even if he has to cheat to do it.Carly, deaf since birth, refuses to be defended by anyone other than her twin brother. But the intense connection that binds the siblings tells Garrett that she may not be revealing everything she knows. If Garrett can’t keep this new stress from pushing him back into depression, the defense will fail, condemning his sister to an isolated life in prison, cut off from the deaf community she needs.

A Criminal Defense


William L. Myers Jr. - 2017
    The defendant, David Hanson, was Mick’s close friend in law school, and the victim, a TV news reporter, had reached out to Mick for legal help only hours before her death.Mick’s played both sides of Philadelphia’s courtrooms. As a top-shelf defense attorney and former prosecutor, he knows all the tricks of the trade. And he’ll need every one of them to win.But as the trial progresses, he’s disturbed by developments that confirm his deepest fears. This trial, one that already hits too close to home, may jeopardize his firm, his family—everything. Now Mick’s only way out is to mastermind the most brilliant defense he’s ever spun, one that will cross every legal and moral boundary.

Burnout


Larry A. Winters - 2013
    But all of her abilities will be put to the test when Frank Ramsey, a brutal serial murderer and rapist she successfully prosecuted over a year ago, petitions the court for a new trial.Public defender Jack Ackerman represented Ramsey at his first trial. Beating him had not been easy. That was before his spectacular public breakdown, which saw him singing and dancing in open court and resulted in his commitment to a mental institution mere weeks after Ramsey's guilty verdict.Now, Ramsey may have a chance at a new trial based on an ineffective assistance of counsel claim. To stop Ramsey, Jessie will need to defend a defense attorney she never liked, and prove that he's not crazy--a fact she's far from sure of. A new trial would devastate Kristen Dillard, the teenage girl whose life Ramsey shattered and the only witness to his horrific crimes. And to make matters worse, powerful forces are hellbent on putting Ramsey back on the street for their own mysterious purposes, and won't let anyone--including a prosecutor--stand in their way.Will one lawyer's nervous breakdown set a killer free? For Jessie, this fight will be the toughest of her career, and one she's not willing to lose.

Unintended Consequences


Marti Green - 2012
    They arrested George Calhoun for murdering his daughter, and his wife testified against him at the trial. George maintains he didn’t do it. That the body isn’t his little Angelina. But that’s all he’s ever said—no other defense, no other explanation. The jury convicted him. Now his appeals have been exhausted, and his execution is just six weeks away.Dani Trumball, an attorney for the Help Innocent Prisoners Project, wants to believe him. After all, there was no forensic evidence to prove that the body in the woods was George’s daughter. But if the girl isn’t Angelina, then who is it? And what happened to the Calhouns’ missing daughter? Despite the odds, the questions push Dani to take the case.For nineteen years, George Calhoun has stayed silent. But he’s ready to talk, and if the story he tells Dani is true, it changes everything.

Mob Lawyer: A Legal Thriller


Dave Daren - 2020
    In my case it was either continue to work at my soul-crushing corporate law job for the next forty years, or to become the mafia don’s personal attorney.But I made my decision, and now I plan to defend him from figurative bullets in the courtroom, and literal ones outside of it.Everybody deserves good counsel, even made men. Justice for all

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?

The Neon Lawyer


Victor Methos - 2014
    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.Brigham’s new client is Amanda Pierce, a lost, exhausted woman who gunned down the man who tortured and killed her six-year-old daughter. A jury may prove sympathetic to her unbearable pain, but the law is no fan of vigilante justice—and neither is Vince Dale, the slick and powerful prosecutor who’s never lost a murder case. There’s no question that Amanda pulled the trigger—she did it in front of five witnesses. If she pleads guilty, she will avoid a death sentence, but saving her life this way comes with an admission that what she did was wrong. However, if she refuses the “guilty” label, Brigham will have no choice but to fight for his career—and Amanda’s life.

Force of Justice


J.J. Miller - 2018
    Despite Strickland claiming he has no criminal connections, there are clear signs his involvement in organized crime runs deep.When the case receives national attention, the underbelly of power in LA is thrown into the limelight. Madison fights desperately to find the one piece of evidence that will prove his client’s innocence.But where’s there’s power, there’s danger. The further Madison digs for the truth, the more he puts his life at risk.In a case full of twists and turns, Madison confronts one of the most difficult challenges of his career.Will justice triumph?Or will the power of LA’s dark forces send Madison to an early grave?

An Innocent Client


Scott PrattScott Pratt - 2008
     A beautiful, mysterious young girl is accused. In this Mystery Readers International finalist for "Best Debut Mystery," criminal defense lawyer Joe Dillard has become jaded over the years as he's tried to balance his career against his conscience. Savvy but cynical, Dillard wants to quit doing criminal defense, but he can't resist the chance to represent someone who might actually be innocent. His drug-addicted sister has just been released from prison and his mother is succumbing to Alzheimer's, but Dillard's commitment to the case never wavers despite the personal troubles and professional demands that threaten to destroy him. "Pratt's richly developed characters are vivid and believable, especially the strong Southern women who fight their male-dominated culture from behind a facade of vulnerability in this brilliantly executed debut." -- Publisher's Weekly. "It’s Scott Turow and Grisham... The opening chapter is maybe the most compelling I’ve read in a decade.” – Ken Bruen. Smart and sophisticated, with a plot twist that will leave you shaking your head in wonder, "An Innocent Client" -- the first in the acclaimed Joe Dillard series -- will also leave you wanting more.