Lake Bluff Library Adult Reading Lists: Legal Thrillers

Leaving her high-profile law position for a job at a crisis center, Zara Kaleel becomes involved in the case of a deformed teenage girl who accuses four boys in her class of rape, tearing the community apart. (Description from NoveList)

An inside-Washington thriller about an ambitious law clerk thrown into a life-or-death treasure hunt with major national implications when the Supreme Court justice she works for slips into a sudden coma.
(Description from catalog)

When two wealthy white landowners are found dead, the whole country immediately thinks it must be Jerome Washington, the hired help, who killed them. He was standing over the bodies when the police responded to an anonymous call and the only one on the property at the time of death. As far as the state is concerned, it's an open and shut case. Jack Lee, born and raised in Freeman County, knows that every man deserves a solid defense and agrees to be Jerome's lawyer, against everyone's better judgement. But as the facts of the case unfold, it becomes more and more obvious to Jack that this trial isn't about uncovering the truth and is instead a racially charged set up. (Description from catalog)

A defense lawyer and former conman defends his movie-star client in a high profile murder trial and discovers that the actual killer is sitting on the jury in the third novel of the series following The Plea. (Description from NoveList.)

When Charlie Blair left Chicago behind, and her old life as Lauren Claybourne, for a gig in the Santa Cruz DA’s office, things were supposed to be easier. Or at least nothing that a couple of Xanax and a tumbler of vodka couldn’t handle. The plan had been working, until the murder of a local bail bondsman Shelly Hansen.
(Description from Amazon)

In need of a new direction, Mickey Haller turns to public interest litigation, filing a civil lawsuit against an artificial intelligence company whose chatbot told a sixteen-year-old boy that it was okay for him to kill his ex-girlfriend for her disloyalty. Representing the victim’s family, Mickey’s case explores the mostly unregulated and exploding AI business and the lack of training guardrails.
(Description from NoveList)

Keera Duggan was building a solid reputation as a Seattle prosecutor, until her romantic relationship with a senior colleague ended badly. For the competitive former chess prodigy, returning to her family's failing criminal defense law firm to work for her father is the best shot she has. With the right moves, she hopes to restore the family's reputation, her relationship with her father, and her career.
(Description from catalog)

At first, the death of millionaire businessman Charles Parsons seems like a straightforward suicide. There’s no sign of forced entry or struggle in his lavish New Jersey mansion—just a single gunshot wound from his own weapon. But days later, a different story emerges. Computer techs pick up a voice recording that incriminates Parsons’ adoptive daughter, Ann, who duly confesses and pleads guilty.
(Description from Amazon)

Jack Swyteck’s new client fled Iran to Miami with her daughter, and has been accused of kidnapping by her husband. The seasoned attorney must not only plan a winning defense. To stop the father from taking the girl back to Tehran, Jack must build a case under international law and prove that returning the child would put her at risk.
(Description from NoveList)

A dramatic murder trial in the aftermath of an experimental medical treatment and a fatal explosion upends a rural Virginia community where personal secrets and private ambitions complicate efforts to uncover what happened. (Description from NoveList.)

Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next. His fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student. (Description from NoveList.)

A woman is wrongly implicated in a murder one decade after convincing the members of a deadlocked jury to return a not-guilty verdict. (Description from NoveList.)

After the mysterious disappearance of a local landowner and the death of his sister just months before, a lawyer uncovers a conspiracy that dates back to Reconstruction and persists in half the United States today.--Description by NoveList

The charming disappointment in the prominent Devlin family, TJ Devlin finds his world turned upside down when his lawyer brother confesses he has just killed one of his clients and, seizing this chance to prove his worth, becomes entangled in a deadly web of deception and murder to save his brother.--Description by NoveList

An up-and-coming attorney who has a seemingly ordinary life sees her past troubles begin to catch up with her.
(Description from catalog)

Rusty is a retired judge asked by his fiancě, Bea, to defend her adult son Aaron, who is accused of murdering his girlfriend Mae, and Rusty agrees to help but questions whether the system can provide true justice for those who are presumed guilty.
(Description from NoveList)