11 Legal Thrillers for Fans of John Grisham

After a drive-by shooting leaves two dead in Massachusetts, a state without capital punishment, the U.S. attorney shifts the homicides into the federal court so he can go after the death penalty. Now, newly appointed judge David S. Norcross is presiding over the first death penalty case the state has seen in decades. And he’ll have to manage everything from a prosecutor and defense attorney at odds to rival gang members in this gripping thriller. 

When Ben Kincaid starts his new job as an associate at a giant corporate firm, his first task is to arrange an adoption for one of the firm’s biggest clients. Jonathan and Bertha Adams have always wanted a child of their own, and when they find Emily—a young girl who suffers from a rare disorder that prevents her from forming memories—they think they’ll finally get to have a family But when Jonathan is found dead, Ben investigates the killing that leads him down a terrifying path he’s not prepared for. 

When solicitor Daniel Hunter is called to defend an 11-year-old murder suspect, he finds himself headed down memory lane. A youth spent in foster care proved to Daniel how easily a child's trust can be betrayed, but is his experience changing how he takes the case? Full of twists and turns, bestselling author Lee Child calls The Guilty One “sophisticated, suspenseful, unsettling, and highly recommended.”

Attorney Gail Connor is about to make partner at her Miami law firm when tragedy strikes and her sister’s murdered body is discovered. Now, Gail is the prime suspect, and she must fight to prove her innocence in this thrilling novel—all while getting a glimpse of the dark side of the legal system. Suspicion of Innocence is the first in an eight-book series, all surrounding Gail Connor. 

Former LA prosecutor Cal Claxton was looking to lead a quiet life after his wife's suicide. He moved to Oregon wine country and opened a small private practice, hoping to make just enough to pay his bills. But when a Portland street artists asks him to investigate a cold case, Cal's conscience eats away at him until he relents. Soon, Cal finds himself delving into police bias and mystery.

The first in Robert K. Tanenbaum's bestselling series introduces assistant district attorneys Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi. They have their hands full with Mandeville Louis, a legal scholar who just killed two people in an attempted robbery. Louis knows every loophole, and he plans to use them for his defense. Can Karp and Ciampi find a way to bring him down?

“An attorney himself, Tanenbaum has infused this book with a strong collection of characters, a raunchy energy that crackles in the out-of-office lawyer talk and a basic sense of outrage at a system that is failing miserably.” —Publishers Weekly

Author William J. Coughlin was a former prosecutor, and it shows in The Heart of Justice. Judge Paul Murray has prided himself on the way he climbed the ladder from Irish roots to the Federal bench. He doesn't know that his wife, a beautiful New York heiress, has been pulling strings behind the scenes. When a billion-dollar case comes before his court, however, the truth is exposed, and now Paul has to second-guess not only the case but his own judgment.

When a young girl goes missing during a sleepover and is then found dead, a year goes by until police make an arrest. Now, the girl’s parents want justice—but defense attorney Luke Garrison isn’t so sure the accused man is guilty. Once a cutthroat District Attorney, Garrison switched sides to become a defender after sending an innocent man to die. But he won’t make that mistake again—and will stop at nothing to find the truth behind a young girl’s death.  

An outsider in the South, attorney Adam Shaw has some very powerful clients. When his best friend Henry Cantwell suspiciously flies off the radar after his wife is murdered, Adam dives deep into unfamiliar territory to ensure that his friend is acquitted of a crime he didn’t commit and that the true killer is brought to justice. 

When the dead body of prosecutor Rusty Sabich’s former lover is found, his life is turned upside down. To make matters worse, Rusty’s boss, the district attorney, is up for re-election and assign’s Rusty to the case. And when the victim’s relationship with Rusty is discovered, he becomes the main suspect in this heart-racing legal thriller. Fans of the 1990 adaptation starring Harrison Ford will want to read the book the film was based on.

If you followed the O.J. Simpson trial, or even the dramatization of it in American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson, then you’ve probably heard the name Marcia Clark. The prosecutor for the infamous Simpson case is now the author of the Samantha Brinkman series. The first book in the series introduces us to the series’ namesake—a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney—as she prosecutes a veteran LAPD detective for a double homicide, in which one of the victims is a beloved TV star.