Best Legal Thriller Books – The New York Times

Since I’ve written four legal thrillers, you won’t be surprised to learn that I also love to read them. I use the term “legal thriller” in the broadest possible sense: courtroom dramas, stories focused on corruption in the legal profession, good old-fashioned legal whodunits. What really draws me in is a novel with a broader social context that lets me see the world from a perspective that’s different from my own. In my own novels, the main protagonist is Erin McCabe — a criminal defense attorney who, like me, also happens to be a transgender woman. I use Erin to introduce readers who may not know anyone who is trans to a character that humanizes the transgender experience and the issues we face.

With that in mind, here are some legal thrillers that I think will not only keep you turning pages late into the night, but also broaden your worldview.

By Harper Lee

Depending on one’s point of view, “To Kill a Mockingbird” is a revered or reviled novel. Although there are valid arguments that some elements of the story have not aged well, Lee’s Pulitzer-winning courtroom drama — about an attorney defending a Black man accused of sexually assaulting a white woman in 1930s Alabama — paints a vivid picture of the impact of racial discrimination, not only on the justice system but also on the everyday lives of people of color.

By Scott Turow

There are some aspects of this 1987 classic that even the author concedes are outdated, especially its treatment of the few female characters. That said, there is a reason it is often held up as the gold standard of modern legal thrillers, so I would encourage you to put your reservations aside — even if you’ve already watched the streaming series based on the novel — go back and read this book.

It’s not always easy turning mundane courtroom proceedings into high drama, but Turow, like others on this list, is a master. Rusty Sabich, the second-in-command at the Kindle County district attorney’s office, is charged with murdering a colleague with whom he had an affair. But Rusty is not the only one with secrets, and the resulting courtroom drama, backroom politics and examination of corruption in the justice system make for a compelling thriller. I remember reading it when it was first published and being absolutely gobsmacked by the reveal at the end. Age spots and all, it’s still one of the best.

By John Grisham

Originally published in 1989 to little fanfare, Grisham’s debut novel is a compelling story about a Black man who kills the white men who sexually assaulted his 10-year-old daughter, and the lawyer who defends him. Although it was Grisham’s later novels that made him a household name, this book is special — a true-to-life courtroom drama that deals with racism but also captures the moral and ethical ambiguities that many criminal defense lawyers wrestle with. Grisham pulls off a unique feat: You find yourself rooting for the murderer, and for the lawyer who knew what was going to happen.

By Allen Eskens

Eskens worked for years as a criminal defense attorney, so it’s not surprising that his novels reflect an insider’s knowledge of how the justice system works; for me, he’s every bit as good a legal thriller writer as Turow and Grisham. “The Stolen Hours” revolves around a recent law school graduate, Lila Nash, working her dream job in a prosecutor’s office while trying to deal with a vengeful, misogynistic boss. When she’s assigned to work on a sexual assault case, the investigation morphs from a single victim into an examination of a series of murders — suggesting a serial killer who, years earlier, may have targeted Lila herself. Eskens skillfully puts us inside the heads of Lila, the lead detective and the killer in a dangerous game of cat and mouse, leading to a conclusion I never saw coming.

By Angie Kim

Kim does a masterful job of using a classic courtroom drama to tell the story of an immigrant family and what parents will do to make a better life for their child. At the center of the story is a mother who has been charged with murder in the death of her young son, who was killed in a fire in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. The novel is told from the points of view of different characters, all of whom view the fire and the boy’s tragic death through their own lens — which makes trying to piece together what actually happened like looking through a kaleidoscope. The truth finally comes out, but there are no heroes in this story, only victims. This is a great thriller elevated by lessons about the immigrant experience, and the many shapes love takes.

By Kia Abdullah

Abdullah’s protagonist is Zara Kaleel, a Muslim woman and former barrister working as an adviser at a clinic for sexual assault victims in London. As Zara wrestles with personal issues, she takes on a case involving allegations of sexual assault made by a young white woman suffering from neurofibromatosis — a disfiguring disease — against four young, handsome Muslim men. The reader is confronted with the misogyny and disdain directed at the victim, who is considered “ugly,” as well as the Islamophobia and racism that the young men accused of the crime are forced to endure. Abdullah’s heartbreaking story, which alternates points of view, allows you to see the humanity of all the characters and the ways these events will impact them for the rest of their lives. A remarkable work of fiction that allows you to experience what it’s like to be the other.

By Wanda M. Morris

Not all legal thrillers take place in the courtroom: Morris’s layered novel focuses on corruption in the C-suite. Ellice Littlejohn, who grew up poor and Black in the South, is now a successful corporate lawyer trying to deal with her secret past — and with the murder of her boss, who happened to be white, married and her lover. There were times when I wanted to scream at Ellice, “What are you doing?!” But the reasons for how she acts (or doesn’t act) are slowly revealed and, when they are, it all makes painful, perfect sense. There are some books that will stay with you long after you’re done: This is one of them.