Twenty-five books were submitted for the 2017 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction. The distinguished selection committee included Deborah Johnson, winner of the 2015 Harper Lee Prize, Cassandra King, Don Noble, and Han Nolan.
Three finalists were chosen for the 2017 award: Gone Again James Grippando, The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore, and Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult.
James Grippando won the 2017 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction for his book Gone Again. Gone Again features Grippando's recurring character Miami criminal defense attorney Jack Swyteck who has been approached to help stop the execution of a convicted murderer by the mother of the purported victim.
Grippando was presented with the award during a special ceremony at University of Alabama School of Law in Tuscaloosa on September 14, 2107.
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Gone again: a Jack Swyteck novel
James Grippando
A Miami criminal defense lawyer takes on his first death-row client
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The last days of night: a novel
Graham Moore
When electric light innovator Thomas Edison sues his only remaining rival for patent infringement, George Westinghouse hires untested Columbia Law School graduate Paul Ravath for a case fraught with lies, betrayals, and deception;"Includes bibliographical references";"PART I. Salients, p.1 -- PART II. Reverse Salients, p.131 -- PART III. Solutions, p.285 -- A Note From The Author, p.359"
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Small great things: a novel
Jodi Picoult
This stunning new novel is Jodi Picoult at her finest--complete with unflinching insights, richly layered characters, and a page-turning plot with a gripping moral dilemma at its heart. Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than twenty years' experience. During her shift, Ruth begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she's been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don't want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery. Does she obey orders or does she intervene? Ruth hesitates before performing CPR and, as a result, is charged with a serious crime. Kennedy McQuarrie, a white public defender, takes her case but gives unexpected advice: Kennedy insists that mentioning race in the courtroom is not a winning strategy. Conflicted by Kennedy's counsel, Ruth tries to keep life as normal as possible for her family--especially her teenage son--as the case becomes a media sensation. As the trial moves forward, Ruth and Kennedy must gain each other's trust, and come to see that what they've been taught their whole lives about others--and themselves--might be wrong. With incredible empathy, intelligence, and candor, Jodi Picoult tackles race, privilege, prejudice, justice, and compassion--and doesn't offer easy answers. Small Great Things is a remarkable achievement from a writer at the top of her game. Praise for Jodi Picoult's Leaving Time A riveting drama. --Us Weekly [A] moving tale. --People A fast-paced, surprise-ending mystery. --USA Today Poignant. an entertaining story about parental love, friendship, loss. --The Washington Post -- Provided by publisher;" A woman and her husband admitted to a hospital to have a baby requests that their nurse be reassigned - they are white supremacists and don't want Ruth, who is black, to touch their baby. The hospital complies, but the baby later goes into cardiac distress when Ruth is on duty. She hesitates before rushing in to perform CPR. When her indecision ends in tragedy, Ruth finds herself on trial, represented by a white public defender who warns against bringing race into a courtroom. As the two come to develop a truer understanding of each other's lives, they begin to doubt the beliefs they each hold most dear -- Provided by publisher";"Includes bibliographical references (pages 469-470)";"New York Times Best Seller List"
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The steel kiss
Jeffery Deaver
New York Times bestselling author Jeffery Deaver returns with his next blockbuster thriller featuring forensic detective Lincoln Rhyme. Amelia Sachs is hot on the trail of a killer. She's chasing him through a department store in Brooklyn when an escalator malfunctions. The stairs give way, with one man horribly mangled by the gears. Sachs is forced to let her quarry escape as she jumps in to try to help save the victim. She and famed forensic detective Lincoln Rhyme soon learn, however, that the incident may not be an accident at all, but the first in a series of intentional attacks. They find themselves up against one of their most formidable opponents ever: a brilliant killer who turns common products into murder weapons. As the body count threatens to grow, Sachs and Rhyme must race against the clock to unmask his identity--and discover his mission--before more people die. -- Provided by publisher
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The 7th canon: a thriller
Robert Dugoni
In San Francisco's seamy Tenderloin district, a teenage street hustler has been murdered in a shelter for boys. And the dedicated priest who runs the struggling home stands accused. But despite evidence that he's a killer, and worse, Father Thomas Martin stands by his innocence. And attorney Peter Donley stands with him. But a ruthless DA seeking headlines and a brutal homicide cop bent on vengeance have their own agendas
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Killer look
Linda A. Fairstein
New York Times bestselling author Linda Fairstein delivers a heart-pounding thriller that explores the dark secrets of Manhattan's iconic fashion scene in her latest Alexandra Cooper novel. New York City is one of the fashion capitals of the world, well-known for its glamour and style. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the runway, where American haute couture continually astounds with its creativity, daring, and innovation in the name of beauty. Yet high fashion means high stakes, as Alex Cooper quickly discovers when businessman and designer Wolf Savage is found dead in an apparent suicide, mere days before the biggest show of his career. When the man's daughter insists Savage's death was murder, the case becomes more than a media sensation: It is a race to find a killer in a world created entirely out of fantasy and illusion. With her own job at the DA's office in jeopardy, and the temptation to self-medicate her PTSD with alcohol almost too strong to resist, Alex is not anyone's first choice for help. But she is determined to uncover the grime--and the possible homicide--beneath the glitz. Along with detectives Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace, Alex must penetrate the twisted roots and mixed motives among the high-profile players in the Garment District. The investigation takes the trio from the missing money in Wolf Savage's international fashion house to his own recovery from addiction from the role of Louisiana Voodoo in his life to his excessive womanizing and to the family secrets he kept so well-hidden, even from those closest to him--just as things are about to get deadly on the catwalk. With Killer Look, Linda Fairstein proves once again why she is the Queen of Intelligent Suspense. * *Lee Child Linda Fairsteinwas chief of the Sex Crimes Unit of the district attorney's office in Manhattan for more than two decades and is America's foremost legal expert on sexual assault and domestic violence. Her Alexandra Cooper novels are international bestsellers and have been translated into more than a doz
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The Roosevelt rescue: restoring Dutch America
Zachary Finch
The redevelopment of Ground Zero requires the successful attorney Daniel Van Wart to explore New York City's earliest history, when it was still Dutch. Surprised by his findings, Daniel can't help but be intrigued by the lasting but Dutch influence on America. Daniel's research has unexpected consequences. Without realizing it, he's close to uncovering a centuries-old legal claim with serious political consequences--consequences a powerful group plans to use for its own gain
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The advocate's daughter
Anthony J. Franze
A Washington, D.C. lawyer and a frequent major media commentator on the Supreme Court, Anthony Franze delivers a high-stakes story of family, power, loss and revenge set within the insular world of the highest court of our country. Among Washington D.C. power players, everyone has secrets they desperately want to keep hidden, including Sean Serrat, a Supreme Court lawyer. Sean transformed his misspent youth into a model adulthood, and now has one of the most respected legal careers in the country. But just as he learns he's on the short list to be nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court, his daughter, Abby, a talented and dedicated law student, goes missing. Abby's lifeless body is soon found in the library of the Supreme Court, and her boyfriend, Malik Montgomery, a law clerk at the high court, is immediately arrested. The ensuing media frenzy leads to allegations that Malik's arrest was racially motivated, sparking a national controversy. While the Serrat family works through their grief, Sean begins to suspect the authorities arrested the wrong person. Delving into the mysteries of his daughter's last days, Sean stumbles over secrets within his own family as well as the lies of some of the most powerful people in the country. People who will stop at nothing to ensure that Sean never exposes the truth -- Provided by publisher;" A Thomas Dunne book. "
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First offense
Marti Green
Twelve-year-old Frankie Bishop is a model kid: quiet and bright. So everyone, especially his family, is shocked when he's arrested for drug possession--and horrified when he's sentenced to juvenile detention at Eldridge Academy. His uncle, Bruce Kantor of the Help Innocent Prisoners Project, wants to help but knows he's too close to the case. His associate Dani Trumball has family worries of her own to deal with, but she knows Bruce wouldn't ask for help without cause. Just as she and her team begin to investigate, the case gets even thornier: Frankie is missing, and evidence points to an Eldridge cover-up. As the FBI launches a hunt for the boy, Dani knows something isn't right. Why would a minor's first offense earn such a harsh punishment? Unconvinced by the court documents, Dani is dogged in her pursuit of the truth that will save Frankie's future--if he still has one. --Back cover
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Courting death: a novel
Paul Heald
Courting Death finds Melanie Wilkerson (from Cotton, book two of the Clarkeston Chronicles) and Arthur Hughes working uncomfortably together in the chambers of a famous federal judge. While Melanie neglects her duties as a law clerk to investigate the mysterious death of a young woman in the courthouse five years earlier, Arthur wades through the horrific habeas corpus appeals of two prisoners: an infamous serial killer and a pathetic child murder. Melanie, a Georgia native who returns from law school in the Northeast, hoped to establish a legal reputation that will eclipse her beauty pageant queen past, which she is now desperate to disown. Arthur is a bright but naive Midwesterner who is rapidly seduced by the small Georgia college town of Clarkeston which, to his surprise, comes with an exotic and attractive landlady. The cohort of federal court clerks is completed by Phil Jenkins, a Stanford graduate from San Francisco who tries his best to balance the personalities of his volatile colleagues. Living and working in bucolic Clarkeston comes with a price. In Courting Death, Arthur, Melanie, and Phil are confronted with the extremes of human mortality, both in and outside the legal system, in ways that they could never have expected or prepared for -- Provided by publisher
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Watermark
Michael B. Hewes
Matt Frazier's discovery in the post-hurricane wreckage of his Gulfport, Mississippi home puts him at the center of a conspiracy, leaving Matt to rely on a small group of friends and family to help keep him safe and alive
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The Center seat: life and death in the Supreme Court
Peter Irons
Deals with the death penalty and the death of a liberal Supreme Court Chief Justice.
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The three books of Shama
Benjamin Kwakye
Spanning multiple continents and countries, including Rwanda, the United States, and Ghana, The Three Books of Shama is an epic chronicle of the fictional life story of Rwandan-born Shama Rugwe, from her survival of the Rwandan genocide to her migration to the United States and her eventual nomination to the United States Supreme Court. All hell breaks loose following her nomination, with the ensuing Senate confirmation hearings and the opposition to her nomination exposing stubborn xenophobic beliefs, as well as gender, racial, and religious biases. Benjamin Kwakye is a Ghanaian novelist. His first novel, The Clothes of Nakedness, won the 1999 Commonwealth Writers Prize, best first book, Africa. His second novel, The Sun by Night won the 2006 Commonwealth Writers' Prize, Best Book Africa. His third novel, The Other Crucifix won the 2011 IPPY Gold Award for Adult Multicultural Fiction. He is also the author of a collection of novellas, Eyes of the Slain Woman. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School, he presently practices law and is a director of the African Education Initiative.
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The four-night run
William Lashner
J.D. Scrbacek has just won the biggest trial of his career, but even as he crows to the press, his entire life blows sky-high. Was the bomb meant for him, or for his mobster client? In this seaside casino town where the tables run hot and the tensions run high, the odds say the attorney is a marked man. Alone and on the run, Scrbacek flees into the city's forgotten underbelly, a ruined corridor called Crapstown, where he is forced to confront the ghosts of his past, his present, and his future. Somewhere in the sordid stream of his own existence lie the answers he needs. But in order to emerge from the depths of Crapstown, Scrbacek must argue for his life before a jury of the forgotten and the damned. Is he lawyer enough to save his own skin?
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The last good girl
Allison Leotta
From Allison Leotta, the highly entertaining storyteller (George Pelecanos) who writes in a style that's as real as it gets (USA TODAY), a ripped-from-the-headlines novel featuring prosecutor Anna Curtis at the center of a national story involving campus rape and the disappearance of a young woman. Emma, a freshman at a Michigan university, has gone missing. She was last seen leaving a bar near the prestigious and secretive fraternity known on campus as the rape factory. The main suspect is Dylan Brooks, the son of one of the most powerful politicians in the state. But so far the only clues are pieced-together surveillance footage of Emma leaving the bar that night...and Dylan running down the street after her. When Anna discovers the video diary Emma kept over her first few months at college, it exposes the history she had with Dylan: she had accused him of rape before disappearing. Emma's disappearance gets media attention and support from Title IX activists across the country, but Anna's investigation hits a wall. Now Anna is looking for something, anything she can use to find Emma alive. But without a body or any physical evidence, she's under threat from people who tell her to think hard before she ruins the name of an innocent young man. Inspired by real-life stories, The Last Good Girl shines a light on campus rape and the powerful emotional dynamics that affect the families of the men and women on both sides -- Provided by publisher
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An invisible client
Victor Methos
For high-powered personal injury attorney Noah Byron, the good things in life come with a price tag-cars, houses, women. That's why he represents only cases that come with the possibility of a nice cut of the action. But as a favor to his ex-wife, he meets with the mother of twelve-year-old Joel, a boy poisoned by tainted children's medicine. While the official story is that a psycho tampered with bottles, the boy's mother believes something much more sinister is at work... and the trail leads right back to the pharmaceutical company. As Noah digs deeper into the case, he quickly finds himself up against a powerful corporation that will protect itself at any cost. He also befriends young Joel and breaks the number one rule of personal injury law: don't make it personal. Faced with the most menacing of opponents and the most vulnerable of clients, Noah is determined to discover the truth and win justice for Joel-even if it means losing everything else
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With all due respect
Lewis Segal
Birth Date: April 26, 1935;"On the anniversary of D-Day in 1974, after joining a prestigious Wall Street law firm, Michael Cullen learns that one of his new partners may be a Nazi sympathizer. Cullen is forced to deal with this utterly unexpected issue as it resounds within the firm and, eventually, within his personal life. The novel explores the internal dynamics of a law firm as it addresses - and avoids - the conflicting values and ambitions of its partners. And it forcefully addresses the tension between a lawyer's sense of obligation to pursue justice and the obstacles to that pursuit thrown up by human nature and frailty.-- Provided by publisher"
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Doubt
C E. Tobisman
When Caroline Auden lands a job at a top Los Angeles law firm, she's excited for the challenge--and grateful for the chance to put her dark past as a computer hacker behind her. Right away, her new boss asks her to find out whether a popular GMO causes healthy people to fall ill. Caroline is only supposed to dig in the trenches and report up the ladder, but her tech background and intuition take her further than planned. When she suspects a link between the death of a prominent scientist and the shadowy biotech giant, she cries foul and soon finds herself in the crosshairs. The clock is ticking and thousands of lives are on the line...including her own. Now this rookie lawyer with a troubled past and a penchant for hacking must prove a billion-dollar company is responsible for thousands of deaths...before they come after her. ;"Series number as found on Amazon.com"
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No man's land
David Baldacci
John Puller may be the US Army's most tenacious investigator, but he is not equipped to face the truth about his mother's disappearance thirty years ago. New evidence has come to light suggesting that Puller's father -- a highly decorated army veteran -- may have murdered his wife. When Puller's friend, intelligence operative Veronica Knox, arrived on the scene, he realized that there is far more to this case than he first thought. He knows that nothing will prevent him from discovering what really happened to his mother -- even proving that his father is a killer. Meanwhile, Paul Rogers has just been paroled after spending ten years in a high-security prison for murder. And with his freedom comes a desire to pay back old debts. Harbouring a dark past that changed him in unimaginable ways, Rogers embarks on a journey across the country, set on a path of revenge against the people who took away his humanity. As both men uncover a trail of deception that stretches back decades, they realize that the truth will bind them together in ways they could never have imagined
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Exploited
Pamela Callow
When Kate Lange is hired to defend an unconscious woman shot while committing a puzzling crime, she is stunned to discover that the gunman is none other than Parliament's own golden boy, Harry Owen. What if the face of the victim belongs to ... us all? As Kate pieces together the case, the lines between guilty and innocent become blurred-while a devious cyber mastermind puts the finishing touches on an explosive plan
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The ex: a novel
Alafair Burke
After agreeing to defend her ex-fiancé when he is arrested for a triple homicide, top criminal lawyer, Olivia Randall begins to have doubts as the evidence mounts against him
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Between black and white
Robert Bailey
In 1966 in Pulaski, Tennessee, Bocephus Haynes watched in horror as his father was brutally murdered by ten local members of the Ku Klux Klan. As an African American lawyer practicing in the birthplace of the Klan years later, Bo has spent his life pursuing justice in his father's name. But when Andy Walton, the man believed to have led the lynch mob forty-five years earlier, ends up murdered in the same spot as Bo's father, Bo becomes the prime suspect. Retired law professor Tom McMurtrie, Bo's former teacher and friend, is a year removed from returning to the courtroom. Now McMurtrie and his headstrong partner, Rick Drake, must defend Bo on charges of capital murder while hunting for Andy Walton's true killer. In a courtroom clash that will put their reputations and lives at stake, can McMurtrie and Drake release Bo from a lifetime of despair? Or will justice remain hidden somewhere between black and white?
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The judge
Farin Powell
Washington DC's Superior Court judge, Judge Walter McNeil, is kidnapped and thrust into the midst of a twisted web that intertwines him with the lives of three ex-convicts whose lives had been ruined by the judge's harsh sentences
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Write to die
Charles Rosenberg
Hollywood's latest blockbuster is all set to premiere -- until a faded superstar claims the script was stolen from her. To defend the studio, in steps The Harold Firm, one of Los Angeles's top entertainment litigation firms and as much a part of the glamorous scene as the studios themselves. As a newly minted partner, it's Rory Calburton's case, and his career, to win or lose. But the seemingly tame civil trial turns lethal when Rory stumbles upon the strangled body of his client's general counsel. And the ties that bind in Hollywood constrict even tighter when the founder of the Harold Firm is implicated in the murder. Rory is certain the plagiarism and murder cases are somehow connected, and with the help of new associate Sarah Gold-- who's just finished clerking the Chief Justice -- he's determined to get answers. Will finding out who really wrote the script lead them to the mastermind of the real-life murder? -- Page 4 of cover
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Blood defense
Marcia Clark
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