First published 2024
Judge David Norcross agrees to oversee what seems like a routine favor for a colleague. The case involves Dominic O'Connell, a Boston contractor who built an empire from nothing. Now a dying hitman claims O'Connell killed a police officer fifty years ago. Norcross expects legal arguments and evidence. Instead, someone bombs Harvard Yard while his wife walks nearby. She survives, but barely. Then photographs of his infant son arrive with a clear message: abandon the case or watch his family die. The FBI suspects terrorists carried out the bombing. One suspect connects to Norcross's own past. As the trial date approaches, more threats follow. Norcross must decide whether to step down or risk everything he loves. The judge knows the courtroom, but this battle extends far beyond his bench. Someone will kill to stop this trial, and Norcross must discover who before they succeed.
Genres: crime, action, mystery-thriller, legal-thriller
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Boston, Harvard Yard
Period: 20th-century
402 pages · Paperback · Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
Content warnings: violence