First published 2008
President Donald Vanderdamp faces another Supreme Court rejection when senators dismiss his nominee for not loving To Kill a Mockingbird enough. He needs someone the Senate cannot refuse. Enter Judge Pepper Cartwright, the straight-talking Texan who stars in Courtroom Six, America's top-rated reality courtroom show. Vanderdamp bets her popularity will force confirmation. Pepper must navigate brutal Senate hearings while her romantic prospects crumble under the spotlight. She joins eight dubious Supreme Court colleagues, including a Chief Justice whose wife left him for another woman after he legalized gay marriage. Pepper gets caught between a constitutional crisis and a president who wants to lose reelection. The Court hears cases while Pepper fields romantic complications of her own. Buckley skewers Washington's most sacred institutions through Pepper's journey from television personality to judicial power.
Genres: satire, humor, contemporary
Vibes: fast-paced, satirical, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: United States, Washington
Period: 21st-century
285 pages · Hardcover · Twelve