2023 John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger (shortlist)
A freewheeling, small-town attorney takes on a national murder trial when an out-of-town client is accused of killing a federal judge in Texas.
“A spectacular courtroom thriller that kept me turning pages like the best of Grisham or Turow." —Michelle King, co-creator of The Good Wife, The Good Fight, and Evil
The town of Marshall, Texas, is the epicenter of intellectual property law in the US—renowned for its speedy trials and massive payouts. One of its best lawyers is James Euchre. His newest client, Amir Zawar, is a CEO forced to defend his life’s work against a patent infringement claim. But when a beloved hometown hero is murdered, all signs point to Zawar, an outsider with no alibi. With the help of a former federal prosecutor and a local PI, Euchre hopes to uncover the truth. In his first criminal case, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Euchre fears either an innocent man will be sent to death row, or he’ll help set a murderer free. The Local is a small-town thriller crackling with courtroom tension right up to the final verdict.
Genre: Mystery
“A spectacular courtroom thriller that kept me turning pages like the best of Grisham or Turow." —Michelle King, co-creator of The Good Wife, The Good Fight, and Evil
The town of Marshall, Texas, is the epicenter of intellectual property law in the US—renowned for its speedy trials and massive payouts. One of its best lawyers is James Euchre. His newest client, Amir Zawar, is a CEO forced to defend his life’s work against a patent infringement claim. But when a beloved hometown hero is murdered, all signs point to Zawar, an outsider with no alibi. With the help of a former federal prosecutor and a local PI, Euchre hopes to uncover the truth. In his first criminal case, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Euchre fears either an innocent man will be sent to death row, or he’ll help set a murderer free. The Local is a small-town thriller crackling with courtroom tension right up to the final verdict.
Genre: Mystery
Praise for this book
"Joey Hartstone is a consummate storyteller. In The Local, he crafts a razor-sharp thriller reminiscent of the best of Grisham. Filled with simmering tensions, abiding rivalries and the heady atmosphere of small-town Southern America, it's slick, smart and - to my delight - undeniably sexy." - Kia Abdullah
"A compelling and fast-moving novel dealing with the conflict between friendship, family loyalty and duty to the law. Hartstone kept me guessing right till the end." - Lisa Ballantyne
"Unraveling a fraught legal system page-by-gripping-page, The Local is an extraordinary and unforgettable powerhouse of a debut. Hartstone's masterful storytelling and switchblade-sharp wit make for a piercing and wildly entertaining thriller about the fragility of power - and the feverish and cruel desperation of those who wield it. An absolute must-read." - P J Vernon
"A compelling and fast-moving novel dealing with the conflict between friendship, family loyalty and duty to the law. Hartstone kept me guessing right till the end." - Lisa Ballantyne
"Unraveling a fraught legal system page-by-gripping-page, The Local is an extraordinary and unforgettable powerhouse of a debut. Hartstone's masterful storytelling and switchblade-sharp wit make for a piercing and wildly entertaining thriller about the fragility of power - and the feverish and cruel desperation of those who wield it. An absolute must-read." - P J Vernon
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