Jungle Red Writers: Murder list

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: When I was a little girl, I loved to watch Perry Mason with my stepfather, who was a brilliant lawyer. But there was one condition: my sister and I could not talk during Perry. We could not say a word. We could not ask a question, or comment. Complete silence. During the commercials we could ask what immaterial meant, or irrelevant, but when Perry came back on, not a peep.

I loved The Perry Mason show, and loved trying to figure out who the bad guy was, and began to learn, I think even then, the rhythm of a legal thriller. That there had to be good guys and bad guys, that after the bad guy was caught--he was innocent until proven guilty.

And then it was the lawyer's turn. And if it was Perry for the defense (with Della Street's wise help), except for that one time, the so-called criminal would be set free. Because that was justice, and Perry's super skills as a lawyer. And oh, yeah, the REAL criminal would break down on the stand under Perry's withering questioning, and the REAL bad guy would be brought to justice.

And, just saying, Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason books so far have sold THREE HUNDRED MILLION copies.

These days legal thrillers are a little different, it’s not quite as clear who is bad and good. In fact, in THE MURDER LIST, that’s my whole theme: if the defense thinks they’re the good guys, and the prosecution thinks they're the good guys, how can that be?

(And I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about THE MURDER LIST--pub date next Tuesday!-- around these parts soon.)

Ever since then, legal thrillers, or at least books and movies that involve the law, have been my very favorite. To Kill A Mockingbird of course, and Compulsion, 12 Angry Men, Anatomy of a Murder. Witness for the Prosecution. The Verdict. Presumed Innocent, of course. And the fabulous Tracy and Hepburn movie Adam’s Rib— which is even more fabulous today.

And now, The Lincoln Lawyer, and Miracle Creek, even the crazy high concept Thirteen. And anything David Ellis writes. So many more! But I will leave those to you to name.

And it’s difficult to define legal thriller, anyway. One fabulous early reader of THE MURDER LIST said "If John Grisham and Lisa Scottoline had a book baby, this would be it!"

I love that more than anything.

Okay, Reds and readers… Do you read legal thrillers? What does that mean to you? What have been your favorites in years past, and what new ones on the horizon?

HALLIE EPHRON: The first legal thriller that comes to mind is DEFENDING JACOB, Bill Landay's tour de force. It blew me away. In it, criminal prosecutor Andy Barber tries to "lawyer away" mounting evidence that his son Jacob killed a classmate. Barber knows that violence runs in his family, but he can’t believe that his son could kill. Wracked with guilt, Jacob’s mother Laurie revisits incidents from Jacob's childhood that she can no longer rationalize. Through the clever use of courtroom transcripts, Landay withholds what Andy is unwilling to face and what Laurie is willing to do about it.

Did I say it's brilliant? I was gobsmacked?? PS I also LOVED Lincoln Lawyer, And anything by Scott Turow. And I cannot wait to read THE MURDER LIST!

JENN MCKINLAY: Richard North Patterson's SILENT WITNESS has stayed with me forever. Not sure if it's considered a legal thriller other than the fact that the protagonist is an attorney who goes back to his small hometown to defend his friend against accusations of murder. The twists and turns and unexpected reveals were fantastic! I love that your next book is solidly set in the legal thriller world. Can't wait to read The Murder List!

LUCY BURDETTE: Yes I enjoy legal thrillers too. Have read many of those mentioned and looking forward to Hank's!

I think my first foray into the genre was THE FIRM by John Grisham, and I read quite a few of his after that. I would never want to be a lawyer, but love the insider look into how a barrister thinks...

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I remember watching Perry Mason! I think I liked it more than my folks, though. I've mentioned before that I loved a British book called The Verdict by Nick Stone--definitely a legal thriller.

I loved The Lincoln Lawyer. I haven't read Defending Jacob, it's on my list. But not before THE MURDER LIST!

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: What, no love for LA LAW? I was dating Ross when that show was popular, and he and all the rest of the law students loved it - probably because the lawyers spent more time on their sexy private lives than with their noses buried in casebooks.

If I can step slightly away from the "thriller" component, many of Jodi Picoult's novels have both a mystery and a strong legal setting at the heart. Not murder mysteries, it's true, but the plots are driven by deeply personal questions, and the revelations and shocking twists often come out in the courtroom. In particular, PERFECT MATCH, MY SISTER'S KEEPER and NINETEEN MINUTES, which also have lawyer-protagonists.

PS: I've already read THE MURDER LIST and won't give anything away, except to say readers are in for a wicked treat.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Awww.... thank you, all of you. You all are so sweet--you know how excited I am for THE MURDER LIST, and kinda going crazy. But how about you, readers? Tell us the legal thrillers you love, and whether you still read them, and hey--did you watch Perry Mason?

AND NOW:

REDS HOT NEWS!

AND the winner of LAYOVER by David Bell is Jess Montgomery! EMail Hank at h ryan at whdh dot com

HALLIE's SWEEPS: Register between now and 8/22 to win a copy of all of her suspense novels--from CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR to NEVER TELL A LIE. This sweeps is open to the US only, 18 years of age or older. https://a.pgtb.me/7hKMJ1

JENN"S GIVEAWAY: My publisher is offering 15 copies of WORD TO THE WISE on GoodReads:
Go to: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/295978-word-to-the-wise

DEBS' E-SALE: My publisher is offering TO DWELL IN DARKNESS, Kincaid/James #16 all the month of August for $1.99 on Kindle! https://www.amazon.com/Dwell-Darkness-Novel-Duncan-Kincaid-ebook/dp/B00DB3A4B8?fbclid=IwAR2cgFjG0h1HV1SXOy5OBV5KiTCEGu8s_zZOPACczg7BKFm_fnp-xNo8aHw

JULIA'S EBOOK SALE: The first book in the Clare Fergusson/ Russ Van Alstyne series is on sale for $2.99 in all ebook formats! Kindle: amzn.to/2LXuDXk iBooks: apple.co/2GGQHkB Nook: bit.ly/2YkAext
Kobo: bit.ly/32ZVmrD

HANK'S FREE SNEAK PEEK AND AUDIO BOOK: My publisher is offering you a huge portion of THE MURDER LIST as a free download right here: http://bit.ly/MurderListPrvw
AND here's a free snippet of the fab Angela Dawe reading the audio book! https://read.macmillan.com/lp/the-murder-list-audiobook/

HANK's LAUNCH PARTY! For The Murder List
Tuesday, August 20 at 7 pm at Brookline Booksmith
Wednesday Aug 21 7 pm RJ Julia . Madison CT (With editor Kristin Sevick)
Thursday Aug 22 7 pm An Unlikely Story, Plainville MA
Saturday Aug 23 2pm . Poisoned Pen Bookstore Scottsdale AZ (ticketed event with true crime writer Billy Jensen)
MORE HERE : http://hankphillippiryan.com/events.php