Most genre authors hate the term transcend the genre because it’s often used to mean better than. I’m using it here to mean more than — because these books provide something more than a riveting portrayal of the legal system and a shocking twist — just as I hope that my book — LOVE BETRAYAL MURDER, does with its focus on #MeToo.
Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
A legal thriller that immerses you in two different worlds outside of the courtroom, Miracle Creek is as much about the immigrant experience and special needs children as it is about the legal system.
All that Is Mine I Carry with Me by William Landay
A book that is more about family than the law (although the law part is top notch too). I could place Landay’s Defending Jacob on this list for the same reason.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Even though we all read it in middle school, we would be well-served by reading it as adults too. Amidst the legal drama is a story about race relations and the power of setting an example that is as resonant today as it was upon publication seventy years ago.
The Emperor of Ocean Park by Steven L. Carter
It’s about family (again), following a son’s search for clues concerning his celebrated Supreme Court Justice father’s life, but also allows entry into the world of Black upper-class life that is rarely explored in fiction. As an extra bonus, lots of references to chess.
Word of Honor by Nelson DeMille
A legal drama that is as much about the fog of war, and guilt over past actions, as it is about anything that occurs in the courtroom.
In addition to being the author of three legal thrillers, Adam Mitzner is currently also the head of the litigation department of Pavia & Harcourt LLP, which is located in midtown Manhattan. He lives in New York City with his wife and children. Adam graduated from Brandeis University with a B.A. and M.A. in politics, and from the University of Virginia School of Law. And he is an avid Pez collector and Batman fan.
