This post was originally published on Audible.com.
While listening to real-life litigations can be a bore, best-selling authors like John Grisham and Michael Connelly have proven that some of the most exciting mystery and crime plots unravel around courtroom proceedings. If you're a big fan of Grisham's legal thrillers or you love books like Connelly's The Lincoln Lawyer, then you should know there's an exciting world of legal thriller audiobooks beyond the biggest names out there waiting to be discovered. Here are 14 of the best legal thrillers featuring scenes of courtroom drama and twisty legal plots that will keep you gripped and guessing until the gavel’s rapped.
Internationally best-selling author Dervla McTiernan brings listeners a riveting legal thriller about a young law student who is brought on to help save a man on death row. As she charms her bosses and digs into the case, everyone thinks she's helping to set him free—but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Narrated by an all-star cast of Kate Orsini, Sophie Amoss, and Michael Crouch, The Murder Rule is a listen you won’t want to miss.
Abby is a lawyer and pregnant with her first child when she agrees to take on a horrifying case. A young woman named Heather has just been charged with the murder of her infant, but her connections to a strange cult have Abby second-guessing if the evidence against her is as clear as the prosecution makes it out to be. Determined to mount a strong defense, Abby digs deeper into the case and into Heather's life. What she finds leaves her questioning the cult's true intentions—and wondering whether Heather is the true victim. A dark and daring novel, The Tribes marks the fiction debut of Mari Howes. This Audible Original is narrated by Barrie Kreinik and Piper Goodeve.
As a woman of color, Yolanda Vance has always worked twice as hard to succeed, and that hard work has finally paid off in a job with a prestigious New York City law firm. But when her firm is raided by the FBI, Yolanda is more than happy to flip on her criminal bosses to save herself. The FBI, however, wants something from her first. She's tasked with infiltrating an African American "extremist" group for information. Yolanda wants to fulfill her duty to the FBI and move on with her life, but then she stumbles upon something supremely shady and finds herself caught up in a vast web of secrets. Aya de León brilliantly narrates the audiobook of her legal thriller and nails its strong leading character, a savvy lawyer turned spy.
Dylan Aster and Lily Ricci are two young defense attorneys whose stars are on the rise. But when the case of a man charged with the grisly murders of four people in the Nevada wilderness crosses their desks, they're reluctant to take it on. The prosecution seems to have an airtight case: the suspect was covered in the victims' blood, and he confessed to the killings. Then, a psychiatrist reveals that their confessed killer has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Suddenly, Aster and Ricci have a much more interesting case—and a killer still on the loose. Arnell Powell narrates An Unreliable Truth, a legal thriller packed with surprising twists and turns.
In Blood Defense, famed prosecutor turned author Marcia Clark introduces Samantha Brinkman, an ambitious LA criminal defense attorney. With her two unconventional associates, Sam is striving to propel her new practice into the big leagues. So, at first, she's excited to land a high-profile double-murder case. Since one of the victims is a Hollywood star, and the defendant is an LAPD detective, she's certain it will give her the exact kind of publicity her firm needs. Though Sam has her doubts about the detective's innocence, she is determined to uncover evidence to clear her client. In the process, she comes across a shocking secret—and begins to suspect that the man she's defending might be a dangerous sociopath. Grammy Award nominee Tavia Gilbert narrates.
At 16, Steve Harmon is on trial for felony murder. According to the prosecutor, Steve is guilty because he was the lookout for a Harlem drugstore robbery gone wrong: the owner was shot and killed. But is that the whole story? From his prison cell, Steve keeps asking himself what really happened. Is he truly the monster the prosecution claims? Steve is an aspiring filmmaker, so he views his experience as its own movie, looking at the case from different angles to try and find the truth. Walter Dean Myers's award-winning YA novel, Monster is a compelling, emotionally charged listen, narrated by a full cast.
In this new listen from the author of Snow Falling on Cedars, a father and son team up for a life-changing court case that affects an entire community and shakes their relationship. Abeba, a young Ethiopian-born girl, dies a few feet from the back door of her own home one rainy night, and her adoptive parents, Delvin and Betsy Harvey— conservative, white fundamentalist Christians—are charged with her murder. An octogenarian attorney, Royal agrees to defend Betsy Harvey, but he must rely on his son to help him make a solid case. As it turns out, this final case will be one that challenges him the most.
In political icon Stacey Abrams's first foray into legal thrillers, Avery is a young clerk for legendary Supreme Court Justice Howard Wynn. Her job is demanding and her personal life is a bit rough, so Avery always feels like she's scrambling to get everything done. She's shocked when she hears that Justice Wynn has slipped into a coma—and even more floored when she learns that he named her his power of attorney before he lost consciousness. Suspecting that she's missing something, Avery begins to dig into the justice's caseload and life—and uncovers a shocking conspiracy. Narrated by Adenrele Ojo with a foreword narrated by Abrams herself, While Justice Sleeps is an exciting start to a new series.
As a woman of color, Yolanda Vance has always worked twice as hard to succeed, and that hard work has finally paid off in a job with a prestigious New York City law firm. But when her firm is raided by the FBI, Yolanda is more than happy to flip on her criminal bosses to save herself. The FBI, however, wants something from her first. She's tasked with infiltrating an African American "extremist" group for information. Yolanda wants to fulfill her duty to the FBI and move on with her life, but then she stumbles upon something supremely shady and finds herself caught up in a vast web of secrets. Aya de León brilliantly narrates the audiobook of her legal thriller and nails its strong leading character, a savvy lawyer turned spy.
Set in rural Virginia, Miracle Creek follows Young and Park Yoo, an immigrant couple and proud operators of the Miracle Submarine. An experimental medical treatment device, this pressurized oxygen chamber promises to cure everything from autism to infertility. But when the Yoos' submarine mysteriously blows up and kills two people, the entire town is dragged into a murder trial. What secrets is this small town hiding? Was the explosion a terrible accident—or something more malicious? Elizabeth Lim narrates this tense award-winning thriller, which draws on author Angie Kim's own life as a Korean immigrant and work as a former trial lawyer.
18-year-old Stella Sandell is from a seemingly normal family. Her father is a pastor and her mother is a criminal defense attorney. They have no secrets—or so everyone thinks. Then, to everyone's shock, Stella is arrested and charged with the brutal murder of a shady businessman that she shouldn't even know, let alone have a reason to kill. As the trial approaches, Stella's parents struggle to sort out what exactly happened, why their daughter is a suspect, and how far they'll go to protect her. A Nearly Normal Family is told in an unusual three-part structure, and audiobook is the way to go with this story. It's expertly narrated by actor and fan favorite narrator Richard Armitage, along with Emily Watson and Georgia Maguire.
Dylan Aster and Lily Ricci are two young defense attorneys whose stars are on the rise. But when the case of a man charged with the grisly murders of four people in the Nevada wilderness crosses their desks, they're reluctant to take it on. The prosecution seems to have an airtight case: the suspect was covered in the victims' blood, and he confessed to the killings. Then, a psychiatrist reveals that their confessed killer has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Suddenly, Aster and Ricci have a much more interesting case—and a killer still on the loose. Arnell Powell narrates An Unreliable Truth, a legal thriller packed with surprising twists and turns.
In Blood Defense, famed prosecutor turned author Marcia Clark introduces Samantha Brinkman, an ambitious LA criminal defense attorney. With her two unconventional associates, Sam is striving to propel her new practice into the big leagues. So, at first, she's excited to land a high-profile double-murder case. Since one of the victims is a Hollywood star, and the defendant is an LAPD detective, she's certain it will give her the exact kind of publicity her firm needs. Though Sam has her doubts about the detective's innocence, she is determined to uncover evidence to clear her client. In the process, she comes across a shocking secret—and begins to suspect that the man she's defending might be a dangerous sociopath. Grammy Award nominee Tavia Gilbert narrates.
A long-time assistant district attorney in suburban Massachusetts, Andy Barber is respected in both the courtroom and his community. Along with his great reputation, he has a close, loving relationship with his wife, Laurie, and their 14-year-old son, Jacob. His entire world is shaken when Jacob is arrested and charged with the murder of a classmate. Jacob insists he's innocent, and Andy wants to believe him. Yet, the evidence is damning, and every legal instinct says that his son is guilty. As the trial approaches, Andy faces an impossible choice between loyalty and justice, and right and wrong.