Best Selling Books by Richard North Patterson

When the body of nine-year old Thuy Sen is found in the San Francisco Bay, the police quickly charge Rennell and Payton Price with her grisly murder. A twelve-person jury, abetted by an incompetent defense lawyer, is nearly as quick to find the brothers guilty, and to sentence them both to die for their crimes. Fifteen years later, overworked pro bono laywer Teresa Peralta Paget, her husband Chris, and stepson Carlo, a recent Harvard law graduate, become convinced not only that Rennell didn''t receive a fair trial but that he may well be innocent. Racing against the clock and facing enormous legal obstacles, Teresa, Chris, and Carlo desperately try to stay Rennell''s execution, taking the case all the way to the Supreme Court, and to an enormously moving and powerful conclusion.

The outside man is society lawyer Adam Shaw. A northerner in a southern town jealous of its secrets, he finds the dead body of his best friend''s wealthy wife -- and his friend is missing. In a world where wealthy people will stop at nothing to maintain a genteel image, Shaw must gamble his career, his marriage, and his very life in a passionate quest for the real murderer -- and learn the shocking truth about his own past and future . . . . "A classic detective story." -- The New York Times Book Review "Rich, complex, beautifully written." -- The New Republic "Richard North Patterson seems destined for celebrity status, alongside Scott Turow and John Grisham, as an acknowledged master." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review

Corey Grace, a Republican senator from Ohio noted for voting his own conscience rather than the party line, becomes locked in a no-holds-barred presidential primary campaign with his rival, a member of the party establishment and leader of the Christian right.

Trial confirms Richard North Patterson’s place as “our most important author of popular fiction.” In a propulsive narrative that culminates in a nationally televised murder case, Trial explores America’s most incendiary flashpoints of race. A Black eighteen-year-old voting rights worker, Malcolm Hill, is stopped by a white sheriff’s deputy on a dark country road in rural Georgia. His single mother, Allie, America’s leading voting rights advocate, restlessly awaits his return before police inform her that Malcolm has been arrested for murder. In Washington D.C., the rising, young, white congressman Chase Brevard of Massachusetts is watching the morning news with his girlfriend, only to find his life transformed in a single moment by the appearance of Malcolm’s photograph. Suddenly all three are enveloped in a media firestorm that threatens their lives—especially Malcolm’s.

The bestselling novel by one of today''s great authors of legal thrillers, Richard North Patterson''s The Final Judgment. A young man has been murdered. His girlfriend, twenty-two-year-old Brett Allen, is found at the scene of the crime. She claims she is innocent—even though she''s dripping in blood, the murder weapon covered with her fingerprints. Enter attorney Caroline Masters, Brett''s estranged aunt. She''s been summoned back to her affluent New England hometown to help Brett out of this mess...and revisit the troubled family she left behind. Caroline learned a long time ago that the ties that bind can also be broken. Now that she''s back home, she can''t help but doubt her family''s motives—and Brett''s innocence. As the trial heats up, Caroline finds herself up against those who would kill to keep dark secrets hidden...and the state prosecutor, who happens to be her former lover and will do anything to expose the truth. Now, with her family''s fate—and her own reputation—hanging in the balance, Caroline must assume the role of a lifetime as she fights to save her niece. Or destroy them both... "Compelling...very possibly Patterson''s best." -USA Today

Tony flees his home at seventeen when he is suspected of murdering his girlfriend, and returns twenty-seven years later to defend his former best friend in the murder trial of a young teen.

#1 New York Times–bestselling author Richard North Patterson delivers a riveting novel of suspense and a powerful family’s secrets Peter Carey was born into privilege during the McCarthy era, when the paranoia of Washington infected his parents’ house and seeped into Peter’s bones. His father was so obsessed with the family publishing business that he never had time for his son. Even as a teenager, Peter barely knew his father—and one dark night, an accident on a lonely road ensured he never would. Peter’s memories of that horrific night have been erased by amnesia, but decades later he is still tortured by nightmares. When a strange conspiracy threatens to steal his company and take his life, he will have to remember . . . and find the key to survival that is locked in his own mind.

A man has been found dead, a gun still wedged in his mouth. It looks like Ricardo Arias killed himself...but the physical evidence tells a different story, in Richard North Patterson''s riveting legal thriller, Eyes of a Child. The police investigation turns up all sorts of troubling data—a bitter estrangement between Ricardo and his wife, Terri; an ugly custody battle over their six-year-old daughter, Elena; charges of child molestation. And before long there''s a murder suspect: San Francisco defense attorney and political hopeful Christopher Paget. But where''s the motive? It could be that Paget is Terri''s new lover. Or that Paget''s own teenage son is the one who''s accused of abusing Elena. But a series of long-hidden secrets—on both sides of the case—are slowly rising to the surface...and threaten to explode in the courtroom, where the final verdict will be delivered. Where the truth about what really happened to Ricardo Arias will either be revealed—or buried for good...

An epic story that moves with force, passion, and authority, Balance of Power begins when President Kerry Kilcannon and television journalist Lara Costello at last decide to marry. But the momentous occasion is followed by an unspeakable tragedy—a massacre of innocents by gunfire—that ignites a high-stakes game of politics and legal maneuvering in the Senate, the courtroom, and across the country, which the charismatic but untested young President is determined to win at any cost. But in the incendiary clash over gun violence and gun rights, the cost to both Kilcannons may be even higher than he imagined.

June, 1968. America is in a state of turbulence, engulfed in civil unrest and uncertainty. Yet for Whitney Dane - spending the summer of her twenty-second year on Martha''s Vineyard - life could not be safer, nor the future more certain. Educated at Wheaton, soon to be married, and the youngest daughter of the patrician Dane family, Whitney has everything she has ever wanted, and is everything her all-powerful and doting father, Charles Dane, wants her to be. But the Vineyard''s still waters are disturbed by the appearance of Benjamin Blaine. An underprivileged, yet fiercely ambitious and charismatic young man, Blaine is a force of nature neither Whitney nor her family could have prepared for. As Ben''s presence begins to awaken independence within Whitney, it also brings deep-rooted Dane tensions to a dangerous head. And soon Whitney''s set-in-stone future becomes far from satisfactory, and her picture-perfect family far from pretty. A sweeping family drama of dark secrets and individual awakenings, set during the most consequential summer of recent American history.

From one of the premiere thriller writers of our day, in the same league as Vince Flynn, David Baldacci, Nelson Demille, and Michael Connolly, comes Richard North Patterson''s engrossing Degree of Guilt. TV journalist Mary Carelli admits that she shot and killed Mark Ransom, one of the world''s most famous authors. She claims it was self-defense. She swears he tried to rape her. Now she has to prove it in a court of law—with her former lover acting as her attorney... Christopher Paget is one of the top lawyers in the country. But defending the mother of his son in the trial of the decade, he begins to have doubts. Is Mary telling the truth? Did she invent her story about the rape? What is she hiding? With each shocking revelation, Paget is forced to question his defense, his ethics, and the whole legal system. Because no one, not even the judge, is completely innocent. And guilt is a matter of degree...

Once the prosecutor was a young law student. Once the dead man was an honest lawyer. Now Stella Marz stares at the body of her former lover, hanging from a doorway in a gruesome tableau. For Stella Marz, the search for Jack Novak''s killer leads into another bizarre homicide case, back through her own past and through the city where she was born and where now--a good Catholic girl turned career woman--she is in crisis. Somewhere in this city a hidden alliance of big money, big plans, and dark secrets is fueling a great American revival. And somehow Stella Marz will bring the darkness into the light--no matter what it reveals, no matter who it destroys. . . .

Two months after the suspicious and much-publicized death of his father on the island of Martha''s Vineyard, it is taking all of Adam Blaine''s character to suture the deep wounds - both within his family and himself - torn open by the tragedy. Moreover, as the court inquest into Benjamin Blaine''s death continues, it is taking all of Adam''s cunning to protect those closest to him from figures who still suspect that Adam''s father was murdered by one of his kin. But the sternest test of all is Adam''s proximity to Carla Pacelli - his late father''s mistress; and a woman who, despite being pivotal to his family''s plight, Adam finds himself increasingly drawn to. The closer he gets to this beautiful, mysterious woman, the further Adam feels from his troubles. Yet the closer he also comes to revealing the secrets he''s strived to conceal, and condemning the people he''s fought so hard to protect.

In the high-stakes, high-pressure world of presidential politics, where predators carry microphones and one misstep can savage a lifetime of achievement, Kerry Kilcannon is the rarest player of all. Kilcannon believes he can make the system work. And he just may die trying. Driven by the violent nightmare of his childhood, fueled by forces that few could understand, and burdened by secrets no one must know, Kilcannon is running for President—and entering the crucial battleground of California with seven days to go. But for Kilcannon, there are hurdles that his courage, charisma, and compassion may not overcome: the network correspondent he still loves; the reporter bent on their exposure; the rival who’ll do anything to win; and the fanatic who believes that he must murder Kilcannon to protect the right to life. . . .

On a cold day in January President Kerry Kilcannon takes the oath of office-- and within days makes his first, most important move: appointing a new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Kilcannon''s choice is a female judge with a brilliant record. And a secret. While the Senate spars over Caroline Masters'' nomination, an inflammatory abortion rights case is making its way toward the judge--and will explode into the headlines. Suddenly, the most divisive issue in America turns the President''s nomination into all-out war. And from Judge Masters to a conservative, war-hero senator facing a crisis of conscience and a fifteen-year-old girl battling for her future, no one will be safe. Protect and Defend takes us on a riveting journey between what is legal, what is right . . . and the price of finally knowing the difference.

From a #1 "New York Times" bestselling author comes the mesmerizing story of a lawyer who must defend the woman he loves against a charge of conspiring to assassinate the prime minister of Israel. Available in a tall Premium Edition.

Long estranged from her blue-blooded New England family, attorney Caroline Masters is summoned home to defend her niece against charges of murder. Police found twenty-two-year-old Brett Allen blood-splattered and incoherent near the scene of the crime, the weapon covered with her fingerprints. Caroline has doubts of her own about Brett''s innocence. But as the sensational trial heats up, she''ll find disturbing inconsistencies in the testimony of the prosecution''s star witness and find herself facing some of the challenges of her life and career--from trusting her former lover, state prosecutor Jackson Watts, to risking the federal judgeship she''s worked her whole life for, to exposing a dark family secret that could save her niece or destroy them both.

“An absolute humdinger of a murder mystery . . . unrelenting suspense [and] a close look at the dysfunctions of military justice and of one particular family.” —Scott Turow, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Presumed Innocent A “riveting legal thriller” by the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Trial (Publishers Weekly, starred review) The McCarrans and the Gallaghers have been close for decades, ever since Anthony McCarran—now one of the army’s most distinguished generals—met Jack Gallagher, a fellow West Pointer later killed in Vietnam. Now a new generation faces combat, and Lt. Brian McCarran, the general’s son, has returned from a harrowing tour in Iraq. Traumatized by experiences he will not reveal, Brian depends on his lifelong friendship with Kate Gallagher, who’s married to Brian’s commanding officer, Capt. Joe D’Abruzzo. But D’Abruzzo also seems changed by the experiences he and Brian shared in Iraq, growing secretive and remote. Tragedy strikes when Brian shoots and kills D’Abruzzo on their Virginia army post. He pleads self-defense. Kate backs him up, saying her husband had turned violent and abusive. But Brian and Kate have their own secrets, and now Capt. Paul Terry, an accomplished young JAG lawyer, must defend Brian in a high-profile court-martial. Before the case is over, Terry will become deeply entwined with the McCarrans—and learn that families, like war, can break the sturdiest of souls. “Powerful . . . Patterson long ago established himself as one of the nation’s best writers of serious thrillers, and his latest novel burnishes his reputation.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch “Readers will find themselves engrossed as well as pleased by a twist revealing that there’s more to this powerful yet seemingly straightforward story than first meets the eye.” —Booklist “Patterson’s insights into PTSD are fascinating but never interrupt the story’s flow to its explosive ending, and his courtroom drama is as intensely engaging as the most action-filled thrillers.” —Library Journal (starred review)

The mysterious, violent death of a prominent New England patriarch exposes a nest of dark family secrets in "New York Times"-bestselling author Patterson''s 20th compelling novel, now available in a tall Premium Edition.

Thriller.

“A crackerjack thriller” by the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Silent Witness: A lawyer defending a Vietnam vet is caught in a kidnapper’s web (Publishers Weekly). All of America is watching when a sniper’s bullet cuts down presidential hopeful James Kilcannon. As the nation rises up in outrage, one lawyer is bold enough to represent the Vietnam veteran accused of firing the fatal shot. Tony Lord has never shied away from a fight, and he will do whatever it takes to get his client a fair trial. A year later, tragedy strikes Kilcannon’s rock-star girlfriend, Stacy Tarrant. Her assistant is kidnapped by a masked terrorist known as Phoenix, who threatens to execute him on live television unless he meets Phoenix’s demands. As Tony helps Stacy through the ordeal, he discovers that Phoenix has connections to the Kilcannon slaying and intends to mount his own televised trial—in which Tony and Stacy are the defendants and Phoenix is the executioner.

Both a razor-sharp thriller and a poignant love story, this twisting tale of psychological suspense is Patterson''s most compelling novel in years Mark Darrow grew up in a small Ohio town with no real advantages beyond his intelligence and athletic ability. But thanks to the intervention of Lionel Farr—a professor at Caldwell, the local college—Darrow became an excellent student and, later, a superb trial lawyer. Now Farr asks his still-youthful protégé for a life-altering favor. An embezzlement scandal has threatened Caldwell''s very existence—would Darrow consider becoming its new president? Darrow accepts, but returning to his alma mater opens old wounds. Sixteen years ago, on the night of his greatest triumph as Caldwell''s star quarterback, he discovered the body of a black female student named Angela Hall at the base of the Spire, the bell tower that dominates the leafy campus. His best friend, Steve Tillman, was charged with Angela''s murder and ultimately sent to prison for life. But now, even as Darrow begins the daunting task of leading Caldwell, he discovers that the case against his friend left crucial questions unanswered. Despite his new obligations—and his deepening attachment to Farr''s beautiful though troubled daughter—Darrow begins his own inquiry into the murder. Soon he becomes convinced that Angela''s killer is still at large, but only when another mysterious death occurs does he understand that his own life is at risk.

"Mr. Patterson is a natural storyteller....Fast moving...A handsome job."-- The New York Times William Lasko is a self-made millionaire with an eye for wealth and influence, the ear of the president, and a talent for using both to get what he wants. Now the Economic Crime Commission wants Lasko brought down, and US Attorney Christopher Paget is tipped to take on the job.

Sidelined after a colleague''s blunder, CIA agent Brooke Chandler envisions a way to halt an Al Qaeda plot to set off a massive nuclear explosion and begins a race against time that returns him to Lebanon, where nothing is quite as it seems.

By fall 2015, the rise of Donald Trump as the likely Republican nominee confirmed that, for better or worse, Americans had been transported to a strange new land populated by mysterious creatures, where the normal laws of the political universe no longer applied. Fascinated, amused, and appalled, bestselling novelist Richard North Patterson accepted an invitation to write one column per week for the Huffington Post about the presidential race. Those essays are collected here for the first time in a highly personal "journal" chronicling Patterson''s observations in real time. Before long, thousands of Americans were reading Patterson''s weekly descriptions of the campaign, a gauntlet without rules in which the projected psyches of the candidates reflected--and stirred--the roiling emotions of a substantially disgruntled electorate. Smart, prescient, funny, and deeply informed by extensive background research, these pieces form a narrative that captures the race as it occurred--the bald-faced lies, the painful truths, the pivotal issues, and the astonishing personalities that made the election of 2016 utterly unpredictable and uniquely consequential. Best of all, in marginalia scattered throughout the book Patterson looks back to see where he was right, where he was wrong, and where events were so beyond human experience that no one could have predicted them. In this bracing, funny book, Patterson brings to bear a novelist''s piercing sensibility to the process of examining the election, moments that betray a candidate''s character and inner life and hold up a mirror to the American population. Filled with fresh insights and indelible prose, Fever Swamp is a masterful take on a unique campaign filled with the pathos, humor, and important lessons of the liveliest playground shoving match.

A quarante ans passés, Tony Lord est un des plus brillants avocats de San Francisco, marié à une séduisante vedette de cinéma. Mais, alors qu''il vient de remporter un succès éclatant en faisant acquitter une femme, meurtrière de son mari qui la brutalisait, une nouvelle affaire le ramène vers un passé douloureux. Un quart de siècle plus tôt, dans l''Ohio où il vivait alors, il avait été accusé du meurtre de sa petite amie. Seule la détermination de son avocat, en l''absence de preuves convaincantes, lui avait permis d''échapper à la condamnation. Il s''était néanmoins résigné à quitter la ville, redoutant la suspicion des habitants. Or son ami de lycée Sam Robb, proche témoin de cet épisode, est à son tour accusé du meurtre d''une étudiante. Pour le défendre, Tony Lord va quitter San Francisco, replonger dans des souvenirs qui n''ont cessé de le hanter, et mettre enjeu sa réputation et sa carrière... Lauréat du Grand Prix de littérature policière 1996 pour Degré de culpabilité, Richard North Patterson donne ici au thriller juridique, par la force et la vérité des caractères et des situations, ses lettres de noblesse.