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Lawyer turned author Abi Silver picks her top 5 courtroom dramas

The author writes her experience from years in the legal profession into each of her courtroom thrillers. If anyone can recommend some legal novels it is her.

Abi Silver had years of experience in the courtroom before writing novels. Her latest legal thriller, The Midas Game, was published in June this year and focuses on a case where the death of a doctor causes suspicion to fall on a local gamer who makes a living from violent video games. If you’re looking for some more gripping legal battles, Silver lists her top five recommendations here.

1 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Still tops my list, 60 years after publication. Narrated by six-year-old Scout Finch, it’s the story of her lawyer father Atticus’s defence of a young black man accused of rape in Alabama during the Great Depression. Rich in period detail, it’s a story of courage, loss of innocence and so much more.

2 Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh

In this ingenious, twisty novel lawyer Eddie Flynn defends a Hollywood star on trial for murdering his wife but (not a spoiler) the perpetrator is a serial killer whose raison d’être is to find his way on to the jury. Quite brilliant.

3 Marked for Death by Tony Kent

Part courtroom drama, part serial killer thriller, this gripping, high-octane story features a lawyer with a past, Michael Devlin, teamed up with reporter Sarah Truman to defend a man accused of a gruesome murder. So tense and atmospheric I couldn’t put it down.

Books 1476
The Midas Game by Abi Silver is out now (Lightning Books, £8.99) Cover: Waterstones

4 You Don’t Know Me by Imran Mahmood

Totally original. A young man on trial for murder dispenses with his lawyer and tells his story, in his own words – the whole truth. Bold, compelling and eye-opening. 

5 A Time to Kill  by John Grisham

Fabulous characterisation and oodles of tension in this Mississippi-based story of an inexperienced lawyer, Jake Brigance, defending a father who gunned down the men who raped his 10-year-old daughter. The master at work. 

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

The Midas Game by Abi Silver is out now (Lightning Books, £8.99)

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

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