The Lit List – Courtroom Drama

Top 10: legal thrillers set in the courtroom

The best courtroom dramas have jeopardy, opposition and reversal of fortune. In some, the letter of the law and human morality are aligned, in others they are in direct conflict. This moral question invites the reader to be the judge. All rise for ten of the most riveting novels with courtroom drama.

1. Anatomy of a Murder by Robert Traver. Lieutenant Frederic ‘Manny’ Manion confesses to murdering an innkeeper but claims that the man raped his wife. Widely credited as being the first legal thriller.
2. Earth by John Boyne. It’s the tabloid sensation of the year: two well-known footballers stand accused of sexual assault, a series of vile text messages point towards their guilt.
3. Gillespie and I by Jane Harris. A lonely spinster inveigles her way into the family of a Scottish artist.
4. To kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee. A black man is falsely charged with the rape of a white girl in the Deep South.
5. The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed. A black man is falsely accused of the murder of a white woman in Tiger Bay. A fictionalisation of what has become known as one of the British justice system’s most notorious failures.
6. The House of Doors by Tan Kwan Eng. Unhappy marriages, secrets and intrigue. Quietly compelling.
7. Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow. A high-flying lawyer is accused of the murder of his mistress.
8. Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty. A geneticist gets into more than she bargained for when she has an affair.
9. Primal Fear by William Diehl. A bishop is brutally dismembered. His altar boy is found at the scene clutching the bloody murder weapon – and swears his innocence. The most brilliant lawyer in Chicago is forced to defend him. 
10. Prima Facie by Suzie Miller. A working-class barrister finds herself facing the full force of patriarchal power. 

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