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Legal thriller



 
 
The legal thriller is a sub-genre of crime fiction
Crime fiction

Crime fiction is the genre of fiction that deals with crimes, their detection, criminals and their Motive s. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred....
 in which the major characters are lawyers and their employees. The system of justice itself is always a major part of these works, at times almost functioning as one of the characters. In this way, the legal system provides the framework for the legal thriller much as the system of modern police work does for the police procedural
Police procedural

The police procedural is a sub-genre of the detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes....
.

Usually, crusading lawyers become involved in proving their cases (usually their client's innocence of the crime of which he is accused, or the culpability of a corrupt corporation which has covered up its malfeasance up until this point) to such an extent that they imperil their own interpersonal relationships and frequently, their own lives.

Major authors of this genre include John Grisham
John Grisham

John Ray Grisham is an United States ex-politician, lawyer and novelist is best known for his works of modern legal drama. As of 2008, his books have sold over 250 million copies worldwide....
, Scott Turow
Scott Turow

Scott Turow is an American author as well as a practicing lawyer. Turow has written eight fiction and two nonfiction books, which have been translated into over 20 languages and have sold over 25 million copies....
, Lisa Scottoline
Lisa Scottoline

Lisa Scottoline is a popular United States author of legal thrillers. Her novels have been translated into 25 languages.Scottoline was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, earning a degree in English language....
, Sheldon Siegel
Sheldon Siegel

Sheldon Siegel is an List of novelists from the United States and author best known for his works of modern legal drama.Siegel was born on the south side of Chicago, Illinois....
, Richard North Patterson
Richard North Patterson

Richard North Patterson is an United States author of fiction. He was born in Berkeley, California, the eldest child of a retired corporate executive and a housewife....
, James Grippando
James Grippando

James Grippando is an American novelist and lawyer....
, Steve Martini
Steve Martini

Steve Martini is an United States writer of legal novels and is best known for The Judge and Undue Influence....
, Bill Blum, Nancy Taylor Rosenberg
Nancy Taylor Rosenberg

Nancy Camille Taylor-Rosenberg is an American writer. She attended school at Gulf Park College in Gulf Port, Mississippi. She has three children, three step children, and resides in Dallas, Texas....
, Brad Meltzer
Brad Meltzer

Brad Meltzer is an United States author of several New York Times best-selling books including The Tenth Justice, Dead Even, The First Counsel, The Millionaires, The Zero Game, and The Book of Fate....
, John Lescroart
John Lescroart

John Lescroart is an United States author best known for two series of legal and crime thrillers featuring the characters Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky....
, Phillip Margolin
Phillip Margolin

Phillip Margolin is a writer of legal thrillers....
, Perri O'Shaughnessy
Perri O'Shaughnessy

Perri O'Shaughnessy is the pen name for two sisters, Mary and Pamela O'Shaughnessy, who live in Hawaii and California. Pamela, a Harvard Law School graduate, was a trial lawyer for sixteen years....
, Michael Nava
Michael Nava

Michael Nava is an Lawyer and gay writer....
, William J Coughlin
William J Coughlin

William Jeremiah Coughlin is the popular author behind such novels as The Twelve Apostles, Her Father's Daughter, Her Honor, In The Presence Of Enemies, and Shadow of a Doubt ....
, William Bernhardt
William Bernhardt

William Bernhardt is an American thriller/mystery/suspense fiction author best known for his "Ben Kincaid" series of books.Bernhardt has sold more than 10 million books in several different countries throughout the world....
, Kate Wilhelm
Kate Wilhelm

Kate Wilhelm , born June 8,1928 in Toledo, Ohio, Ohio, is a writer whose works include science fiction, mystery fiction, and fantasy....
, Linda Fairstein
Linda Fairstein

Linda Fairstein is one of America's foremost legal experts on crimes of violence against women and children. She served as head of the Sex and the law unit of the New York County District Attorney's office from 1976 until 2002 and is the author of a series of novels featuring Manhattan prosecutor Alexandra Cooper....
, William Lashner
William Lashner

William Lashner , is an United States novelist who formerly worked as a trial lawyer. He is a graduate of NYU School of Law and the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa....
, Jeremiah Healy, Sydney Bauer and Arthur Train
Arthur Train

Arthur Cheney Train was an U.S. lawyer and legal thriller writer, particularly known for his novels of courtroom intrigue and the creation of the fictional lawyer Mr Ephraim Tutt....
.

A 2007 legal thriller film, Michael Clayton
Michael Clayton (film)

Michael Clayton is a 2007 in film United States drama film written and directed by Tony Gilroy and produced by Sydney Pollack. It stars George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson , Tilda Swinton, and Sydney Pollack....
, was nominated for multiple and won one Academy Award in the 80th Academy Awards ceremony
80th Academy Awards

The 80th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films in 2007 in film and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California on American Broadcasting Company beginning at 5:30 p.m....
.

Top 10 legal thrillers- (from A Fiction of Law, Narayan Radhakrishnan)






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Encyclopedia


The legal thriller is a sub-genre of crime fiction
Crime fiction

Crime fiction is the genre of fiction that deals with crimes, their detection, criminals and their Motive s. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred....
 in which the major characters are lawyers and their employees. The system of justice itself is always a major part of these works, at times almost functioning as one of the characters. In this way, the legal system provides the framework for the legal thriller much as the system of modern police work does for the police procedural
Police procedural

The police procedural is a sub-genre of the detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes....
.

Usually, crusading lawyers become involved in proving their cases (usually their client's innocence of the crime of which he is accused, or the culpability of a corrupt corporation which has covered up its malfeasance up until this point) to such an extent that they imperil their own interpersonal relationships and frequently, their own lives.

Major authors of this genre include John Grisham
John Grisham

John Ray Grisham is an United States ex-politician, lawyer and novelist is best known for his works of modern legal drama. As of 2008, his books have sold over 250 million copies worldwide....
, Scott Turow
Scott Turow

Scott Turow is an American author as well as a practicing lawyer. Turow has written eight fiction and two nonfiction books, which have been translated into over 20 languages and have sold over 25 million copies....
, Lisa Scottoline
Lisa Scottoline

Lisa Scottoline is a popular United States author of legal thrillers. Her novels have been translated into 25 languages.Scottoline was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, earning a degree in English language....
, Sheldon Siegel
Sheldon Siegel

Sheldon Siegel is an List of novelists from the United States and author best known for his works of modern legal drama.Siegel was born on the south side of Chicago, Illinois....
, Richard North Patterson
Richard North Patterson

Richard North Patterson is an United States author of fiction. He was born in Berkeley, California, the eldest child of a retired corporate executive and a housewife....
, James Grippando
James Grippando

James Grippando is an American novelist and lawyer....
, Steve Martini
Steve Martini

Steve Martini is an United States writer of legal novels and is best known for The Judge and Undue Influence....
, Bill Blum, Nancy Taylor Rosenberg
Nancy Taylor Rosenberg

Nancy Camille Taylor-Rosenberg is an American writer. She attended school at Gulf Park College in Gulf Port, Mississippi. She has three children, three step children, and resides in Dallas, Texas....
, Brad Meltzer
Brad Meltzer

Brad Meltzer is an United States author of several New York Times best-selling books including The Tenth Justice, Dead Even, The First Counsel, The Millionaires, The Zero Game, and The Book of Fate....
, John Lescroart
John Lescroart

John Lescroart is an United States author best known for two series of legal and crime thrillers featuring the characters Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky....
, Phillip Margolin
Phillip Margolin

Phillip Margolin is a writer of legal thrillers....
, Perri O'Shaughnessy
Perri O'Shaughnessy

Perri O'Shaughnessy is the pen name for two sisters, Mary and Pamela O'Shaughnessy, who live in Hawaii and California. Pamela, a Harvard Law School graduate, was a trial lawyer for sixteen years....
, Michael Nava
Michael Nava

Michael Nava is an Lawyer and gay writer....
, William J Coughlin
William J Coughlin

William Jeremiah Coughlin is the popular author behind such novels as The Twelve Apostles, Her Father's Daughter, Her Honor, In The Presence Of Enemies, and Shadow of a Doubt ....
, William Bernhardt
William Bernhardt

William Bernhardt is an American thriller/mystery/suspense fiction author best known for his "Ben Kincaid" series of books.Bernhardt has sold more than 10 million books in several different countries throughout the world....
, Kate Wilhelm
Kate Wilhelm

Kate Wilhelm , born June 8,1928 in Toledo, Ohio, Ohio, is a writer whose works include science fiction, mystery fiction, and fantasy....
, Linda Fairstein
Linda Fairstein

Linda Fairstein is one of America's foremost legal experts on crimes of violence against women and children. She served as head of the Sex and the law unit of the New York County District Attorney's office from 1976 until 2002 and is the author of a series of novels featuring Manhattan prosecutor Alexandra Cooper....
, William Lashner
William Lashner

William Lashner , is an United States novelist who formerly worked as a trial lawyer. He is a graduate of NYU School of Law and the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa....
, Jeremiah Healy, Sydney Bauer and Arthur Train
Arthur Train

Arthur Cheney Train was an U.S. lawyer and legal thriller writer, particularly known for his novels of courtroom intrigue and the creation of the fictional lawyer Mr Ephraim Tutt....
.

A 2007 legal thriller film, Michael Clayton
Michael Clayton (film)

Michael Clayton is a 2007 in film United States drama film written and directed by Tony Gilroy and produced by Sydney Pollack. It stars George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson , Tilda Swinton, and Sydney Pollack....
, was nominated for multiple and won one Academy Award in the 80th Academy Awards ceremony
80th Academy Awards

The 80th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films in 2007 in film and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California on American Broadcasting Company beginning at 5:30 p.m....
.

Top 10 legal thrillers- (from A Fiction of Law, Narayan Radhakrishnan)
  1. To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
  2. Presumed Innocent - Scott Turow
  3. A Time to Kill - John Grisham
  4. Eyes of a Child - Richard North Patterson
  5. Compelling Evidence - Steve Martini
  6. Primal Fear - William Diehl
  7. The Seven Minutes - Irving Wallace
  8. The Best of Rumpole - John Mortimer