Judge Stone
The stunning new legal thriller from Sunday Times bestselling author and Academy Award winning actress
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4.2 • 73 Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
An extraordinary new courtroom drama from Sunday Times bestselling thriller author James Patterson and Academy Award winner Viola Davis. Get ready to meet the most unforgettable character in years.
All rise…for Judge Stone.
The most respected citizen in Union Springs, Alabama (population 3,314), is Judge Mary Stone. She holds two responsibilities sacred: running her family farm and presiding over her courtroom. Everything changes when she draws the most controversial case in the history of the South.
Criminally, it’s open-and-shut.
Ethically, there is no middle ground.
Essentially, it’s a choice between life and death.
No judge can satisfy everyone. It would be dangerous to try. But Judge Stone is willing to fight to bring justice to the people and place she loves.
An explosive legal thriller that will keep you turning the pages until the stunning conclusion.
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'A stunning, powerful and incendiary courtroom thriller. Impossible to put down' - CHRIS WHITAKER
'Gripping, tense, heart-wrenching, timely and so, so important. I read it in one sitting. This is a story that everyone will be talking about in 2026.' - RUTH MANCINI
'The co-authors' seamless collaboration is highly successful - as good as a John Grisham page-turner' - THE SUNDAY TIMES
'This is a tale that is impossible to put down, elegant, thoughtful and terrifying' - DAILY MAIL
'Explosive' - Crime Monthly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Patterson (Cross and Sampson) teams up with Oscar winner Davis (Finding Me) for a legal thriller that's stronger on characterization than plot. Alabama circuit judge Mary Stone, well-known for offering free breakfasts at her home in the small town of Union Springs, finds herself in a tough spot as her reelection campaign approaches. She's been assigned the trial of Dr. Bria Gaines, who is charged with intentionally performing an illegal abortion after terminating the pregnancy of 13-year-old Nova Jones. Under state law, the act is a felony, and a conviction could send the doctor to prison for the rest of her life. The case attracts attention from people on both sides of the abortion debate, including Union Springs' local pastor as well as Alabama governor Bert Lamar. After the state attorney general asks Judge Stone to recuse herself in favor of a more experienced jurist, tensions escalate further, and someone intimately involved with the case is murdered. Though Judge Stone proves a memorable, fiercely independent lead, and the authors deserve credit for tackling a hot-button issue, contrivances abound and the narrative ends with a whimper. Despite glimmers of promise, this never quite gels.
Customer Reviews
Excellent!
An excellent book, hard to put down!! Thank you Viola & James!!