Judge Stone
A Novel
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4.6 • 26 Ratings
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
#1 New York Times Bestseller!
Academy Award winning actress Viola Davis and the world's #1 bestselling author James Patterson’s Judge Stone “delivers first-class courtroom drama, small-town excitement, and strong characters all wrapped in a moral dilemma. Tense, readable, and relevant.” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)
“Talk about a power combo! ... With Davis’s razor-sharp emotional insight and Patterson’s mastery of rocket-fuel pacing, this is the dream team to deliver an up-all-night read that will keep the group chat buzzing.” —Oprah Daily
“Wonderfully satisfying ... This legal thriller from [a] superstar duo ... demands attention from its opening pages and never lets go.” —Booklist, starred review
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. It's there 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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This judicial thriller from suspense master James Patterson and How to Get Away with Murder star Viola Davis features a potent mix of hot-button issues. In a tiny Alabama town, Dr. Bria Gaines faces potential life imprisonment for providing an abortion to a 13-year-old, with Judge Mary Stone, a Black woman with deep local roots, overseeing the case. Things get ugly quickly as the political tinderbox catches fire. Davis, the daughter of a 1960s civil rights activist, grew up steeped in the world surrounding Dr. Gaines and Judge Stone, and she and Patterson have crafted a timely legal drama that also explores the complications of America’s past—and does so with sociopolitical intelligence, emotionally complex characters, and plenty of courtroom surprises. Judge Stone is a thriller with compassion and clarity.
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.
