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. -------------------------------------------'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