Most thrillers put a lawyer on the cover and call it a legal thriller. The genre only really works when the courtroom itself feels like the source of tension, not the backdrop. Here are five that earn the label.
The Firm by John Grisham. Still the best entry point into the genre. Mitch McDeere takes the highest-paying job in the country and spends 400 pages finding out why nobody warned him. The horror is slow and it works because Grisham never makes the firm threaten him. It flatters him instead.
Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow. Turow was a federal prosecutor and it shows in every page. A prosecutor investigates the murder of a colleague he was having an affair with, then becomes the prime suspect. The ending is still argued about.
The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly. Mickey Haller runs his practice from the back seat of a car and takes a case that turns out to be far worse than the fee suggested. Connelly covered the courts as a journalist before he wrote fiction, and the procedural detail holds up.
A Time to Kill by John Grisham. His first novel and his angriest. No publisher wanted it until The Firm sold. Race, vigilante justice, and a jury that has already decided before the trial starts.
Defending Jacob by William Landay. A district attorney's own son is accused of murder. The father investigates from inside the system that is prosecuting his family.
If you want the full breakdown, including what separates a good legal thriller from a great one and where to start depending on what you're after, Skriuwer has a longer guide.
