Sam Johnstone

When a disabled veteran takes a new job as an attorney in a small Wyoming town, he is thrust into a mysterious murder case. Sam Johnstone was hoping for renewal when he took a job at a boutique law firm in rustic Wyoming. The mountains and streams of the West would be a refreshing, quiet place to start over after years of war and turmoil in his personal life. But after a local woman is brutally murdered, Sam realizes that things aren't so quiet in this rural American town. The accused is one Tommy Olsen, a known delinquent who had been sleeping with the victim. Sam is repulsed by the crime and wants nothing to do with the case but meets with Tommy to make sure he has legal representation. Yet things are not as they seem. What begins as a cut-and-dry case becomes infinitely more complicated as new facts are uncovered, and Sam agrees to serve as Tommy's defense attorney. With the killer's identity still unknown, Sam is enveloped in the small-town politics and courtroom drama of a murder investigation that keeps getting more shocking. But if Sam can't uncover the truth, an innocent man might be punished...while the real killer watches from the shadows.

After an impressive performance in front of a full house, local college basketball stand-out Davonte Blair celebrates the victory with a few friends. But when a fierce argument over drugs ensues, the evening takes a violent turn-and one member of the group goes missing. When police discover the body of the basketball team manager, the town turns into a tinderbox of emotions. The media is calling it a hate crime. The college president is desperate to avoid a scandal. And the police department is under intense pressure to solve the horrific case. As defense attorney Sam Johnstone looks into the murder, the case grows even more complicated. Ronnie Norquist, the son of Sam's longtime friend and law partner, was the dead student's roommate-and Ronnie was there the night his roommate disappeared. His personal and professional worlds colliding, Sam can tell Ronnie knows more than he's letting on. But what is it that Ronnie witnessed? And whose guilt does it prove? In a case that's full of circumstantial evidence and competing versions of truth, Sam must find out what really happened-before this college town tears itself apart.

The line between truth and deception is as thin as a razor's edge… Determined to enjoy the pace of small-town life, lawyer Sam Johnstone has left his painful past behind and looks forward to taking each new day as it comes. Yet just as he sees peace and tranquility on the horizon, a close friend is charged with murder. Unable to stand quietly by, Sam quickly signs on for the defense. But how can he defend a client who has already confessed to the crime? Further complicating matters, an ethically-challenged prosecutor with an ax to grind seems embarked on a personal crusade against Sam. Now, in a case that seems doomed from the start, Sam must risk his reputation, his livelihood, and more to help a friend in need. But how far is he willing to go to uncover the shocking truth?

The pursuit of the truth might cost one Wyoming lawyer everything... In the wake of a trial loss and personal upheaval, defense attorney Sam Johnstone is drawn back into the legal fray by an accused drug dealer involved in a fatal fentanyl case. The dealer's tantalizing offer? Pivotal information that could exonerate the son of Sam's former partner in exchange for representation. As Sam ventures deeper into this moral minefield, he uncovers suppressed testimony that could incriminate a former client... and threaten his own career.

For one small-town lawyer, the defense of a client could be his undoing at the hands of another... In the latest twist of fate, defense attorney Sam Johnstone confronts a formidable challenge: defending a renowned surgeon accused of domestic battery against her estranged husband, who happens to be a local attorney. This seemingly straightforward misdemeanor case spirals into a complex murder trial, where Sam must show his client acted in self-defense. But the courtroom isn't his only battleground. Sam finds himself in a difficult situation when a former lover, obsessed with him, directs threatening attention towards him and his client. He faces a tough choice: striving for success in the courtroom or focusing on safety outside of it. From Wall Street Journal bestselling author James Chandler comes the seventh book in the Sam Johnstone legal thriller series. This page turner is perfect for fans of John Grisham, James Patterson, and C.J. Box.