Scott Pratt

A preacher is found brutally murdered in a Tennessee motel room.A beautiful, mysterious young girl is accused. In this Mystery Readers International finalist for "Best Debut Mystery," criminal defense lawyer Joe Dillard has become jaded over the years as he's tried to balance his career against his conscience. Savvy but cynical, Dillard wants to quit doing criminal defense, but he can't resist the chance to represent someone who might actually be innocent. His drug-addicted sister has just been released from prison and his mother is succumbing to Alzheimer's, but Dillard's commitment to the case never wavers despite the personal troubles and professional demands that threaten to destroy him."Pratt's richly developed characters are vivid and believable, especially the strong Southern women who fight their male-dominated culture from behind a facade of vulnerability in this brilliantly executed debut." -- Publisher's Weekly."It's Scott Turow and Grisham... The opening chapter is maybe the most compelling I've read in a decade." - Ken Bruen.Smart and sophisticated, with a plot twist that will leave you shaking your head in wonder, "An Innocent Client" -- the first in the acclaimed Joe Dillard series -- will also leave you wanting more.

Joe Dillard #1

An Innocent Client

An Amazon Top 25 bestseller.***Each Joe Dillard novel can be read as a standalone.****A family of four is slaughtered in rural Tennessee. Two weeks later, a retired high school principal and his wife are brutally slain.Two Satan-worshipping teens stand accused.It's up to prosecutor Joe Dillard to convict them. A former defense attorney who spent way too much time defending people he knew were guilty, Joe is determined to win this case to atone for his past. But an evil young woman named Natasha is responsible for the slayings and Joe knows it. Natasha is walking around free because the two boys who have been arrested are too terrified to implicate her. Now Joe must risk everything -- including his family's safety and his own life -- to bring an evil murderer to justice."Pratt's richly developed characters are vivid and believable, especially the strong Southern women who fight their male-dominated culture from behind a facade of vulnerability." -- Publisher's Weekly

A Suspense Thriller

In Good Faith

An Amazon Top 20 bestseller.***Each Joe Dillard novel can be read as a standalone.***A young exotic dancer claims she was sexually assaulted at a party thrown by a university football team.Three players stand accused.In the ninth installment of the best-selling Joe Dillard series, Dillard finds himself defending one of the players accused of assaulting the young woman. The case receives national attention, quickly escalating into a platform for deep-seeded division and hatred. It also ensnares Dillard, along with his son, Jack, and Charleston Story into a web of lies and deceit spun by a mysterious figure with a hidden agenda.Meanwhile, his wife, Caroline, continues her fight against metastatic breast cancer, and his sister, Sarah, comes back into the picture. Culminating in a courtroom scene worthy of Perry Mason, Dillard must take on one of the most difficult cases of his career. Will justice prevail? Or will the weight of the criminal justice system grind Joe and his client to dust?"Pratt's richly developed characters are vivid and believable, especially the strong Southern women who fight their male-dominated culture from behind a facade of vulnerability." -Publishers Weekly

Due Process

A family of four is slaughtered in rural Tennessee. Two weeks later, a retired high school principal and his wife are brutally slain.Two Satan-worshipping teens stand accused. It's up to prosecutor Joe Dillard to convict them. A former defense attorney who spent way too much time defending people he knew were guilty, Joe is determined to win this case to atone for his past. But an evil young woman named Natasha is responsible for the slayings and Joe knows it. Natasha is walking around free because the two boys who have been arrested are too terrified to implicate her. Now Joe must risk everything -- including his family's safety and his own life -- to bring an evil murderer to justice. "This book was so intense it was scary." -- M. Cottrill, Dallas, Tex."The book ends up moving along like a thriller should; at breakneck speed." -- N. Bilmes, Vernon, Conn."This author is a must read if you love attorney and courtroom thrillers." -- Kenneth J. George, Detroit, Mich." Better than the old Grisham." -- Tompat, Melbourne, Fla.

Justice Redeemed

A criminal court judge is found hanging from a tree. A young employee of the district attorney's office goes missing.In this third book of the best-selling Joe Dillard series, Dillard finds himself in the middle of two volatile mysteries. The primary suspect in the judge's murder is Dillard's son's best friend, and Dillard's wife may have destoyed evidence. Meanwhile, the missing girl turns out to be a mystery far more deeper than anyone imagined..."Pratt's richy developed characters are vivid and believable." - "Publisher's Weekly.""It's Scott Turow and Grisham..." - Ken Bruen."Pratt knows what he's doing and it shows." - Alifair Burke.

Injustice for All

From Scott Pratt, the Wall Street Journal and Amazon bestselling author of the beloved Joe Dillard Series, comes the first installment in a fresh new series featuring Presley Carter, a tenacious southern heroine. Lonnie Black, a man with a dark and dangerous past, has just been elected as the new Governor of the state of Tennessee.Shortly after he takes office, some of the state's most heinous and vile criminals see their sentences commuted to time served, releasing dangerous predators onto a vulnerable public.Presley Carter is a bright, hungry young defense attorney plying her trade in the areas in and around Nashville. Though she's haunted by a horrifying event from her past, she's achieved local renown as a savvy, resourceful lawyer adept at handling - and winning - tough cases. After being approached to file a clemency petition by a father whose son committed a gruesome double-murder, Presley reluctantly agrees to file the document, knowing full well the request has no chance of being granted. When she receives a phone call informing her the convict's release has been approved, however, she's shocked to learn she's been unwittingly drawn into an evil scheme that could reach as high as the halls of the state capitol. Presley must then make a difficult choice. Should she stand idly by and allow a shadowy syndicate of corruption to fester in her backyard? Or should she follow in her father's footsteps and take a stand, placing her in the crosshairs of one of the most vicious, powerful men the state has ever seen?Will Presley be able to uphold the righteousness of her beloved justice system? Or will the weight of a diseased and brutal criminal organization crush her along with those she loves? Blood is Black is an addictive thriller filled with heart that will keep you on the edge of your seat, and Presley Carter is destined to become one of the most beloved heroines in the genre.Scott Pratt's work has been published in a dozen languages, and his books have sold more than six million copies worldwide.

A Legal Thriller

Blood Is Black

A New Joe Dillard Novel

Last Resort

A six-year-old girl is kidnapped from her bed in Tennessee's oldest town.The ransom note demands millions.In this fifth installment of the highly-acclaimed and best selling Joe Dillard series, Dillard is hired to represent the parents of a child who has gone missing. As the clock ticks, Dillard desperately tries to find the little girl, but the return of his wife's dreaded disease and the stunning appearance of his father combine to push Dillard to his emotional limit. "I have grown to love Joe Dillard." - Janet Lindsay"This author has created a cast of characters and a protagonist so real they virtually jump off the page." - Mark Rubenstein

Conflict of Interest

The Joe Dillard Series Box Set #1-5

Reasonable Fear

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A Supreme Court Justice is found cut into pieces in the back of a pick-up truck. Three other judges have already gone missing. In the eighth installment of Scott Pratt's bestselling Joe Dillard Series, Dillard is hired to represent the man driving the pick-up. As Dillard delves into the case, he comes to believe his client is not guilty. But who is? Who has been kidnapping and killing judges all over the state of Tennessee? The search for that answer leads Dillard and his friend, Sheriff Leon Bates, down a path so dark and so dangerous to a villain so evil, it will change both Joe and Leon forever -- if they manage to survive. "If you like Reacher, the Lincoln Lawyer, Jake Brigance and Paul Madriani, you'll be excited to meet Joe Dillard!" --Amazon Five-Star Review "I predict it won't be long before you see Scott Pratt's name mentioned with Lee Child, Michael Connelly, John Grisham, and Steve Martini when critics talk about legal/crime fiction." --Amazon Five-Star Review "Every bit as good as Grisham! Superb characterization, suspense, drama." --Amazon Five-Star Review "I love the Dillard Series by Scott Pratt. As a retired attorney who practiced transactional law and not civil or criminal litigation, I appreciate the way Scott reveals the tension between defense attorneys and prosecutors, the prejudices of both toward each other, the Judge, and law enforcement." --Amazon Five-Star Review

And That Right Soon

Judgment Cometh

A beautiful, young, rising star in the country music world is found dead in a Nashville hotel room. The owner of her record company is charged with murder. In the seventh installment of Scott Pratt's bestselling Joe Dillard series, Dillard is hired to travel to Tennessee's capital city to defend Paul Milius, a record company baron accused of strangling Kasey Cartwright, his label's young star. Dillard navigates Nashville's unfamiliar legal system and the world of country music in search of the truth, but he soon finds himself confronted with a web of lies so masterfully woven that he fears he may never find any answers. As the trial begins and the tension mounts, Dillard fears that not only will his client be wrongfully convicted, but that Dillard himself may not survive."If you like Reacher, the Lincoln Lawyer, Jake Brigance and Paul Madriani, you'll be excited to meet Joe Dillard!" --Amazon Five-Star Review"I predict it won't be long before you see Scott Pratt's name mentioned with Lee Child, Michael Connelly, John Grisham, and Steve Martini when critics talk about legal/crime fiction." --Amazon Five-Star Review"Every bit as good as Grisham! Superb characterization, suspense, drama." --Amazon Five-Star Review"I love the Dillard Series by Scott Pratt. As a retired attorney who practiced transactional law and not civil or criminal litigation, I appreciate the way Scott reveals the tension between defense attorneys and prosecutors, the prejudices of both toward each other, the Judge, and law enforcement." --Amazon Five-Star Review

A Crime of Passion

***Each Joe Dillard novel can be read as a standalone.****A criminal court judge is found hanging from a tree.A young employee of the district attorney's office goes missing.In the third book of the bestselling Joe Dillard series, Dillard finds himself in the middle of two volatile mysteries. The primary suspect in the judge's murder is Dillard's son's best friend, and Dillard's wife may have destroyed evidence. Meanwhile, the missing girl turns out to be a mystery far deeper than anyone imagined..."Pratt's richly developed characters are vivid and believable." -Publisher's Weekly"It's Scott Turow and Grisham..." -Ken Bruen"Pratt knows what he's doing and it shows." -Alifair Burke

Former defense attorney Darren Street is desperately trying to put his life back together after spending two years in a maximum-security prison for a murder he didn’t commit. He’s rebuilding his law practice, reconnecting with his son, and falling more deeply in love with his girlfriend, fellow attorney Grace Alexander. But the past casts a long shadow, and for Street, there’s no outrunning it. Tormented by nightmares and violent mood swings, Street is seeking treatment for PTSD when a new trauma shakes his world: his mother is killed in an explosion, but the police believe Street was the intended target. Payback from an old enemy, or the calling card of a deadly new foe? Whoever’s behind it, Street begins to lose his grip on reality and decides to take matters in his own hands. And the law won’t stop him from revenge. Justice has a new name: Darren Street.

Justice Burning

"River on Fire" is the story of Randall Smith, a foundling orphan growing up in the midwestern United States in the late 1960s. Without the intimate guidance of loving parents, Randall struggles to understand a dangerous and confusing world during one of the most tumultuous times in modern history. Immensely readable and filled with humor and irony, "River on Fire" will both warm and break your heart. A Discussion/Study Guide is included at the end of the novel.

River on Fire

An Amazon Top 30 bestseller.***Each Joe Dillard novel can be read as a standalone.***Three young women are found floating in a lake.The suspect is one of the richest and most powerful men in Tennessee.In the fourth installment of the bestselling Joe Dillard series, Dillard has become the district attorney in Northeast Tennessee. He becomes heavily involved in the investigation with Sheriff Leon Bates and soon realizes that he is up against an enemy that he has never before encountered -- someone so rich and so powerful that the course of justice could be altered by money and political influence. But when bodies start showing up in his driveway and his family is threatened with termination, Dillard must ask himself a previously unthinkable question. His life, and the lives of his family, depend on the answer."Pratt's richly developed characters are vivid and believable, especially the strong Southern women who fight their male-dominated culture from behind a facade of vulnerability." -Publisher's Weekly

Darren Street faces the most personal and ruthless vendetta of his life. After forfeiting years serving time for a false murder conviction, former criminal defense attorney Darren Street finally got his freedom back and is trying to build a regular life. But when an unthinkable tragedy shatters his hard-earned normalcy, Street is left reeling from the devastating blow. As the criminal-justice system refuses to dispense justice, he sets out--without mercy--after the man responsible. Unwilling to stop at simply righting one wrong, Street decides to dust off his legal skills and dive back in--this time to unseat the district attorney general in Knoxville, whose callous indifference nearly let a man get away with murder. Now navigating a broken establishment already steeped in corruption, Street will find the retribution and redemption he so desperately needs--unless it draws him even deeper into the very chaos that derailed his life in the first place.

Scott Pratt

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