“Has what most legal thrillers lack—total authenticity, which is spellbinding.” James Patterson
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Robert Rotstein, A True Verdict is an edge-of-your-seat legal thriller filled with secrets.
MediMiracle Corporation manufactures Sophrosyne, a miracle cure for opiate addiction. Ellison Ricard, a research analyst for the company, claims to have uncovered data that proves Black users of Sophrosyne experience fatal side effects far more often than people of other races. When Ricard confronts MediMiracle’s charismatic founder and CEO, Peyton Burke, a violent confrontation ensues. The wheelchair-bound Ricard—a Black man who had been severely injured years earlier—is fired that very day.
Ricard turns to aging lawyer M. Bailey Klaus, to sue Burke and MediMiracle for civil rights violations, alleging that Ricard was fired because he blew the whistle on the coverup and because he was Black. Klaus faces off against his former protégé, Cicely Pagano, each arguing for drastically different versions of Ricard. Is he a brilliant, sincere, credible person who is rightfully standing up against a deadly product? Or is he a delusional, embittered, and avaricious liar who is taking advantage of his former employer?
Ricard’s fate rests with an eight-person jury who can’t agree on anything. Working together to reach a consensus means navigating a tempest of the most divisive issues: politics, sexism, drug abuse, capitalism, healthcare, and racism. Can eight people with different backgrounds, ages, classes, and political views avoid coming to blows, much less render a true verdict? Told through court transcripts and jury deliberations, A True Verdict is a suspenseful ride to a shocking outcome …
Praise
“Has what most legal thrillers lack—total authenticity, which is spellbinding.” James Patterson
“Rotstein’s insight into the insidious nature of jury trials blew me away.” Robert Dugoni, #1 Amazon, Wall Street Journal, and internationally bestselling author of My Sister’s Grave
“A perfect legal thriller, full of twists that kept me reading compulsively. Highly recommended.” Terry Shames, author of The Troubling Death of Maddy Benson
“Rich in verisimilitude, lawyer and author par excellence Robert Rotstein’s A True Verdict is a riveting blend of plot and prose that masterfully explores the complexities of morality and modern-day societal divisions. Get ready for a thought-provoking, can’t-put-down read that will leave you questioning the very nature of truth.” David Freed, author of the Cordell Logan mystery series
“In the gripping legal thriller, A True Verdict, Robert Rotstein brilliantly transports readers directly into the deliberation room as the jury struggles with a complex whistleblower case. So many shocking secrets, so many serpentine twists! My true verdict? This book’s guilty of being a real page-turner!” Alan Orloff, Anthony, Agatha, Derringer, and Thriller Award–winning author of Late Checkout
Robert Rotstein is the author of The Out-of-Town Lawyer and the USA Today bestseller We, The Jury, which was named a Suspense Magazine 2018 Best Book. He also coauthored, with James Patterson, “The Family Lawyer”, the title story of the New York Times bestselling collection. His other titles include Corrupt Practices, Reckless Disregard, and The Bomb Maker’s Son. Rotstein practices intellectual property law with the Los Angeles firm Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, LLP, and has represented all the major movie studios and record companies, and several well-known directors, writers, and performers, including James Cameron, John Sayles, Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, and Quincy Jones.
Hillary Huber, a Los Angeles–based voice talent with hundreds of commercials and promos under her belt, was bitten by the audiobook bug in 2005. She now records books on a regular basis and has been nominated for several Audie Awards and won numerous Earphones Awards.
Deanna Anthony is a classically trained singer, actress, and audiobook narrator. A former beauty queen, she has performed in over fifty regional and international theaters. When not working, she enjoys quilting and sewing, reading romance, and enjoying home-cooked meals and baked treats.
Kelli Tager is a Los Angeles–based, award-winning narrator. She earned a BA in theater arts from UCLA, studying in England for her junior year. She returned to the UK for a master’s in Shakespeare. After graduation, she continued to act in theater, film, and television until she discovered voice-over. She now does voice acting exclusively in commercials, animation, and audiobooks.
Eunice Wong is a classically trained actor who works extensively in professional theaters across the United States and in New York City, as well as having appeared on HBO, NBC, ABC, Comedy Central, and in various independent films. Eunice is a graduate of the Juilliard School Drama Division Actor Training Program and has also studied piano and singing at the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto. A first-generation Chinese Canadian, born in Toronto to Eric and Eleanor Wong, who immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong, Eunice grew up with her brother Eugene in Toronto and thanks her family for their constant love and support.
Graham Halstead, an Earphones Award and Audie Award–winning narrator, is a professionally trained actor and voice artist. As an actor, he has worked internationally in Edinburgh and London, as well as at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. His youthful, easy-flowing voice can be heard on television and radio voicing spots for Airborne and Allegra.
Roxanne Hernandez is an audio narrator and a top narrator choice for young adult, adult drama, and Latin American/Chicano literature. She was a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for best narration in 2011.
Andrew Eiden, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is an actor and voice artist. He has been acting since the age of four, working at regional theaters including La Mirada Theatre, the Glendale Center Theatre, and the Pasadena Playhouse. He has starred in dozens of national commercials, guest-spotted on numerous television shows, and has been a series regular on three programs: Discovery Channel’s Outward Bound, Disney Channel’s Movie Surfers, and most notably ABC’s Complete Savages
Robin Miles, named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, has twice won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration, an Audie Award for directing, and many Earphones Awards. Her film and television acting credits include The Last Days of Disco, Primary Colors, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order, New York Undercover, National Geographic’s Tales from the Wild, All My Children, and One Life to Live. She regularly gives seminars to members of SAG and AFTRA actors’ unions, and in 2005 she started Narration Arts Workshop in New York City, offering audiobook recording classes and coaching. She holds a BA degree in theater studies from Yale University, an MFA in acting from the Yale School of Drama, and a certificate from the British American Drama Academy in England.
Mark Bramhall has won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration, more than thirty AudioFile Earphones Awards, and has repeatedly been named by AudioFile magazine and Publishers Weekly among their “Best Voices of the Year.” He is also an award-winning actor whose acting credits include off-Broadway, regional, and many Los Angeles venues as well as television, animation, and feature films. He has taught and directed at the American Academy of Dramatic Art.
Overview
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Robert Rotstein, A True Verdict is an edge-of-your-seat legal thriller filled with secrets.
MediMiracle Corporation manufactures Sophrosyne, a miracle cure for opiate addiction. Ellison Ricard, a research analyst for the company, claims to have uncovered data that proves Black users of Sophrosyne experience fatal side effects far more often than people of other races. When Ricard confronts MediMiracle’s charismatic founder and CEO, Peyton Burke, a violent confrontation ensues. The wheelchair-bound Ricard—a Black man who had been severely injured years earlier—is fired that very day.
Ricard turns to aging lawyer M. Bailey Klaus, to sue Burke and MediMiracle for civil rights violations, alleging that Ricard was fired because he blew the whistle on the coverup and because he was Black. Klaus faces off against his former protégé, Cicely Pagano, each arguing for drastically different versions of Ricard. Is he a brilliant, sincere, credible person who is rightfully standing up against a deadly product? Or is he a delusional, embittered, and avaricious liar who is taking advantage of his former employer?
Ricard’s fate rests with an eight-person jury who can’t agree on anything. Working together to reach a consensus means navigating a tempest of the most divisive issues: politics, sexism, drug abuse, capitalism, healthcare, and racism. Can eight people with different backgrounds, ages, classes, and political views avoid coming to blows, much less render a true verdict? Told through court transcripts and jury deliberations, A True Verdict is a suspenseful ride to a shocking outcome …