Larry A. Winters's Blog

After months of writing, revising, and other preparation, THE LEGAL LIMIT has launched!

Fans of the Jessie Black series will recognize the protagonists of this new series – Hal and Kristina Nolan. Many of you have told me how much you’ve enjoyed their appearances in the Jessie Black books, particularly their dynamic as a clever (some would say devious) criminal defense team. Now we get to see them in action full-time, facing a new challenge that will test all of their legal skills … not to mention their marriage.

While this is technically a spin-off series, new readers can absolutely jump in here – you don’t need to have read any of the Jessie Black books to enjoy The Legal Limit. (That said, longtime fans will feel right at home )

AVAILABLE FOR KINDLE, KINDLE UNLIMITED, AND PAPERBACK (HARDCOVER COMING SOON).

Click here to read THE LEGAL LIMIT!

I just launched Blood Oath, the latest installment in the Jessie Black Legal Thriller Series!

In this novel, Jessie and Leary square off against a ruthless cult operating in the heart of Philadelphia, while also contending with Jessie’s political rivals as the election for DA draws closer. There are courtroom showdowns, political intrigue, vicious enemies, and even more twists and turns than usual.

Secrets are unearthed – including secrets from Jessie’s past. Alliances are tested – including a longtime friendship. And our beloved characters face their toughest challenges yet, both in and out of the courtroom.

Writing Blood Oath was not easy, but the long hours at the keyboard paid off. If you’re a fan of the series (or a newcomer who enjoys legal thrillers), you’re going to love this book.

And you can read it right now!

I am excited to announce the launch of the newest book in the Jessie Black Legal Thriller series, Last Stand!

Jessie and Leary must overcome incredible odds to defend a beloved friend from false criminal charges. There are new challenges, new surprises, and great new characters (both friends and enemies)!

Writing Last Stand has been an exhilarating experience, and I truly believe it’s one of my best. I always strive to bring you great characters, emotional stories, and thrills and suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat. I can safely promise that Last Stand delivers.

Murder. Corruption. A race for power.

A prosecutor torn between justice and loyalty. A cage fighter with a score to settle. And an innocent man desperate to clear his name.

When interim District Attorney Jessie Black’s friend and mentor is accused of a nightmarish crime, she knows he’s innocent. Jesus Rivera is a good man, a lawyer who’s guided her throughout her career. But without proof, her hands are tied. She can’t intervene without breaking the trust of the city that appointed her.

But Jessie can’t let it go – and her detective husband Mark Leary is right there with her.

The deeper they dig, the more deadly the situation becomes. They uncover blackmail, murder, and a vicious Philly crime family bent on Rivera’s downfall. But it’s when they encounter the wildcard that is Hannah O’Sullivan – a fierce mixed martial artist with rage issues and an enigmatic link to the case – that things really go off the rails.

With betrayals around every corner and the clock ticking on Rivera’s trial, Jessie and Leary race to find the truth. But at what cost? Will their loyalty to a friend destroy everything they’ve worked for? Or will justice prevail?

Available in ebook now! (Paperback coming soon!)

I am excited to announce the launch of the newest book in the Jessie Black Legal Thriller series, Return of the Prosecutor! If you’re a fan of the series waiting for the newest adventure of Jessie and her friends, you’re going to love this one!

Murder. Corruption. A race for power.

Exiled from the career she loved, former prosecutor Jessie Black feels lost. Fighting for victims and their families gave her purpose and fulfillment as a homicide prosecutor. Her new role as a criminal defense attorney only brings anxiety and doubt.

Then the District Attorney, Damon Faber, is arrested on corruption charges. The city needs a new DA, and Jessie sees an opportunity – not just to return to the DA’s Office, but to lead it.

But Jessie soon discovers that the cutthroat world of Philadelphia politics pales in comparison to an even more sinister threat. Something festered during Faber’s reign – a deadly conspiracy involving the city’s rich and powerful. And the last person they want as DA is Jessie Black.

The city desperately needs a District Attorney with the courage to put justice above politics. Will Jessie answer the call, even if it makes her the next target?

Available in ebook and paperback now!

​Murder Charge, the new Jessie Black legal thriller, is now available in Kindle and paperback formats! (Also in Kindle Unlimited.)

The response has been great so far. Readers are loving that this one is longer and darker than previous books, and that it packs an emotional punch.

This book just moved so smoothly. I kept saying “just one more chapter”. I wanted to jump in and smack some people. Jessie and Leary are the best. Now please get to work on number 10! Murder Charge is an AWESOME story!

Kindle Customer, posted April 4, 2022 (5 Stars)

A 14-year-old girl accused of murder. A former prosecutor who might be able to save her. And a District Attorney out for blood…

Jessie Black is on the outside looking in. No longer an assistant DA, she now struggles to find meaning in a new career defending wealthy tax cheats. But when the teenage granddaughter of a colleague is arrested for murder, Jessie suddenly finds herself back where she belongs – fighting for justice in Philadelphia criminal court.

District Attorney Damon Faber doesn’t care about justice. He stokes a venomous, personal obsession with Jessie, and he seizes this murder trial as his chance to vent his hatred – not just by beating Jessie in the courtroom, but by crushing her heart and soul.

Jessie has never faced an enemy this powerful or stakes this high. Can she save a young girl from a horrific fate while also saving herself and those she loves?

Click here to read Murder Charge today!

​Conviction, the new Jessie Black legal thriller, is here!

I’m extremely excited about this book. If you’re a fan of the series, you’re going to absolutely love this one.

A power-hungry District Attorney seizes office, a beloved family friend is charged with murder, and prosecutor Jessie Black faces the toughest decision of her life.

For ten years, Jessie’s career as a prosecutor at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office has given her a mission in life, enabled her to fight for victims and their families, and deeply fulfilled her. She cannot imagine doing anything else. But when a new DA replaces her boss in a shocking election victory, all of that changes in a heartbeat.

The new regime cares nothing about justice, only politics. The message is clear – Jessie can adapt to the office’s new priorities, or leave. Her dilemma intensifies when the DA targets a family friend who is close to Jessie’s heart. When she was a young child, Max Coleman was there for her family when Jessie’s mother passed away. Now Max has been accused of a horrific crime he did not commit, and it’s time for her to be there for him.

Max needs a defense attorney and Jessie needs a new mission. But after a decade as a prosecutor, can Jessie Black really cross over to the other side of the courtroom?

Click here to read Conviction today!

Lethal Innocence, the new Jessie Black legal thriller, is here! This is the seventh book in the series (but can also be read on its own). Click here and read the book today.

Assistant District Attorney Jessie Black doesn’t believe that. She believes the law applies to everyone, and that justice and truth prevail.

But according to veteran prosecutor Ned Ransom, it’s exactly what happened six years ago, when hip-hop superstar Jurdel Frazier threw his wife off a fifteenth floor hotel balcony and was found not guilty by a starstruck jury.

Now history repeats itself. Police find the cold, dead body of Frazier’s new girlfriend, and Jessie finds herself next to Ransom at the prosecution table.

But is this a second chance for justice, or something more sinister—and deadly? The more Jessie uncovers, the more she worries that this case is not what it appears.

And the person she begins to trust the least is the prosecutor sitting next to her.

Lethal Innocence is the seventh book in the Jessie Black Legal Thriller series, and is full of the great characters, unpredictable twists and turns, and edge-of-your-seat courtroom showdowns that have made this a favorite series of legal thriller fans everywhere!

Buy it now and enjoy Lethal Innocence today.

Summer is here, and with it a bunch of online articles recommending “the best summer reads.”

(Usually accompanied by a photo of a woman in a nice hat reading a paperback at the beach.)

But what exactly is a “summer read”?

Is it a novel that is literally about the summer?

Is it a light, easy-to-read novel you can follow even as your kids/friends/significant other/dog vies for your attention?

Is it a book you have no intention of keeping or reading again, so you don’t care about getting it wet or full of sand at the beach?

I’ve seen reading lists that support the first two possibilities.

The third one is my personal definition, since I can’t bear to expose a beautiful, pristine book—much less my Kindle—to water or sand or sunscreen-coated fingers. I usually buy a used paperback for beach reading to avoid worrying about this. (Yes, I do know I’m weird.)

What I really think—and find kind of depressing—is that the idea of the “summer read” comes from the fact that there are a lot of people who only read one book per year—one book—and the time they read that book is during a vacation in the summer.

I think that’s depressing because I love books. The thought of only reading one per year—fewer than 100 in your whole life—seems like a great loss.

A loss of entertainment. A loss of insight. A loss of connection.

I’m guessing you have similar feelings. You may well read 100 books per year. You’re a reader.

But back to the topic. I’m not sure any of my books fit the “summer read” category. Courtrooms aren’t exactly breezy, tropical locales. I guess the closest would be Hardcore, a thriller that takes place in sunny Los Angeles and involves scantily clad beautiful people (and murder). If you’re looking for a Winters summer read (ha, see what I did there?) check out Hardcore!

And go ahead and take Hardcore to the beach if you want. Just try not to get it too sandy. 

Hey everyone! The newest book in the Jessie Black Legal Thriller Series is here, Silenced Witness. Check it out!

Life is good for assistant DA Jessie Black. She just brought another murder trial to a successful conclusion. Her reputation is growing as a top prosecutor in Philadelphia. And she’s engaged to a strong, handsome man she loves. Now it’s time to step back, plan her wedding, and look forward to a bright future.

But when a young man is brutally butchered in his own home, the courtroom calls to her. Especially when the police are desperate for help. Hal and Kristina Nolan, a clever husband-and-wife team of defense attorneys, have filed motions to block key evidence and keep a critical witness off the stand. Jessie knows she needs to go to trial and beat them at their own game. Because if she fails, their client, a remorseless human monster, will stroll out of the courthouse a free man.

Silenced Witness is the sixth novel in the highly rated Jessie Black series of legal thrillers. If you love powerful characters, quick-witted dialogue, and startling, unpredictable stories, you’ll love this courtroom page-turner by Larry A. Winters.

As usual, the odds are against Jessie. Can she overcome cunning legal tactics to put a killer away forever?

Buy Silenced Witness now and find out!

Do you need to escape? Right now?

Not from a disaster, war zone, or killer (I hope). I mean escape from the ordinary pressures of life?

I was thinking about this subject because, for some reason, my brain flashed back in time to an evening when I was a law student living in Philadelphia. I had a job interview the next day and I was feeling anxious and stressed-out. My stomach was churning.

I picked up the book I had been reading. It was the Michael Crichton novel Timeline. Even as I sat down, I thought to myself, Why bother? You’ll never be able to focus.

I was wrong.

Within a few pages, my brain stopped pestering me with thoughts of everything that could go wrong the next day. The churning in my stomach subsided.

It was the first time I really appreciated what people mean when they say a book is an escape.

I’m an author. Sometimes writing is incredibly fun and the words just seem to flow out of me. More often, it is hard, grinding work.

At those times, it helps to remind myself that somewhere out there is a person whose stomach is churning. And that if I do my job well, I can give that person relief.

I can provide an escape.

If you could use a good escape right now, read one of my legal thrillers. They are fun, exciting books, with characters you’ll love spending time with.

You can currently get a collection of the first three novels in my Jessie Black series–Burnout, Informant, and Deadly Evidence–for a big discount off the prices of the individual books! These are full-length novels with hundreds of great reviews. The collection is available on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.

Click here now to buy the collection!

And enjoy your escape!