ASIN moved from less recent edition 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.

A family is slaughtered in rural Tennessee. Two goth teens stand accused of the murders, and now 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 a young woman named Natasha, who apparently inspired the slayings, is walking around free because the boys are afraid to implicate her. Now, Joe must risk everything—including the safety of his family and his own good faith—to bring a guilty woman to justice.

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 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." - Alafair Burke.

"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 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. \\\*Each Joe Dillard novel can be read as a standalone. There is no need to have read previous books in the series in order to enjoy this story.

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 bestselling 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

In the sixth volume of the bestselling Joe Dillard series, Dillard does something he has never done before—he hires a young associate. Her name is Charleston Story, she is bright and beautiful, and in her very first case, she winds up inheriting an item so valuable that it threatens to destroy her and everything she cares about. As Dillard tries to help and advise his young protege, he finds himself dragged into a web of danger and intrigue, a web so thick that he may never be able to extract himself.

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 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.

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 bestselling 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)

A young girl vanishes without a trace in the dead of night. Was her menacing absentee father involved? Or did something even more sinister occur? In the tenth installment of the best-selling Joe Dillard series, Joe finds himself turning 50 and on the brink of despair. His involvement in his law practice has tapered to the point of near retirement. He spends his days with his wife, Caroline, who is finally succumbing to the ravages of cancer after a decade-long battle. His son, Jack, is struggling with alcohol abuse and self-loathing after accidentally killing a young mother while protecting the woman he hopes to marry. Joe is nearing the end of his rope. When the girl goes missing, Joe learns she is a member of Jack’s little league team. Her disappearance derails his already teetering son and starts a ticking clock. If she’s not found within 48 hours, the chances of recovering her alive dwindle to nearly zero. Joe knows this, so Caroline charges him with finding her. As the investigation ramps up, law enforcement quickly zeroes in on a likely perpetrator. The identity of the prime suspect hits closer to home than Joe could have possibly imagined, adding frantic urgency to his quest to find the girl.