To celebrate the upcoming release of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, I thought it would be fun to give some great books their day in court. There are a surprising about of legal thrillers out there, so I narrowed it down to four that have some of the elements we love about the Ace Attorney games.
Hopefully, you will find one you will like!
Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow
Rožat “Rusty” Sabich, a prosecutor, finds himself on the stand as he is accused of killing a colleague, the beautiful and intelligent prosecutor Carolyn Polhemus. In this suspenseful novel, Sabich’s affections for a woman other than his wife has led him to this moment. Now everything he values is on trial.
An addictive blend of mystery and legal thriller, with so many twists you might get whiplash from reading it and dialogue sharper than a knife.
Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh
A murderer is in the courtroom. Soon a jury will decide the fate of the defendant. The thing is, the murderer isn’t the one on the stand, he is one of the thirteen members of the jury.
Hollywood star Robert Solomon and his wife were living the dream, at least according to the tabloids. However, that image of the glamorous couple is ruined when his wife is killed, and Solomon is the prime suspect. Ex conman turned defence lawyer Eddie Flynn is his only hope to clear his name.
As the procedures start, Flynn spots some strange goings-on in the courthouse. Leading him to suspect that someone in the jury box knows something they shouldn’t be able to. Unless, of course, they knew what exactly happened. Only one person would know though, the murderer.
Thirteen is the fourth book in the Eddie Flynn series but can be enjoyed as a standalone.
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
A murder of a local developer shakes a sleepy retirement town. In addition to the mystery, a strange photograph was found with the remains.
A group of retirees, Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron, formed the Thursday Murder Club a little while beforehand. They typically discuss cold cases but with this recent crime right on their doorstep, these old dogs decide to solve this mystery all by themselves. After all, with age comes wisdom, they may be pushing 80, but they are not out of the game just yet. As the murderer’s kill count grows, can they stop the villain before it’s too late?
The Thursday Murder Club brings the laughs just like the Ace Attorney games do. Except here, it does so in a very British way.
The Quiet Boy by Ben H. Winters
Wesley Keener is frozen in time. Stuck at 16 years old, unable to communicate, eat or sleep.
Wesley is now suffering from the neurological disorder Syndrome J. His distraught parents Beth and David Keener, recruit a PI, by the name of Jay Shenk, to get to uncover the truth behind their son’s new condition. Years later, Shenk finds out that David has been accused of murder. Not only that, the murder of a doctor who was vital in their medical malpractice lawsuit. Shenk starts digging and learns some disturbing truths, there is far more going on than anyone could have guessed, and it’s only going to get worse.
The Ace Attorney games have a fair amount of magical realism, namely with the Magatama. The Quiet Boy is part legal thriller, part SciFi and all suspense.
Nerd Rambles 
I’m so excited for the Ace Attorney Chronicles!
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