A forensic psychologist uncovers a legal conspiracy that transforms courtroom proceedings forever-when she proves a decorated detective has been manufacturing false confessions by exploiting defendants with undiagnosed autism, threatening the foundation of criminal prosecution itself.
Dr. Simone Kraft specializes in interrogation analysis and confession reliability, serving as an expert witness in wrongful conviction cases across the nation. When she's retained to evaluate a murder confession from a nineteen-year-old defendant, the evidence seems airtight-until Simone recognizes the legal vulnerability that defense attorneys missed. The suspect exhibits classic signs of autism spectrum disorder, and the sixteen-hour police interrogation employed coercive tactics specifically designed to exploit her literal interpretation of questions and difficulty understanding Miranda rights. As Simone prepares her expert testimony, she discovers this isn't an isolated case of prosecutorial misconduct. A single detective has built his exceptional conviction rate on a pattern of due process violations, targeting suspects with neurodevelopmental disabilities and using psychological manipulation to obtain involuntary confessions that would never survive appellate review-if anyone bothered to examine the interrogation methods. This legal thriller exposes the devastating intersection of criminal procedure, disability law, and evidentiary standards, where constitutional rights mean nothing if defendants can't understand them.
Simone's investigation into criminal defense inadequacy reveals twenty-three questionable cases spanning eight years, each involving plea bargains or jury convictions based primarily on confession evidence obtained through exploitation of autistic traits. From unlawful interrogation techniques that violate the voluntariness standard to Brady violations where exculpatory evidence was suppressed, the legal procedural unfolds like a masterclass in how justice system corruption destroys lives. This courtroom drama intensifies as Simone navigates motion hearings, evidentiary challenges, and constitutional law arguments while facing obstruction from prosecutors invested in protecting their conviction rates. The criminal justice reform implications are staggering: if these confessions are ruled inadmissible under coercion standards, hundreds of cases could face post-conviction relief petitions. As an expert witness, Simone must prove that confessions obtained by weaponizing disability constitute violations of due process rights-testimony that could establish legal precedent protecting vulnerable defendants nationwide while exposing law enforcement training failures that enable these civil rights violations.
This legal suspense novel delivers authentic courtroom procedure alongside psychological thriller pacing, perfect for readers fascinated by criminal law, wrongful conviction advocacy, and the appellate process that determines guilt or innocence beyond trial verdicts. The narrative combines prosecutorial ethics violations with investigative detective work, examining how inadequate legal representation fails neurodivergent clients and how forensic psychology expertise can expose flaws in criminal prosecution. From suppression hearings to habeas corpus petitions, from ineffective assistance of counsel claims to actual innocence litigation, this judicial thriller explores every avenue of criminal defense strategy while maintaining pulse-pounding suspense. As Simone testifies in case after case, readers witness the legal system's capacity for both catastrophic injustice and redemptive reform-a page-turning examination of constitutional protections, evidentiary standards, and why defense attorney competence matters more than most people realize in our adversarial legal framework.
About the Author :
A. B. Tewary brings a teacher's eye for detail and a storyteller's instinct for suspense to his thriller writing. His two decades in education provided intimate familiarity with human psychology-the contradictions, the secrets, the unexpected depths. Influenced by a lifetime of reading across genres, his work explores the moral complexities that emerge when ordinary people face extraordinary choices. He writes to unsettle, to provoke, and above all, to entertain.
