This legal thriller may have begun with the question: “What if all of the prisoners in a jurisdiction got together and went on strike? Specifically, what if all the criminals who were arrested in Harris County today made an agreement NOT to accept a plea bargain of any kind? What if all of the cases in the Harris County DA’s office had to go to trial?

No deals. The wheels of the justice system would come to a halt. In The Last Plea Bargain, assistant DA Jamie Brock and her office must deal with just such a scenario. And it’s all designed to thwart the prosecution of one particular case, a murder prosecution that has become very personal for MS. Brock. Jamie believes in her heart that defense lawyer Caleb Tate murdered his wife, Rikki—just like death row inmate Antoine Marshall murdered Jamie’s parents years ago. And both men deserve the death sentence.

The Last Plea Bargain is a novel that provides food for thought in the areas of justice, revenge, repentance, forgiveness, memory, and psychological manipulation. I found the novel eerily believable and sort of scary. The publisher is Tyndale House, a Christian publishing house, but the themes and issues in the book are universal. Can we discern truth from lies, even in our own memories of events? What is justice? What about forgiveness?

I see that Mr. SInger has a long list of published novels. Although I don’t think this book quite comes up to the level of the John Grisham comparison on the cover, I’d be willing to try another of Mr. Singer’s books. Has anybody read and recommended any of the following?

False Witness (2011)
Fatal Convictions (2010)
The Justice Game (2009)
By Reason of Insanity (2008)
The Judge (Original in 2006)
The Cross Examination of Jesus Christ (2006)
The Judge Who Stole Christmas (Original in 2005)
Self Incrimination (Original in 2005)
Irreparable Harm (Original in 2003)
Directed Verdict (Original in 2002)
Made to Count (2005)
Live Your Passion (2005)