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A hot-button legal case fuels a community's smoldering hostility--but the dark secret at its heart could set the town ablaze. Public defender Julia Geary moves through life in simmering resentment--at her husband, a soldier killed in Iraq, leaving her a single mother; at her low-paying job; and at her overbearing mother-in law, whose home she shares. She longs for a breakout case, and it arrives when members of the high school soccer team report seeing a teammate--Iraqi refugee Sami Mohammed--assaulting a girl in the locker room.In a town where animosity against refugees has already reached a fever pitch, Julia throws all her energy into Sami's defense. She finds an ally in high school principal Dom Parrish, who believes Sami is innocent, and the case suddenly turns red hot.Then she begins receiving vicious threats against her family, and a senseless act of violence leaves Sami in a coma. And finally, a crop of new evidence emerges that points to the town's most prominent citizens and pits Julia against powerful forces set on burying the truth once and for all.If Sami survives and Julia can prove him innocent, it will be the case of a lifetime. But now it's her life that's on the line.

A 2022 ANTHONY AWARD NOMINEE for Best AnthologyFrom a simple robbery gone horribly wrong to a grisly murder in a secret love dungeon, this stellar collection of crime fiction short stories showcases some of today's finest voices of color.Edited by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Abby L. Vandiver, this thrilling anthology will keep you on the edge of your seat.Welcome to Midnight Hour...Jennifer Chow: "Midnight Escapade"After years of silence, two women decide to meet up in a unique escape room but get trapped in a deadly game from which there may be no escape.Tracy Clark: "Lucky Thirteen"A gun. A last meal. And only one survivor. Sometimes the stars align--but only for the lucky one--as predator and prey come face-to-face one fateful New Year's Eve.H. C. Chan: "Murderers' Feast"Techpreneur John Manley left a trail of duped investors and damaged women in his wake. What happens when two hundred of his closest enemies gather for a five-day gourmet retreat?Christopher Chambers: "In the Matter of Mabel and Bobby Jefferson"It's almost midnight, it's snowing, and a bored call center worker catches a customer inquiry that smells of murder. Is he a knight rescuing the intended victim or someone else's pawn?Plus, stories by Richie Narvaez, Frankie Bailey, E. A. Aymar, Faye Snowden, Tina Kashian, and many more.