Book Details
Format
Kindle
Pages
372
Language
English
Published
Dec 4, 2025
Publisher
Phoenix Flying LLC
Description
Chosen by Bookbub readers as one of the Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time.
A preacher is found brutally murdered in a Tennessee motel room.
A beautiful, mysterious young girl is accused.
In this bestselling debut, 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
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 begging for more.
"It's Scott Turow and Grisham... The opening chapter is maybe the most compelling I've read in a decade." - Ken Bruen, bestselling author of The Guards
"Pratt knows what he's doing and it shows." - Alafair Burke, acclaimed author of The Wife***A portion of the profits from the sale of every Joe Dillard novel is donated to the Ballad Health Cancer Patient Assistance Fund. Unfortunately, cancer plays a big role in the legacies of both Scott Pratt and Joe Dillard. This is our way of making the best of it.
A preacher is found brutally murdered in a Tennessee motel room.
A beautiful, mysterious young girl is accused.
In this bestselling debut, 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
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 begging for more.
"It's Scott Turow and Grisham... The opening chapter is maybe the most compelling I've read in a decade." - Ken Bruen, bestselling author of The Guards
"Pratt knows what he's doing and it shows." - Alafair Burke, acclaimed author of The Wife***A portion of the profits from the sale of every Joe Dillard novel is donated to the Ballad Health Cancer Patient Assistance Fund. Unfortunately, cancer plays a big role in the legacies of both Scott Pratt and Joe Dillard. This is our way of making the best of it.
Genres
Mystery
Action & Adventure
Health & Wellness
Crime