Lethal Defense
A client savagely kills a man to protect a friend. A lawyer with secrets must prove it was justified.
Attorney Nate Shepherd left a big firm to go out on his own. He sees nothing but opportunity when an out-of-town lawyer wants to hire him as local counsel on a high-profile murder case. Though his family worries that the case hits too close to home, Nate joins the defense team.
When circumstances force him to take on a bigger role, Nate ignores his family’s fears and throws himself into his client’s defense. But as he digs deeper, every aspect of the case raises memories of a terrible event that Nate has tried his best to bury.
Battling an aggressive prosecutor in court and a dogged reporter outside it, Nate fights to prove that his client’s brutal, bloody slaying of an evil victim was right. But when Nate’s own story is exposed, it threatens his client’s freedom … and Nate’s carefully constructed life.
Can Nate fend off his own demons long enough to save his client?
Lethal Defense is the first book in the gripping Nate Shepherd Legal Thriller series. If you like razor-sharp dialogue, iron-willed characters, and slippery moral quandaries, then you’ll love Michael Stagg’s fierce courtroom drama.
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Michael Stagg
Before Michael Stagg began spinning gripping courtroom dramas, he lived them. For more than two decades, he stood before juries and judges as a civil trial lawyer, navigating high-stakes cases with the kind of nuance and strategy that now infuses every chapter of his fiction. That firsthand experience—sharp, lived-in, and often unforgiving—forms the backbone of his legal thrillers, where the pressure of the courtroom is more than just a backdrop; it’s a battleground.
His breakout Nate Shepherd Legal Thriller series introduces readers to a world where justice is rarely black and white, and the truth can be as dangerous as any weapon. Set in the gritty, fictional town of Carrefour, these novels blend legal precision with emotional depth, capturing the inner lives of lawyers, clients, and those caught in the crosshairs of both the law and their own pasts. With a writing style that’s taut, unpretentious, and razor-focused on the stakes, Stagg delivers narratives that are less about legal jargon and more about the people behind the cases.
Nate Shepherd
In a town where justice is often murky and every decision has a cost, The Nate Shepherd Legal Thriller Series pulls readers straight into the eye of the storm. At its heart is Nate Shepherd—once a prosecutor, now a defense attorney—whose cases are never just about the law. Each book opens a door into a new legal battle, but it’s the emotional fallout, moral ambiguity, and personal stakes that linger long after the verdict.
Nate Shepherd consists of eight books and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of one more book. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
