The Last Plea Bargain

by Randy Singer

2013 Christy Award finalist!
Plea bargains may grease the rails of justice, but for Jamie Brock, prosecuting criminals is not about cutting deals. In her three years as assistant DA, she's never plea-bargained a case and vows she never will. But when a powerful defense attorney is indicted for murder and devises a way to bring the entire justice system to a screeching halt, Jamie finds herself at a crossroads. One by one, prisoners begin rejecting deals. Prosecutors are overwhelmed, and felons start walking free on technicalities. To break the logjam and convict her nemesis, Jamie must violate every principle that has guided her young career. But she has little choice. To convict the devil, sometimes you have to cut a deal with one of his demons.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Fiction, Mystery, Legal Thriller, Christian, Thriller, Suspense

416 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 17, 2012

About the author

Randy Singer is a critically acclaimed author and veteran trial attorney. He has penned nine legal thrillers, including his award-winning debut novel Directed Verdict. In addition to his law practice and writing, Randy serves as a teaching pastor for Trinity Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He calls it his "Jekyll and Hyde thing"—part lawyer, part pastor. He also teaches classes in advocacy and ethics at Regent Law School and serves on the school's Board of Visitors. He and his wife, Rhonda, live in Virginia Beach. They have two grown children.

Reviews

[Sonja Rosa Lisa ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vor elf Jahren wurde auf die Eltern der Staatsanwältin Jamie Brook geschossen. Ihre Mutter starb, der Vater wurde schwer verletzt. Der Täter sitzt im Gefängnis und soll bald die Todesspritze bekommen. Caleb Tate, der damals den Mörder von Jamies Mutter verteidigt hat, ist nun selbst angeklagt, seine Frau umgebracht zu haben. Jamie setzt alles daran, dass er seine gerechte Strafe erhält...

* Meine Meinung *
Ein sehr spannender und durchdachter Justiz-Thriller mit einem wirklich überraschenden Ende! Ich persönlich kenne mich mit dem amerikanischen Rechtssystem nicht wirklich gut aus, und so war es wirklich interessant und spannend, darüber in diesem Buch zu lesen.
Der Autor Randy Singer ist selbst Jurist und weiß, worüber er schreibt. Das merkt man deutlich.
Anfangs habe ich mich noch etwas erschlagen gefühlt von so vielen Figuren, aber man lernt sie sehr schnell kennen und kann sie dann auch gut auseinander halten.
Die Handlung ist spannend und weist auch immer wieder mal Überraschungen auf. Besonders das Ende hat mich sehr überrascht; es war wirklich nicht vorhersehbar für mich.
Wer gerne Justiz-Thriller liest, wird mit diesem Buch nichts falsch machen, denke ich.

[Freda Malone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Randy Singer is a new author for me this year and I can say without a doubt that I will be reading more of his novels. I enjoy reading fiction stories about the inner workings of the justice system, its judges, lawyers, witnesses, and investigators, especially when it is as close to real as you can get. This was a brilliant crime, involving many characters and when you get this many characters, it makes for a brilliant and suspenseful novel as well.

Jamie Brock's mother was killed in a supposedly random B and E, Her father (a defense lawyer) saw the killer and now the killer is set to be executed. Jamie's boss is running for Attorney General, her brother (a pastor no less) is trying to get her to change her mind about the death penalty, a rival lawyer charged with killing his wife is turning Jamie's world upside down and on top of that, her psychiatrist is strange to say the least.

This story was so plausible it felt real in places and I did not foresee the complete ending, although I had my suspicions about certain characters in the story. The topic of the penalty is strong in this book and I personally don't know if I am for or against it. However, the guilt Jamie feels throughout makes me doubt I would be strong enough to watch. Fantastic novel, brilliant author.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate it when you finish a book look at the reviews and wonder if you were reading the same book everyone else was.This was a good book but I didn't find it amazing. Maybe it was because I didn't like the main character. Maybe it was because I had figured out whodunit (for lack of a better term) long before the ending. Maybe it was because I already know where I stand on capital punishment and this book didn't challenge me on my thoughts. Maybe it was because everything was obvious from the plot to the characters or maybe it was just my mood when I read it. Was it worth reading, yes. It was enjoyable. Randy Singer is a talented author and I appreciate his talent. Was it amazing, not for me but I am in the minority apparently.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm always happy when I get the chance to review one of Randy Singer's books. He writes legal thrillers like the well-known John Grisham, but I think Singer is better. And I admire him for writing Christian books. Grisham claims to be a Christian, but his books do not reflect that, nor do his political leanings. I'd much rather read a Randy Singer book any day over a John Grisham book.

There is a lot I don't understand about legal proceedings and what goes on in court, so the idea of plea bargains wasn't something I knew much about, but I thought the plot sounded good. And it was.

The book itself was very interesting, and is one of his best, in my opinion. He brought back some of the characters from his last book, and introduced some new ones. The story has a lot of suspense, legal action, and legal jargon. Singer does a great job of writing legal "stuff" in a way that even I can understand what is going on. I learned a lot about plea bargains, and a little more about our court system.

I knew this would be a book I'd want to not lie down once I started reading it, so I saved it until I could devote enough time to finish it. And that is what happened. I began reading it and read until I was done. Randy has written another masterpiece, one that measures up against Grisham or any other secular author.

[Kasey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started off slow for me and I felt like I couldn't get into it. I debated whether I should stop reading it but I decided to continue on. The main aspect that kept me interested was Antoine Marshall's is he/isn't he guilty. To be honest I didn't like the main character, Jamie Brock, so it was the other characters like Antoine, on death row for killing Jamie's mother many years before, LA, the hot detective who is a charmer with the ladies, Caleb Tate, the defense attorney accused of poisoning his wife who kept me interested. I enjoyed Tate,even though he is the bad guy, I felt he made the book. Jamie Brock is determined to see her mother's killer put to death and is prosecuting Tate for the murder of his wife. She makes it her thing NEVER to plea bargain. She just comes across as a high and mighty moan, who talks way too much about her dog, Justice. I love dogs but there is only so many times you need to mention the dog licking someone, or wanting to play.

I liked learning about the certain aspects of the judicial system in America as it was interesting to see how easy the system could be perversed, and how much they need plea bargains to keep it going more. I enjoyed the ending as it was not what I expected at all and I think it saved the book.

[Haley Annabelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book just felt too random for me. I never really got into it. I usually like a good legal drama and this was recommended to me a while ago. I feel like there were too many different cases going on so I didn't really feel invested in it. It ended up being a pretty slow book that didn't necessarily hold my interest.
As far as cleanliness, I did appreciate how little graphic violence was in this book. That is what usually turns me away from this genre. But you never got a sense of anyone being overly evil, and the crime scenes were not described in great detail. There was quite a bit of attraction between two characters that just feels inserted into the storyline.
And the ending??? It came out of nowhere and was very disappointing. If you're looking for a really satisfying legal drama book, this is not the one you're looking for.

[Kathleen (Kat) Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just where do you stand when it comes to the death penalty? Are you for it or against it? In the latest novel by Randy Singer, The Last Plea Bargain, this is the synopsis the reader finds themselves immediately engaged in.

Assistant District Attorney, Jaime Brock is in the heart of a difficult case. Her mother was murdered and her father was shot but survived the vicious attack in the Brock family home by Antoine Marshall. He was convicted when Jaime's father positively identified him in a line up. Now after almost ten years, and numerous appeals, Antoine has only 4 days remaining before he faces lethal injection. For Jaime and her father, who now lies in a comatose state after undergoing two different strokes, this will finally resolve issues for all of them seeing justice served. Jaime has worked with her father, also an attorney, and has vowed to never accept a plea bargain, but believes that she will never pursue a case in which she can't win.

Now Caleb Tate, the high profile, wealthy attorney who defended Antoine, has now found himself charged in his own wife's murder. Caleb Tate arrived home to find his wife unresponsive and after administering CPR, finally called 911. They attempted to revive her but were unable to. Now the DA's office is investigating Caleb and the one person who wants on this case more than anyone is Jaime. She wants to bring this man to Justice after he defended Antoine and attempted to discredit her father on the stand.

Mace James is another attorney who is set out to prove that Antoine Marshall is innocent and will stop at nothing to make sure that what he believes is an innocent man, does not face death while the real killer goes free!

This novel is completely compelling in hooking the reader at the first page, as engaging as Randy Singer's writing style is. This one will have you, the reader, at a difficult crossroads. On one side you are engaged in the victims family's tragedy and wishing for resolution now that a guilty verdict has been passed for the last ten years. Then again, there is the case for Antoine Marshall who claims he is innocent even though he has been convicted of similar charges three other times. As a reader I see myself caught in the cross hairs of a difficult dilemma while initially beginning this book. Where do I stand? Do I support the victim in this case who has an eye witness in her own father, an attorney himself, or do I support the accused, the man who claims he is innocent?

I received this book compliments of Tyndale House Publishers for my honest review and found myself constantly jumping around in which side I would take in this compelling novel. Until I had all the facts in both cases, I simply refused to jump on either side as the book slowly reveals all the important clues. Being a huge lover of murder mystery's I tried to maintain a sense of impartiality until all the facts were in. This one will hold you to the final page as you try to solve both murders and once again Randy Singer gives a 5 out of 5 star performance in this crime fiction!

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

SUMMARY: Plea bargains may grease the rails of justice, but for Jamie Brock, prosecuting criminals is not about cutting deals. In her three years as assistant DA, she’s never plea-bargained a case and vows she never will. But when a powerful defense attorney is indicted for murder and devises a way to bring the entire justice system to a screeching halt, Jamie finds herself at a crossroads. One by one, prisoners begin rejecting deals. Prosecutors are overwhelmed, and felons start walking free on technicalities. To break the logjam and convict her nemesis, Jamie must violate every principle that has guided her young career. But she has little choice. To convict the devil, sometimes you have to cut a deal with one of his demons.

REVIEW: Another good legal thriller from Randy Singer. Filled with twists and turns from beginning to end, it definitely keeps the reader's attention. I did find the ending rather abrupt otherwise I probably would have given it a 5. Enjoyed both Jamie and Mace as characters and the fact that they tried to be true to themselves and the standards they had set.

FAVORITE QUOTE: "Judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

'Not being able to forgive someone is like a cancer. Even if you get revenge, it pretty much destroys your soul."

[Meghan Carver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Randy Singer draws us into the world of the prosecutor with just enough technicalities to understand the legalities but not so much mumbo-jumbo that the reader is distracted or confused. The legal explanations are woven so seamlessly into the story that the reader comes away with a sense of what it is to be a lawyer.

What I appreciate the most about Singer is that his faith shines through in how he keeps the story squeaky clean, not just the nitty-gritty of a murder case but also the romance. Yes, there is an execution, and yes, I did need a box of tissues. But the story also focuses on the characters, their growth and their relationships to each other and to God. And the way every loose thread is tied up at the very end is absolutely breathtaking.

Murder is a grisly thing to think about, but grisly things happen all around us all the time. It’s impossible to hide our heads in the sand and ignore the horrible things in life. Randy Singer’s book forces us to ask ourselves how well we handle the incredibly difficult times in life. Do we allow ourselves to become bitter and angry? Or do we forgive? And how do those decisions affect those around us – perhaps their very lives?

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Singer did a very good job of keeping me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't put the book down because I wanted to see how it ended. But I deeply disliked the hero. She is a prosecutor who never plea bargains or shows any type of real empathy or sympathy. Not only is this horribly unrealistic, it is also somewhat psychopathic. What type of a person does not have the ability to show sympathy or empathy? The type of person who tortures puppies, that's who. Of course, she undergoes a little bit of a transformation at the end, but it is not enough to save her character.

Additionally, Singer really does not allow too much moral ambiguity in this one. With a couple of exceptions, the good guys end up being good, and the bad guys end up being bad - like in a children's story. The only exceptions are one sympathetic character who does not really turn completely bad; he saves some major face. And the other was technically a good guy, but he was not very likable through the story.

I have been looking forward to reading Singer, and The Last Plea Bargain was my first one. I will read at least one more and hope it is better.

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was interested in the book and read it quickly. I felt let down by the ending because I felt like there weren’t enough clues throughout the book to justify it.

[J.D. Sutter · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ride! Really enjoyed this book even though I didn't really find Jamie to be very likeable. But the book has such an intricate plot with so many twists and turns that it had me hooked! I'll definitely be checking out more Randy Singer novels.

[Pat Damiani · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book by Randy Singer that I have read, but it certainly won’t be the last. Couldn’t put it down from beginning to end. Lots of plot twists throughout. One of the favorite fiction books I’ve read in a long time.

[Staci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging legal thriller that sheds light on the slippery slope of cutting corners/making things happen artificially in the legal world. The ending was full of twists.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another strong Singer book. Prosecutor Jamie Brock is at the center of the action of this twisty novel. Good characters with a particularly strong ending.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Summary/Review was copied from other sources and is used only as a reminder of what the book was about for my personal interest. Any Personal Notations are for my recollection only.
**
Assistant District Attorney, Jaime Brock is in the heart of a difficult case. Her mother was murdered and her father was shot but survived the vicious attack in the Brock family home by Antoine Marshall. He was convicted when Jaime's father positively identified him in a line up. Now after almost ten years, and numerous appeals, Antoine has only 4 days remaining before he faces lethal injection. For Jaime and her father, who now lies in a comatose state after undergoing two different strokes, this will finally resolve issues for all of them seeing justice served. Jaime has worked with her father, also an attorney, and has vowed to never accept a plea bargain, but believes that she will never pursue a case in which she can't win.

Now Caleb Tate, the high profile, wealthy attorney who defended Antoine, has now found himself charged in his own wife's murder. Caleb Tate arrived home to find his wife unresponsive and after administering CPR, finally called 911. They attempted to revive her but were unable to. Now the DA's office is investigating Caleb and the one person who wants on this case more than anyone is Jaime. She wants to bring this man to Justice after he defended Antoine and attempted to discredit her father on the stand.

Mace James is another attorney who is set out to prove that Antoine Marshall is innocent and will stop at nothing to make sure that what he believes is an innocent man, does not face death while the real killer goes free!

This novel is completely compelling in hooking the reader at the first page, as engaging as Randy Singer's writing style is. This one will have you, the reader, at a difficult crossroads. On one side you are engaged in the victims family's tragedy and wishing for resolution now that a guilty verdict has been passed for the last ten years. Then again, there is the case for Antoine Marshall who claims he is innocent even though he has been convicted of similar charges three other times. As a reader I see myself caught in the cross hairs of a difficult dilemma while initially beginning this book. Where do I stand? Do I support the victim in this case who has an eye witness in her own father, an attorney himself, or do I support the accused, the man who claims he is innocent?
**
TWO MONTHS LATER On Tuesday, November 6, Bill Masterson won the election for attorney general by four percentage points, propelled in part by the dramatic turn of events that had ended Caleb Tate’s case. Masterson had become the Wyatt Earp of Georgia, taking law and order to a whole new level. After a rousing acceptance speech at the Atlanta Hilton & a little postcelebration drinking with some friends, Masterson told everyone he was heading home to get some well-earned rest. Instead, he went straight to the office. It would be his last night as DA. He would resign immediately so he could start focusing on the transition to attorney general, a job that technically started in January. Regina Granger would be appointed as the interim DA until a special election could be held. Masterson turned on the lights in his office, kicked off his shoes, and poured himself a bourbon. It wasn’t often that he had a moment of quiet reflection to consider the events of the past several years. Men didn’t reach his elevated status, he told himself, without a fair amount of baggage. There was Ted Kennedy and Chappaquiddick. His brother John and Marilyn Monroe. And more recently, Eliot Spitzer, governor of New York, who had been sleeping with prostitutes while serving as New York’s attorney general. And who knew how many others? Great men who accomplished great things but had skeletons in their closets that nobody knew about. The difference between the John Kennedys of the world and the Eliot Spitzers wasn’t that some had superior moral compasses; it was just that some of them were smart enough to never get caught. And that’s why, on the night of his greatest achievement, Bill Masterson was in his corner office tying up a few loose ends. Details were the difference between success and failure. It had been thirteen years since his troubles first bubbled to the surface. Rikki Tate, who was then known as Rikki Pearlman, had an impressive list of johns. And her lawyer was no fool. When Caleb Tate first came to Bill Masterson to cut a deal for Rikki, he proposed a side agreement as well. Rikki would conveniently forget one of her clients, so long as that man agreed to recommend no jail time for the young escort and occasionally return a favor on selected future cases for her lawyer. When Masterson went along with the deal, he knew that the devil had just slapped a mortgage on his soul. But Masterson and Caleb Tate were professionals, and everything was fine until Rikki’s conversion to Christianity. When she started telling Caleb that she just couldn’t live with herself unless she told the truth about Masterson, Caleb had come straight to Masterson. Caleb had grown disenchanted with his wife and her holier-than-thou ways. He had a brilliant plan for taking care of her that would land both Caleb and Masterson on the front page of the paper, coverage that both men desperately needed. They each knew Gillespie was their ace in the hole, the man who could rig the counseling records of Rikki Tate to say whatever the coconspirators needed. Masterson had agreed to eventually nol-pros the Caleb Tate case so they wouldn’t have to risk a renegade jury. When Tate spent three days in jail, he thought up the no-plea-bargaining idea, which took the plan to a whole new level. That serendipitous twist had propelled Masterson to the AG’s office and made him a player on the national stage. Jamie Brock had almost ruined everything. Her insistence on prosecuting Tate, even when Masterson decided to nol-pros, was problematic. The first plan was to rig the DA computer files so it appeared that Jamie’s father would be implicated in a bribery scheme if the case proceeded. This required bringing Rivera into the conspiracy. But Jamie surprised everyone by still insisting on going forward. That’s when Masterson and Tate had implemented plan B—the tape recording of Rafael Rivera that imploded the state’s case. The casualties could have ended with Rikki Tate if Mace James had minded his own business. But once James started figuring things out, he had to go. Masterson never intended to let Jamie die. He knew Gillespie was supposed to give her an overdose of narcotics. But Masterson had always intended to show up at Caleb Tate’s house like the cavalry, kill Tate, Gillespie, and Rivera before they could implicate him, and rush Jamie to the hospital in time to save her life. He’d had to improvise a little, but things had turned out even better than he’d expected. There was a saying that Masterson subscribed to completely—two men can keep a secret, as long as one of them is dead. A corollary, of course, was that four men could keep a secret as long as three of them were dead. The investigation into the shoot-out at Caleb Tate’s house was now complete. The hardest thing for Masterson had been explaining his sudden last-minute appearance. But he was a man of details. He had told Gillespie to keep Jamie’s cell phone with them in her 4Runner at all times. That way, according to the plan, Gillespie could send a text from Jamie’s phone while at Caleb Tate’s house, helping to place her at the scene of the crime. Knowing this, Masterson had called some colleagues with the state police after receiving Jamie’s fake e-mail rant against Tate and Mace James. He had asked them to triangulate her cell phone. That gave him the excuse he needed to go to Tate’s house, where he knew his coconspirators would be. Once there, he parked at the end of the driveway, snuck up behind Jamie’s 4Runner, and called for backup. Before help could arrive, he took decisive action and shot Gillespie, saving Mace James in the process. The timing had been tricky, and the story wasn’t perfect, but it satisfied the investigators. Now he needed to tie up the final details. He accessed the DA’s computer database and pulled up Robert Brock’s case files for Milton County. Six months ago, he had changed the names of the actual judges on many of Brock’s successful cases to Judge Snowden’s name. He had even scanned in a few substitute orders with her name and forged her signature so the backup documents matched. He had done the same thing with two other defense lawyers. And now, on his last night in the office, Masterson undid all those changes. The DA’s electronic database was once again an exact copy of the actual court files. When he completed the task, he proofread the resignation letter that he had drafted earlier in the week, anticipating this moment. He stuck it in an envelope, put Regina’s name on the outside, and placed it in his out-box. He finished at about 4:30 a.m. and took a final swallow of bourbon. He turned out the lights and thought about how much he would miss this place. The justice system wasn’t perfect. Sometimes it needed a little help from men like him. He was determined to make up for his past mistakes by doing a good job as attorney general. Georgia needed an AG who would kick butt and take names, and Bill Masterson was just the man. He left the office, backing out of his reserved parking spot one last time, and headed home to get some sleep. In two months, he would start his job as Georgia’s top law enforcement official. There would be a new sheriff in town. And the bad guys had better watch their backs. 1 MO LATER Regina Granger’s second press conference as the interim district attorney for Milton County did not garner much interest. I was there, sitting in the back row. Next to me sat Mace James. LA was leaning against a side wall. The room had been set up for more than a dozen reporters, but only five had come.They assumed that Regina had called the press conference to announce her intention to run in the special election—a foregone conclusion. The reporters looked bored, checking their smartphones as Regina talked about the organizational changes she had made in her first thirty days. The plea-bargaining crisis was behind us, and things had returned to some semblance of normalcy. As Regina talked, my mind drifted to the events of the last few months. I still found it hard to believe that I had been spending so much time with a defense lawyer, someone seven years older than me, and someone who had defended my mother’s killer. But after that first picnic together, we found excuses to get together again. It turned out that we had a lot in common and, yes, some pretty stark differences, too. But I liked hanging out with a man who was challenging and unpredictable and not at all threatened by my strong opinions. I knew we had something special after I told him about Judge Snowden and my dad. I had to say something. I felt like a fraud carrying around that secret, but it still took me three days to get up the nerve. I told him when it was just the two of us, sitting on the back porch, the dogs playing in the grass. I told him everything—how I had struggled with whether to say anything before Antoine’s execution, how I had eventually passed the information on to Masterson, how he had relayed it to the AG’s office, and how it had led me to sign the affidavit trying to save Antoine’s life.
Mace took it stoically, staring at the back lawn as I spoke. He asked a few questions and got pretty quiet. He left that night without a hug or a thanks or any other display of emotion. As I watched his truck pull out of the cul-de-sac, I was certain that he would never come see me again. The next day, he came back. And this time, he was all business. “I checked the court records for all of Snowden’s cases,” he told me. “Your dad’s as well. And Caleb Tate’s. What you’re saying doesn’t make sense.” We compared notes, and later that day I checked our research against the DA’s database. That’s when I discovered that somebody had changed the names of the judges in the database. My father’s cases all still had the same results, but somebody had made it look like Judge Snowden had presided over most of his winning cases. I told Mace about the mysterious runner in the Peachtree Road Race, the one who handed me the note about being careful who I trusted, the note that mentioned morphine. I had assumed that Caleb Tate paid someone to slip me the note—trying to keep me from trusting LA and talking to him about my dad’s involvement with Judge Snowden. But how did Tate know about the morphine? I had concluded that either he had been working with Rivera all along, just setting us up, or he really did have a source on the inside. Now I realized it was both. We broadened the investigative circle to include LA and Regina Granger. On election night, when Bill Masterson changed the DA’s files, we knew we had him. From there, LA did the legwork. He interviewed women who had been in the same escort service as Rikki Tate nearly thirteen years earlier. There were rumors that one of Rikki’s clients was a powerful public official who had never been caught. On a hunch, LA enlisted one of Rikki’s church friends to call Bill Masterson and tell him that she knew about Masterson and Rikki. After all, new believers like Rikki liked to confess their past sins. LA had the woman wired when Masterson paid her the hush money. For me, working on the Masterson investigation caused some of the greatest heartache and confusion of my life. The only bright spot was that it felt like I had regained my father. The man I knew and loved was exactly who I thought he was—hardworking, principled, committed to his clients, and successful in front of a variety of judges. But the man who had taught me how to practice law was a fraud. And now, as Regina Granger prepared to make an announcement that would take down Georgia’s attorney general–elect, I couldn’t help but feel melancholy. The Bill Masterson I knew had defended me when defense lawyers attacked. He had shown me tough love and taught me how to hold my own in the courtroom. I had seen him risk his life to convict gang leaders and refuse to prosecute cases when he believed the cops had it wrong. This was the man who had been beside me and given me strength as I watched the execution of Antoine Marshall. But, of course, all that was nothing but an act from a man living a double life. I looked at LA, and he gave me a wink. If he was upset about my relationship with Mace James, he never showed it. And who could blame him? He had undoubtedly moved on to women more beautiful and fun-loving than me. We had been thrown together by the pressures of the Tate case, but we were very different people. “I also want to read a short statement about a recent indictment,”

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally enjoyable as I have come to expect from Singer. Only down to 4 stars because I didn’t think the ending or characters were quite as strong as his other books.

[Christy Trever · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Last Plea Bargain by Randy Singer follows up with Jamie Brock, who was a young law student in False Witness. Now Jamie is a prosecutor for the district attorney's office. She became a lawyer to avenge her mother's murder at the hands of a drug addict twelve years ago when she was just sixteen, and she intends to see the murderer die for his crime, and his appeals are running out, despite the best attempts of his attorney, Mace James. When Caleb Tate, the attorney who originally represented the murderer and nearly destroyed Jamie's father on the witness stand, is charged with the murder of his wife, Rikki, Jamie is determined to make Tate pay for both Rikki's death and for what he did to her father. But Tate isn't about to go down without a fight, and he brings the entire justice system to a halt when he gets every suspect waiting for trial to refuse a plea bargain. This bogs down the system to the point where non-violent offenders are simply released back into society. Meanwhile, Mace is trying to race the clock to find evidence for a new trial or to set his client free before the August 7 execution date, but what he finds just may change Jamie's belief in the death penalty as well as what she knows about the night her mother died. Singer has written another fast-paced and suspenseful legal drama with twists and turns that kept me on toes. Jamie is a likable character, and the reader quickly sympathizes with her pain. Singer's writing just gets better with each novel; the dialogue is believable and the action is tight. I can't wait to see what he will come up with next.

[Jeff Randleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Review: The Last Plea Bargain by Randy Singer


I've been a Randy Singer fan ever since I read Fatal Convictions in the summer of 2010.

When I heard that he had a new novel coming out, I knew I had to get my hands on a copy as soon as I could.

[trailer]

After reading The Last Plea Bargain, I might even be a bigger Randy Singer fan than ever before. This novel may be his best yet.


Jamie Brock is a young and aspiring assistant DA. And in the four years she's held that position, she's never cut a deal with a crook.

But when a prominent and powerful defense attorney is charged with murder, he masterminds an ingenious plan to bring the entire justice system to a screeching halt.

In the process of trying to bring this man to justice, Brock uncovers a lot of stuff, from the present as well as the past. But can she do the right thing in each of the situations facing her?

[cover image]

In this story, Singer has created a story full of suspense and intrigue, of hope and betrayal, and of right and wrong.

I couldn't put this book down. The Last Plea Bargain held my attention form beginning to end.

I suggest you grab a copy as soon as possible and enjoy it. If you'd like to read more about The Last Plea Bargain, check out this Q & A with the author.

And don't forget to enter to win a copy from JeffRandleman.com!


Have you ever read anything by Randy Singer? If so, what was your favorite novel? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

[Callie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love law fiction, and Randy Singer's books are my favorite. Like the cover of this book says, I think his novels are very comparable to John Grisham's novels, except much cleaner. I'm a fan. I was a little worried when I started this book that it would get too political on the death penalty debate (because I have a suspicion on where the author stands), but overall I thought it dealt with the issue pretty evenly. The characters had opinions, but I didn't necessarily feel like Singer was pushing an agenda. I enjoyed it.

[Linda Seide · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first Randy Singer book I've read and will definitely read more of Singer's books as time allows. While The Last Plea Bargain started out a bit slow for me, I soon found myself wrapped up in the story. The best part is the twist at the end...I never saw it coming. I would definitely recommend this book to other lovers of the law, as well as mystery and suspense.

[Shelbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best thing about the book is it taught me the horrors of unjust punishment--what if they executed a innocent man?

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent mystery that has a surprising ending.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment — James 2:13

The Last Plea Bargain — Randy Singer

Randy Singer knows how to spin a mystery. As a trial attorney, he gets us inside some of the fine points of “legalize” and brings court room scenes to life. As a Christian, he is a master at seeking a balance between righteousness and mercy and in the end, there really is not one of us so terribly good, except God. Nor is there one of us so terribly bad that God’s redemption is not greater still. His characters are idealistic and flawed and the lines between “the good guys” and “the bad guys” are sometimes blurred. He shows us all what a mixture of bad and good that we all are, and his twists shed light on the immensity of infinite hope in the midst of hopelessness.

Jamie Brock is a hard nosed, uncompromising, tough-woman prosecutor. I like her rough scrabble approach to forging ahead with her agendas. That she has agendas, however, is part of an arrogance and iron fisted mentality that causes cracks in her armor.

Mace James, antithetical to Jamie in almost every way, is an ex-convict, defense lawyer, professor, and one of the major thorns in Jamie Brock’s side. He is instrumental in the Innocence Project. This is an actual organization that works to prove the innocence of wrongfully convicted men and women using DNA testing. Mace’s energy and determination are dramatic to the extent that it is sometimes himself he finds hanging from the cliff.

Then there are the high rolling lawyers with lots of clout in low places that throw a monkey wrench in the entire court system leaving true justice a beleaguered contraption. Added to all these pieces, there are whole theories of lie detector relevance and the science of “memory manipulation”.

Singer tackles all of these elements, with a tension that seems untenable until the plot snaps us into a snarl of unpredictable outcomes.

In Singers’s dedication, he speaks of one of his own cases that inspired this book and acknowledged “The Somerville Girls—Ginger, Alita and Sara- [and their] unrelenting pursuit of justice.” Singer goes on to say in this dedication, “Your father was a good man.”

I like his inclusion of The Innocence Project in this plot, which highlights the plight of the wrongly accused. And I also like Singer’s parting words.

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
-Romans 12:21

[Marie Lutz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jamie, an assistant DA, wants Antoine, the man convicted of murdering her mother 12 years ago, to be executed and she’s upset that his attorney has gotten the execution postponed. At the same time she’s determined to get the lawyer who originally defended Antoine convicted of the poisoning death of his wife. Unfortunately, the evidence against Antoine is slim and the evidence against his lawyer is also meager. Is Jaimie so irrational she can’t waiver from her desire for revenge, no matter what the facts? Well, the story never goes in that direction. Instead it adds elements that are akin to fantasy and science fiction. Prisoners who disrupt the justice system by getting coordinated enough to refuse plea bargaining and the brain machine that unfailingly determines whether someone is lying were no more than fantasies. And these become major plot elements, making the novel extremely unconvincing. Nonetheless I did want to find out what happened and I enjoyed parts of this complex story. Overall though this was a disappointing book.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as an audiobook narrated by Tavia Gilbert about 12 hours. Jamie Brock has been an assistant DA in Georgia for the last 3 years. Her mother was murdered and her father gravely wounded in a home invasion for which the perpetrator is now facing death. Jamie is dealing with a lot of emotions and also doing her job under difficult conditions. One of those difficulties is an infamous defense attorney who is a very smart psychopath. Fairly complex with lots of characters and issues, political undertones, and some pure evil lurking. Story runs the gambit of brutal slayings to reflection on religious faith. I was not all that happy with Jamie and the way she came across; just not my type of character. A little slow in the beginning then well-paced until near the end when there are some "thrilling" scenes. The epilogue is important but given short shrift. 3+ rounded up to 4.

[Donna Siebold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jamie Brock's mother was murdered. Her father was grievously wounded and during the trial of her mother's killer her father was villified. Now Jamie is a prosecuting attorney who has made it her mission to truly prosecute. She will not offer plea bargains.

But, when a local attorney is arrested for murdering his young wife circumstances may cause her to change her mind.

There are a couple of storylines running through this book simultaneously. We have the murder trial of Caleb Tate, we have the upcoming execution of Antoine Marshall, the man convicted of killing her father, we have Jamie's relationship with her brother and her boss/mentor. All of these characters and more are well developed in this story and each of them gives their own nuance to this story.

[NCHS Library]

Publisher's Description: Plea bargains may grease the rails of justice, but for Jamie Brock, prosecuting criminals is not about cutting deals. In her three years as assistant DA, she's never plea-bargained a case and vows she never will. But when a powerful defense attorney is indicted for murder and devises a way to bring the entire justice system to a screeching halt, Jamie finds herself at a crossroads. One by one, prisoners begin rejecting deals. Prosecutors are overwhelmed, and felons start walking free on technicalities. To break the logjam and convict her nemesis, Jamie must violate every principle that has guided her young career. But she has little choice. To convict the devil, sometimes you have to cut a deal with one of his demons.

[Godly Gadfly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good legal page-turner from Singer (4 stars)

While this isn't Randy Singer's best legal thriller, it's another fine example of the page-turners he can produce. The Christian content isn't preachy or moralistic, and is more of a general background, while the legal story is the focus. The plot twists and turns were somewhat confusing in the final stages, and there were quite a few corpses by the time everything was said and done. Expect some suspense, and you'll need to be on the ball to keep track of everything that is happening. It's a good albeit somewhat convoluted read, and I appreciate having authors like this who can produce a clean and captivating thriller, that is free of the moral garbage that pollutes much mainstream popular fiction.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Last Plea Bargain has a very interesting theory for its plot but if you are looking for heavy courtroom arguments and drama this one is not. The book is about Jamie; her quest for executing her mother's murderer, her current trail that connected to her quest which, most of the time, were more procedure and leg work out of the courtroom. There were courtroom drama, of course, but not intense nor thrilling like those of Grisham, Pratt, Cavanagh, or Levine. So far, this is quite a fun read with a nice twist (could be more exciting but still nice, though).