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Jessie Black Legal Thrillers #12
Blood Oath
A Dark Past. A Deadly Cult. A Prosecutor's Pursuit of Justice.
Years ago, a manipulative cult leader slipped through the cracks of prosecutor Jessie Black's murder case, leaving her shaken by the failure. Those demons still haunt her. Now, the ritualistic scene of a new murder points to the same man, offering Jessie a second chance to bring him down.
The twisted investigation pulls Jessie into a vortex of deceit and double lives. Shocking revelations and devastating truths emerge about both past and present crimes, and Jessie and her team become entangled in a dangerous fight against the cult.
Meanwhile, Jessie's single-minded pursuit of justice also jeopardizes her race for re-election as Philadelphia District Attorney. With powerful enemies conspiring against her, both publicly and privately, winning the trial might cost her the election.
Jessie must risk everything to unravel the cult's secrets and confront the killer who slipped through her grasp. But with innocent lives at stake and her entire career in the balance, will she achieve the justice and redemption she seeks, or will the cult claim her as its next victim?
Years ago, a manipulative cult leader slipped through the cracks of prosecutor Jessie Black's murder case, leaving her shaken by the failure. Those demons still haunt her. Now, the ritualistic scene of a new murder points to the same man, offering Jessie a second chance to bring him down.
The twisted investigation pulls Jessie into a vortex of deceit and double lives. Shocking revelations and devastating truths emerge about both past and present crimes, and Jessie and her team become entangled in a dangerous fight against the cult.
Meanwhile, Jessie's single-minded pursuit of justice also jeopardizes her race for re-election as Philadelphia District Attorney. With powerful enemies conspiring against her, both publicly and privately, winning the trial might cost her the election.
Jessie must risk everything to unravel the cult's secrets and confront the killer who slipped through her grasp. But with innocent lives at stake and her entire career in the balance, will she achieve the justice and redemption she seeks, or will the cult claim her as its next victim?
260 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 7, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
June 4, 2024
I have thoroughly enjoyed every book in this series, but I think this one is my favorite. The courtroom drama alone is worth the read, but there is so much more to this story. I highly recommend it, and each one of the previous Jessie Black books.
June 3, 2024
I received an ARC and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
This story begins with Jessie and Leary attending a dinner where Jessie is meeting with someone who might help her win the D.A job. Jessie receives a request but tells her hostess that she will not do it. As a result, she is told that this individual would do all that she could do to ruin Jessie. Jessie and Leary leave as a result when Jessie gets a call from Emily to meet her at a crime scene. When Jessie gets to the scene, she notices it is exactly like one 5 years earlier and she was not successful in the prosecution of the killer.
Jessie immediately believes that same person who did the killing 5 years earlier also did this. She has the person brought to the station for an interview. The next day Emily and Jessie attend the autopsy of the victim and at that time there is no identity for the victim. The identity is eventually discovered when one of the individuals working on the campaign recognizes her. Now Jessie has something to go by and her investigation. She later learns that this person was hired to find a missing person. This item is an important fact and Leary begins looking for this missing person.
Jessie meanwhile believes she has enough to bring the suspect who she was unable to convict in the earlier trial to jail. The trial is set and then just prior to its' start, an unexpected defense is raised by the defendant who also asks for a speedy trial. The time of the trial arrives and eventually Leary is able to locate the missing person who will now play a major role.
To learn why this missing person was so valuable, what defense the suspect raised, how the event 5 years earlier related and how everything worked out in the end, when you need to read this book. You will also learn what happened with Jessie election.
This is another winner in the Jessie Black series!
This story begins with Jessie and Leary attending a dinner where Jessie is meeting with someone who might help her win the D.A job. Jessie receives a request but tells her hostess that she will not do it. As a result, she is told that this individual would do all that she could do to ruin Jessie. Jessie and Leary leave as a result when Jessie gets a call from Emily to meet her at a crime scene. When Jessie gets to the scene, she notices it is exactly like one 5 years earlier and she was not successful in the prosecution of the killer.
Jessie immediately believes that same person who did the killing 5 years earlier also did this. She has the person brought to the station for an interview. The next day Emily and Jessie attend the autopsy of the victim and at that time there is no identity for the victim. The identity is eventually discovered when one of the individuals working on the campaign recognizes her. Now Jessie has something to go by and her investigation. She later learns that this person was hired to find a missing person. This item is an important fact and Leary begins looking for this missing person.
Jessie meanwhile believes she has enough to bring the suspect who she was unable to convict in the earlier trial to jail. The trial is set and then just prior to its' start, an unexpected defense is raised by the defendant who also asks for a speedy trial. The time of the trial arrives and eventually Leary is able to locate the missing person who will now play a major role.
To learn why this missing person was so valuable, what defense the suspect raised, how the event 5 years earlier related and how everything worked out in the end, when you need to read this book. You will also learn what happened with Jessie election.
This is another winner in the Jessie Black series!
July 24, 2024
There are many gifted authors who pen legal thrillers, creating awesome, memorable characters, but none quite like Jessie Black. I became a fan of Larry Winter’s when I devoured Grave Testimony, the prequel to the Jessie Black Legal Thriller series. In many ways this series reminds me of that old Erle Stanley Gardner’s series Perry Mason. I’ve read those books so many times that the pages are falling out of them. Of course, Perry Mason was a crackerjack defense attorney, while our beloved Jessie is a powerhouse prosecutor. Well, Jessie cross over to the other side of the aisle for a brief period of time, until she returned as the interim DA when the corrupt DA was brought down. Jessie is a powerhouse prosecutor, but no politician and the DA is an elected office so she must play the politician’s game.
Jessie will do her best to play the game, as long as playing the game doesn't require her to compromise her principles. Blood Oath takes place on the eve of the election, and we find Jessie going up against a murderous cult leader, corrupt politicians, and a dirty cop. Will Jessie succeed in getting a guilty conviction in the courtroom? Will she win the election and become the elected DA? Well...you're just going to have to read this adrenaline-fueled story for yourself to find out.
This is a page burner. Make sure you start reading on a full stomach, because you will not be able to put the book down to eat. I couldn’t and I live to eat.
Jessie will do her best to play the game, as long as playing the game doesn't require her to compromise her principles. Blood Oath takes place on the eve of the election, and we find Jessie going up against a murderous cult leader, corrupt politicians, and a dirty cop. Will Jessie succeed in getting a guilty conviction in the courtroom? Will she win the election and become the elected DA? Well...you're just going to have to read this adrenaline-fueled story for yourself to find out.
This is a page burner. Make sure you start reading on a full stomach, because you will not be able to put the book down to eat. I couldn’t and I live to eat.
June 11, 2024
Blood Oath, the twelfth novel in Larry Winters’ outstanding Jessie Black legal thriller series, sees Jessie running to have the interim tag removed from her District Attorney title. The election campaign is a fresh twist that adds an unaccustomed bit of political flavor to this story, but fans of the series need not worry that the novel will stray from the well-established formula that makes these books so consistently enjoyable. As well as running for election, Jessie is up to her neck prosecuting a chilling homicide case involving the leader of a cult who once beat a murder charge at Jessie’s expense. The killer and his attorney blindside Jessie with an ingenious defense gambit that may see him beat the rap yet again. Jessie desperately fights back with the able assistance of series stalwarts DA investigator Mark Leary and Philadelphia PD Detective Emily Graham, who leave no stone unturned in their hunt for the crucial piece of evidence that will allow them to win the case. Winters ratchets up the tension and leads us through numerous twists and turns as the clock ticks down on Jessie’s election chances and the risk that a wicked predator will be turned loose to kill again. Blood Oath adds another satisfying chapter to a terrific series.
June 9, 2024
Jessie Black Only Gets Better!
Larry A Winters’ BLOOD OATH (JESSIE BLACK LEGAL THRILLERS BOOK 12) continues giving us a new case that Jessie prosecutes. As with the previous ones, this complex, thrilling and human portrayal of individuals investigating and prosecuting a suspected killer is hard to put down! A riveting case involving a missing 18 year old college student, a dead want-a-be investigator, a political enemy and a murdering cult leader who has a history with Jessie. All happening as Election Day for Jessie’s run for District Attorney is in just a few weeks. Of course, Jessie’s husband and her friends help with the investigation as we witness struggles, mentally and physically, of this group as they grapple with the case and their lives at the same time.
Larry A Winters’ BLOOD OATH (JESSIE BLACK LEGAL THRILLERS BOOK 12) continues giving us a new case that Jessie prosecutes. As with the previous ones, this complex, thrilling and human portrayal of individuals investigating and prosecuting a suspected killer is hard to put down! A riveting case involving a missing 18 year old college student, a dead want-a-be investigator, a political enemy and a murdering cult leader who has a history with Jessie. All happening as Election Day for Jessie’s run for District Attorney is in just a few weeks. Of course, Jessie’s husband and her friends help with the investigation as we witness struggles, mentally and physically, of this group as they grapple with the case and their lives at the same time.
June 7, 2024
I love Jessie Black’s series and the book #12 is in my opinion the best. Jessie faces again the jumbo mambo before elections for DA. Will she give preference to the campaign or the new case? The book is again the mixture of the crime mystery, courtroom drama(which is the best of the best here omg) and cult activities and their victims.
I could not stop reading and finished the book in two sittings. It’s so tense and actions just follow one another without stopping. I held my breath and sweat a lot this time around. Thank you Larry. Amazing read and fantastic deep characters. I received the ARC. Don’t miss on the series but especially this book #12.
I could not stop reading and finished the book in two sittings. It’s so tense and actions just follow one another without stopping. I held my breath and sweat a lot this time around. Thank you Larry. Amazing read and fantastic deep characters. I received the ARC. Don’t miss on the series but especially this book #12.
June 13, 2024
Tough
I found this book enthralling but tough, reading about a girl trying to keep a family together, risking, bringing a missing daughter out of a cult, but ended up murdered by the leader who had previously been charged, yet found not guilty.
This along with the prosecutor running the trial, while also trying to get into a political position as DA and running the entire prosecution block, and succeeding.
I found this book enthralling but tough, reading about a girl trying to keep a family together, risking, bringing a missing daughter out of a cult, but ended up murdered by the leader who had previously been charged, yet found not guilty.
This along with the prosecutor running the trial, while also trying to get into a political position as DA and running the entire prosecution block, and succeeding.
July 19, 2024
Attention getting but lacked reality….like an out of this world fantasy.
Well, I did read the entire novel. It did hold my attention and I wanted to see if the story ever achieved some level of believability. But for me that did not happen. I will, however, select another Jessie Black legal thriller to read in order to determine what supports there being at least twelve Jessie Black books.
Well, I did read the entire novel. It did hold my attention and I wanted to see if the story ever achieved some level of believability. But for me that did not happen. I will, however, select another Jessie Black legal thriller to read in order to determine what supports there being at least twelve Jessie Black books.
November 4, 2024
Captivated!
I read all 12 books in the series in 2 weeks. I immediately opened each new book after finishing the one that came before. The character development and relationship building was beautifully done. Dialogue was realistic and I loved the occasional innuendos. Living here in Lancaster, PA gave me a feeling of familiarity with the different locations in the books. WELL DONE LARRY WINTERS. 👏🏻👏🏻
I read all 12 books in the series in 2 weeks. I immediately opened each new book after finishing the one that came before. The character development and relationship building was beautifully done. Dialogue was realistic and I loved the occasional innuendos. Living here in Lancaster, PA gave me a feeling of familiarity with the different locations in the books. WELL DONE LARRY WINTERS. 👏🏻👏🏻
June 7, 2024
Jessie is running for DA and has made some powerful enemies. She is also perusing a cult leader who wa found not guilty of a previous murder. This is a great legal thriller. I had to keep turning the pages to see if Jessie would come out on top. The book is part of a series but could easily be read as a stand alone.
June 19, 2024
Jesse's trying to become the best of her career
Jesse once again faces a seductive murderer in the mist of facing her chance of becoming District Attorney for Philadelphia, either one could make it or break her for good! Great at her job she always put the people first, and taking chances is her motto!
Jesse once again faces a seductive murderer in the mist of facing her chance of becoming District Attorney for Philadelphia, either one could make it or break her for good! Great at her job she always put the people first, and taking chances is her motto!
July 4, 2024
You simply must not read just this book, But the whole series.!!!!!!!
I just recently discovered this author, Larry A Winters. He one hell of an author. Each one of his books in the Jessie Black Series could be a standalone.. Oh but the magic he created by making it a series. I can’t wait for the next book.
I just recently discovered this author, Larry A Winters. He one hell of an author. Each one of his books in the Jessie Black Series could be a standalone.. Oh but the magic he created by making it a series. I can’t wait for the next book.
July 6, 2024
What an exciting read. I recently read where Larry A. Winters said this was his best yet of the Jessie Black series and I heartedly agree!! I love it when all the main characters are included in the plot. Jessie, Detective Graham and Leary all meet with evil and situations that threaten their safety. Lots of twists, well.....you'll just have to read it to see!!
June 9, 2024
Great!
I couldn’t wait to read this next installment in the Jessie Black series. The characters continue to be well developed and the plot is definitely legal thriller. This novel took on a cult and the good guys won in the end.
I couldn’t wait to read this next installment in the Jessie Black series. The characters continue to be well developed and the plot is definitely legal thriller. This novel took on a cult and the good guys won in the end.
June 12, 2024
I have tremendously enjoyed the Jessica Black books. Blood Oath had many surprising twist and turns in it. It held my attention to the very end. Each main character helped solve the case. Once I started reading, I had to keep reading. I recommend this book.
June 12, 2024
Blood Oath
What a thrilling story! Blood Oath is a fitting title for this book, and it sure lives up to the name. As always, Larry Winters knowledge of the law shines through. But he also knows people, and that shows as well. I loved this book!
What a thrilling story! Blood Oath is a fitting title for this book, and it sure lives up to the name. As always, Larry Winters knowledge of the law shines through. But he also knows people, and that shows as well. I loved this book!
June 13, 2024
Perhaphs I'm in a minority here but this book seemd too rushed for me. I love this series and will definitely reads the next book, but perhaps Mr. Winters should spend a little more time writing Jessie's next legal adventure. Just a suggestion.
June 14, 2024
Boos Oath
Thoroughly enjoyed the ring pitch of tension gaining with each turn of a page.
The drop in expectation as all seems to no avail
Enjoy this read to find the final verdict.
Thoroughly enjoyed the ring pitch of tension gaining with each turn of a page.
The drop in expectation as all seems to no avail
Enjoy this read to find the final verdict.
June 18, 2024
Best Yet
Blood Oath is the best legal thriller I have read in a long time. The premise of the crime is fully supported by the action and the people are credible in their actions. I held my breath for the verdict! Highly recommended.
Blood Oath is the best legal thriller I have read in a long time. The premise of the crime is fully supported by the action and the people are credible in their actions. I held my breath for the verdict! Highly recommended.
June 24, 2024
A legal thriller filled with courtroom drama! Jessie and her investigator husband Mark Leary are involved in a murder involving a cult leader while Jessie is facing the upcoming DA election. Although this is #12 in the series, it definitely can stand alone. Great read!
April 17, 2025
great read
Smooth, complicated, spell binding.
Great read.
I always feel that adding so many words, (required ) is just adding the same stuff. What’s more to be said. Great storyline. Good read!
Smooth, complicated, spell binding.
Great read.
I always feel that adding so many words, (required ) is just adding the same stuff. What’s more to be said. Great storyline. Good read!
June 13, 2025
Excellent book as are all of the books in the Jessie Black series. Although these books can be read as standalones, I recommend starting with book one. Jessie's relationships with the supporting characters add to each story as they come into her circle.
January 29, 2026
Streets of Philadelphia
The best book of a great series of books! Great characters-great writing-strongly recommend the entire series! As a reader I got to truly understand every character and that rarely happens!
The best book of a great series of books! Great characters-great writing-strongly recommend the entire series! As a reader I got to truly understand every character and that rarely happens!
March 4, 2026
Outstanding!
Terrific page turner! Definitely worth the read.
Retired prosecutor and former defense attorney and the only living Attorney to have ever cross-examined a saint in an American court of law, Saint Teresa of Calcutta! Tom Marsilio
Terrific page turner! Definitely worth the read.
Retired prosecutor and former defense attorney and the only living Attorney to have ever cross-examined a saint in an American court of law, Saint Teresa of Calcutta! Tom Marsilio
April 26, 2026
I normally am enthralled with the Jessie Black novels.
The reason I gave this one only four stars is that some of the situations didn't ring true to me.
But, there's some great action, and some interesting twists and turns. However the courtroom scenes didn't seem quite right to me.
The reason I gave this one only four stars is that some of the situations didn't ring true to me.
But, there's some great action, and some interesting twists and turns. However the courtroom scenes didn't seem quite right to me.
June 7, 2024
Jesse and Leary are back in full force trying to save a young girl from some very dangerous people. At the same time, they are working to solve the murder of another girl. Such a great read!
June 7, 2024
Jessie gets another chance to put away the leader of a cult. He escaped justice once, can he do it again?
June 9, 2024
Good book
Good book. Miss the Nolan attys not being in this book. Not quite the page turners as others but still recommended
Good book. Miss the Nolan attys not being in this book. Not quite the page turners as others but still recommended
June 9, 2024
I have been reading all of Jessie Black series and they don’t disappoint. It’s hard to put these books down. Excellent writing Mr. Winters.
June 9, 2024
great novel
It was action packed and I couldn’t put it down.
Larry rights my kind of books that get hold of your attention the first page.
It was action packed and I couldn’t put it down.
Larry rights my kind of books that get hold of your attention the first page.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews