The Silver State: A Novel

by Gabriel Urza

When a public defender receives a letter from a client on death row, he is forced to reexamine his role in the murder case he cannot shake; a gripping and thought-provoking legal thriller that redefines the genre—by critically acclaimed writer and criminal defense attorney Gabriel Urza.

What if justice isn’t something the legal system is truly capable of?

Law school graduate Santi Elcano’s idealism is wearing away by the cases and clients he’s assigned. When a young mother, Anna Weston, is brutally murdered and her body is found near Reno’s infamous silver mines, Santi and his mentor in the public defender’s office, C.J., are tasked with defending Michael Atwood, a man arrested for Anna’s murder on scant physical evidence.

Eight years later, a shocking letter from Atwood—now on death row—forces Santi to reexamine his role in the case. At the time, public obsession with Anna’s disappearance and intense pressure on the police to make an arrest led to a rushed trial. As they investigated the case, Santi and C.J. became increasingly convinced they were defending an innocent man. Now, a horrific discovery leads Santi to reconsider everything he once believed, and all that it has cost him—love, family, and friendship.

Illuminating the deals that get cut in the name of justice, The Silver State explores the murkiness between victim and perpetrator, and the cost of a life in the law. Turning the legal thriller on its head, Urza tells an electrifying, emotionally charged tale of systemic failure and moral ambiguity that asks: What if justice isn’t something the legal system is truly capable of? For readers of Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent and Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Legal Thriller, Thriller, Mystery Thriller

304 pages, Hardcover

Published July 8, 2025

About the author

Gabriel Urza received his MFA from the Ohio State University. His family is from the Basque region of Spain where he lived for several years. He is a grant recipient from the Kellogg Institute for International Studies and his short fiction and essays have been published in Riverteeth, Hobart, Erlea, The Kenyon Review, West Branch, Slate and other publications. He also has a degree in law from the University of Notre Dame and has spent several years as a public defender in Reno, Nevada.

Reviews

[Jessica Woodbury · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Someday someone will write the public defender novel I actually enjoy, but alas we still haven't arrived at that day yet. This one is fine in a lot of ways. Urza writes with the kind of wizened experience that makes sense for the character. The details are good, the courtroom scenes are accurate. But our protagonist, Santi, is a man who doesn't seem to care that much about his job or his clients and that is always a tough sell for me. Especially because it leaves you with the most boring cliche of defense attorney plots: innocent client found guilty or was guilty client actually innocent. I cannot tell you how much these two questions bore me.

This jumps around a lot in time which doesn't do it many favors, it can keep a lot of what's happening at a distance. In the end I liked Santi's coworker CJ more than anyone else in the book and I think I would have liked a book from her point of view much better. It's unclear why Santi is so invested in a missing woman he has no connection to and nothing in common with. Why is this story important enough to Santi to do what he does and to tell us about it?

All that said, I recognize that as a reviewer this book is facing an uphill battle with me. As a former public defender myself, I am always reading a novel about the job with a practiced eye that is looking for flaws. While Urza certainly passes accuracy tests well enough, ultimately it's Santi who didn't connect with me as a character. Most readers will not be bringing the same critical eye that I do and will probably enjoy this much more. If you are looking for a legal thriller, this isn't bad and you could do a whole lot worse.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The kind of book which highlights why Goodreads needs half stars. Better than a 3, not quite a 4.

[Ann (Ann.otatedBooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Silver State was an enjoyable legal novel about a defense attorney grappling with a former case

We follow Santi, who in the present day has been contacted by a former client he defended fresh out of law school, who is now on death row. Most of the story is a flashback to Santi’s time starting as a public defender in Nevada and being named to help established attorney, CJ, defend Michael Atwood who has been accused of killing a woman, Anna Weston. Going in as the reader, we know Atwood’s defense wasn’t successful by the fact that he is contacting Santi from death row.

This was a very quick, unputdownable, legal thriller about the justice system with a nuanced take on its flaws. It also makes a definite statement about how lawyers need to examine their own values and can accidentally lean into biases about their cases.

There is a twist that wrapped this up very well for me. All in all the only thing I felt lacking was more of all the characters, but for a 9 year plot Urza did a great job and I would recommend this to fans of legal thrillers, like the ones John Grisham writes.

Thanks Algonquin Books, Gabriel Urza, and NetGalley for the ARC. 4 stars from me!

[Scott Kauffman]

In The Silver State, Gabriel Urza absolutely nails the life-and-death challenges that face a Public Defender day-in day-out. Nails the heartbreaking responsibility of representing society’s down-and-out. Of giving one more chance to those who never had a fighting chance in their lives and wouldn’t know what to do with it if by some stroke of luck it struck them up the side of the head and who will almost always fail in giving them that chance but nevertheless come back the next day and try again. And again. Scott Kauffman, Saving Thomas and the forthcoming Death Row Absolution.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This needed SO much more editing. The narrative was all over the place - I appreciate a non-chronological narrative when it’s well done, but this was not. The characters were so interchangeable with one another that I kept getting confused who was who, and the plot wasn’t much better in terms of clarity. The setting was also all over the place, even if you’re familiar with Reno. Overall just felt like a very unpolished manuscript.

[Carole Barker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does the court system truly deliver justice?

Santi Elcano returned home to Reno, Nevada, after finishing law school, accepting a job with the public defender's office there because he both thought it would be more interesting than doing mindless work for a large law firm and he wanted to "do good". Like many an idealistic young lawyer before him, he soon discovered that his job came with a crushing workload and clients who often seemed doom to need his services over and over again. The system was, to put it kindly, more prone to failure than justice. As he worked alongside his new mentor, the jaded but savvy C. J., Santi had the opportunity to work alongside her to defend Michael Atwood, a man accused of savagely murdering young mother Anna Weston near Reno's famed silver mines. There was very little in the way of physical evidence to support the charges against Atwood, but he was convicted nonetheless and years later still sits on Death Row, It is a case that still weighs heavily on Santi; he and C. J. were convinced that Atwood was innocent, but their client fell victim to a case where public fascination combined with political pressure on the police to find and convict the killer led to a rushed prosecution and a guilty verdict. When Atwood sends Santi a letter from prisoner after all these years, Santi can no longer keep himself from questioning the case that still haunts him...and as he looks closely at what happened he will come to conclusions that will forever change him.
Its no surprise that our real justice system looks nothing like what we've seen portrayed on TV and in the movies. Public defenders are not like Atticus Finch or Johnnie Cochran; they are fallible human beings, overworked and underpaid, doing battle in a flawed system that takes it toll not only on the unfortunate people who are continually fed in to the system with little hope of understanding what they are up against but on the lawyers themselves. What happens to a person who believes in the concept of justice for all when they discover that, given the overall lack of time allowed to prepare, cases are tried with one or both legal teams having had little interaction with the client with at best a cursory knowledge of the case, and it is generally deemed best for all concerned to strike deals so that they can move on to the next case? Lather, rinse, repeat. Author Gabriel Urza's years as a public defender infuse the novel with an authenticity that is hard to miss. It is billed as a legal thriller, and in part that is true, but it is also a nuanced look at the state of the judicial process in the US today (hint: it's not pretty). I found myself liking C. J. far more than I did Santi (maybe the first person narrative factored in to that, its not my favorite construct). An intriguing tale that threads the challenges of poverty, racism and addiction into its core story, it is a book that will appeal to readers of Scott Turow, Jonathan Harr and Attica Locke. My thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for allowing me access to this unique legal novel in exchange for my honest review.

[Bookreporter.com Mystery & Thriller · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoy legal-themed fiction, then THE SILVER STATE needs to be at the top of your reading list. Gabriel Urza teaches fiction in the MFA program at Portland State University. He also is an attorney from Reno, Nevada, the setting for this unique courtroom novel.

Most books in this genre rely on action in a criminal trial to tell their story. This usually includes courtroom confrontations featuring defense counsel, angry prosecutors, and judges who may or may not have justice as their mission. Urza has written a far different legal thriller that rarely finds itself in the middle of such struggles. But his presentation is so sweeping and encompassing that the absence of these proceedings actually adds to the novel’s impact. On several occasions reading this extraordinary book, I had to remind myself that it was a work of fiction and not a practicing attorney’s memoir.

Santi Elcano is a seasoned veteran of the Washoe County Public Defender’s Office. We ominously learn that he has received a letter from a client, a man whose name he is reluctant to speak out loud because “to consider his name or to remember his face would mean to remember that an innocent man is in prison.” Eight years ago, Michael Atwood was convicted of a vicious murder and sentenced to death. The evidence was weak, but the police were able to obtain a confession from Atwood.

Throughout THE SILVER STATE, Urza tells the story of this case, which gripped the Reno community with fear. A young mother named Anna Weston disappeared, leading to an investigation that was covered daily by the national media. Law enforcement agencies frantically searched first for her body and then for her killer. Atwood was connected to the murder by a small sample of DNA. Before the full details of his journey through the criminal justice system are provided, readers will acquire information about Santi’s experience as a public defender. It’s a battle to stay sane in a system that is stacked against him.

In this penetrating portrait of Santi and his work, Urza does a masterful job of debunking some of the common misconceptions of how the criminal justice system operates. Many believe that the system provides trials and just consequences for those charged with crimes. But the opposite is true. Most criminal cases are resolved without trials. Many are simply dismissed, and a number of them end with guilty pleas to lesser charges. Even those that conclude with a plea to the charge result in agreed-upon sentences for far less than the statutory maximum.

Santi learns through bitter experience that advocating for his clients can often lead to adverse results for other clients. Why? In addition to having a great deal of legal power, both prosecutors and judges have long memories.

THE SILVER STATE is a haunting and emotional novel. Because I toiled in the criminal justice system for many years, the book profoundly reminded me how it often can lead to devastating outcomes. This thoughtful character and institutional study will squeeze the idealism out of anyone who thinks that “justice” is the true result of what occurs in American courtrooms.

Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman

[J Kromrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Gabriel Urza’s The Silver State is a gripping legal thriller that doubles as a meditation on justice, memory, and the moral weight carried by public defenders.

⚖️ The novel follows Santi Elcano, a young attorney whose idealism is tested when he and his mentor, C.J. Howard, are assigned to defend Michael Atwood, accused of murdering his wife, Anna Weston, near Reno’s infamous silver mines. The case hinges on shaky DNA evidence, yet Atwood is convicted and sentenced to death. Eight years later, Santi receives a letter from Atwood—now on death row—forcing him to revisit the case he cannot shake.

This premise immediately sets the stage for a story that is less about solving a mystery than about confronting the failures of a system designed to deliver justice but often incapable of it.

🧩Urza, a former public defender, structures the novel around two timelines: the original trial and its aftermath years later. This duality allows readers to see how youthful idealism erodes under the weight of professional compromise. The tension lies not in whether Atwood is guilty, but in whether Santi—and by extension, the system—ever gave him a fair chance.

The pacing is deliberate, reflecting the slow grind of legal work, but punctuated by moments of revelation that keep the reader engaged.

🎭 Characters & Themes

- Santi Elcano: A protagonist defined by guilt and doubt. His journey is less about redemption than about reckoning with the limits of his profession.

- Michael Atwood: A haunting presence, his refusal to pursue appeals raises questions about agency, despair, and the meaning of justice.

- C.J. Howard: The seasoned mentor whose pragmatism contrasts with Santi’s idealism, embodying the compromises of long-term defense work.

Themes include:

- Justice vs. truth: The novel asks whether the legal system is capable of uncovering truth or merely managing outcomes.

- Memory and responsibility: Santi’s inability to let go of the case reflects how lawyers carry the weight of their failures.

- Systemic critique: Urza highlights the flaws of capital punishment and the inequities of public defense, drawing from his own experience.

✍️ Urza’s prose is precise and restrained, mirroring the procedural world he depicts. Yet beneath the legal detail lies a deep emotional current. The Nevada setting—its mines, deserts, and stark landscapes—serves as a metaphor for emptiness and buried truths.

Unlike thrillers that rely on shocking twists, The Silver State builds suspense through moral ambiguity. Readers are left unsettled, not because of what is revealed, but because of what remains unresolved.

✅ The Silver State is a powerful addition to the legal thriller genre, distinguished by its authenticity and moral depth. Gabriel Urza transforms a courtroom drama into a broader reflection on justice, guilt, and the human cost of systemic failure. It’s a novel that lingers, challenging readers to consider not just what happened, but what justice really means.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this in its entirety on audio, where I thought the narrator did very well, so much that I can't picture how or if it would have been different if I had read it on paper. I loved it so, so much-- it was such a good book that really blew me away, and very remarkable for me to get through such dark subject matter. This is a good pair for another unlikely huge favorite of mine, Nightwoods by Charles Frazier. This one has the added benefits of modern relatability and even comic relief that keeps it afloat. I smiled a lot, laughed some, cried, and was dazzled by the soul of the writing. It's a story with heart-- the narrating character is inherently a good and wholesome person, and is also drawn to other people who are good.

He captures fully what it's like to be of a generation, my generation. The way that people hang out is so realistic, the way that they grow apart is realistic, the way that professional work in a career defines, saps, gets in the way of, and yet eventually gives meaning to our lives, then perhaps takes it away again. There's a wisdom to the observations of how relationships go: two people who both work on the harrowing frontlines with the bottom layer of society share something very important, but can't be the person the other needs to lean on, because they also need to lean on someone who is not going through it themselves. Only the really trusting, understanding, and supportive partner can be the person someone doing this work needs.

The land and the desert are also a distinct character in the book, which is unexpected in a John Grisham type courtroom thriller, adding a bit of something that people love, miss, and crave from Tony Hillerman books. I love the singular character of C.J., who is painted so beautifully and as such a remarkable person at an age where society normally decides women no longer have value. She has value, and in a young man's eyes even, and the flame of her person is not diminished or defined at all by age, in any way. She doesn't become a love interest, but she's also not NOT a love interest, either. She is written with admiration, respect, and wonder that is 100% unprecedented in any literature portraying someone of her demographic. She is painted simultaneously as not youthful, and valuable, hot, and unattainable in all of her not-youth. Yet, she's also childlike at the same time-- a tough, wild little girl on a playground who will kick your ass and collect bugs in a jar can be glimpsed there.

The procedural details of the public defender work in the writing was also so deep and educational, certainly autobiographical in its thoroughness. The case itself at hand was so well woven and straight out of real true crime cold cases. An amazing work. I hope the author becomes prolific and huge-- but, this may be the kind of story that is written once, and only needs to be written once due to how powerfully it was accomplished.

[Hobart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader as part of a quick takes post to catch up. The point of these posts is to be pithy, not thorough (as I typically strive for)
---
Ohhhh, there’s so much to talk about with this one. There’s the discouraging, disheartening, troubling behind-the-scenes at the Public Defender’s Office material. All of which feels so true-to-life that I can only imagine that the reality is worse. What it says about our Criminal Justice System is even worse. The personal story about this one lawyer is pretty stark, too. You hope that things get better for him and his family, too.

Then there’s the murder, the court maneuverings, the way the lawyers’ lives are changed by this. It’s just so…bleak. Wonderfully done—it’s supposed to be bleak, it’s supposed to make you wonder about what we’re doing with criminals/the accused/those defending them right now. The author pulled off what he set out to here, but you’re going to want something light on-deck to read after this.

So why am I covering the book in a quick-take instead of a longer post where I can expand all that? Honestly, I just don’t care enough. That’s not a slight on the book, it’s just my energy levels and picking what I want to invest energy in. I’ll definitely pounce on anything else Urza puts out and recommend you do the same.

[Kelly_Hunsaker_reads ... · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Silver State by Gabriel Urza is an emotional, nuanced courtroom drama. If you are looking for a fast-paced, twisty book filled with action that shocks you, this isn't your book. It doesn't rely on angry confrontations between attorneys and witnesses, or gruesome descriptions of horrific crimes. This book isn't filled with shocks. If you appreciate a quieter, impactful story that delves deeply into the human story, this is your book.

As the book opens, a veteran defense attorney - Santi Elcano, receives a letter from an imprisoned client. Santi is immediately reminded of the man's case which he lost, putting an innocent man into prison. The case involved a vicious murder, and Santi's client will soon be put to death. Even though the evidence was weak, the client made a confession, making the case nearly impossible for Santi. Much of the story is told through memory, with the case unfolding in snippets, and Santi's guilt unfolding quietly with every revelation. Now, Santi must confront his guilt and put it aside, as his client wants him there when he dies.

The book takes the reader into the justice system, revealing all the ways it might fail. And into the human condition, revealing all the ways we punish ourselves.

Thank you @algonquinbooks for the #gifted finished copy!

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fresh out of law school, Santi, heads back home to Reno, NV and begins work as a public defender. The book is part nostalgic love letter to friends of the past and that area with fond descriptions of the terrain including the seediness. The book is also part - this is what a public defender does practically. It generally spells out the process of when a PD receives a case - almost didactically. The book is also part drama when Santi is assigned a death penalty case. Take all of that and throw in the emotional turmoil of being directly involved in the criminal legal process and the toll it takes on personal relationships and this is the book.

It's a lot. Too much really. Some passages are wonderful, there are twists and turns and you get to know Santi as he goes from fresh face at the PD office to years in veteran. I understood why the legal process was being spelled out for people but the writing didn't gel with the surrounding stories and emotions for some reason or I'm not really sure, something just didn't read cohesive even though I did enjoy reading.

[Wendy Remez · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up-It is not often that there is a book from the perspective of the public defender. In some ways I enjoyed that but in others it is hard to read, because we are getting an inside look at how prosecutors negotiate charges and who gets more or less time. That being said, this book was different from what I was expecting. The first 100 or so pages are about the beginning of Sant’s career as a public defender and his relationships with his best friend and his co-worker CJ. The story from the blurb doesn’t develop much until the end. After the book is finished you realize that you needed all the backstory to truly appreciate the ending, and the talent of the author to bring us such an impactful story. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc, I really enjoyed this one!

[Julian Zabalbeascoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fortunate enough to read this in manuscript form. Along with being a literary page turner, a legal thriller of the highest order, an evocative portrait of Nevada, and a powerful character study, it was also deceivingly instructive. Ever since reading it, you'd think I'd spent at least a few months in law school. For quite some time after finishing the novel, my conversations were seasoned with much of what it taught me about our legal system. Like every other institution, this was created and is daily girded by fallible human beings driven by desire, tormented by failings, and directed by ideals constantly under threat, ideals that one must defend as much as the person whose life is in their hands.
Readers this June and beyond are in for a treat!

[The Page Ladies Book Club · Rating 4 out of 5]

Santi Elcano is a public defender in Reno who thought he was doing everything right until a letter from a death row inmate he once helped convict starts to unravel everything he thought he knew. What follows is a slow-burning, emotional unraveling of guilt, justice, and the cost of trying to do the right thing in a broken system.

This isn’t your typical twisty courtroom drama. It’s more like Just Mercy meets True Detective, moody, thoughtful, and quietly haunting. Urza’s background as a real-life public defender totally shines through. You can feel the weight of every choice Santi makes, and it’ll leave you thinking long after you’re done.

[Cari · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is essentially an origin story of a young public defender, following through his coming-of-age as he handles a stark murder case. I really enjoyed the first half of the book, which consists of character development for Santi, the protagonist. We see many of his different cases, which at first don't seem relevant but come into play later. Tension ramps up as the murder case's details come to light and all the loose threads begin coming together. A great read for fans of legal thrillers--just don't expect the pace to pick up right away. The legal intrigue is top-notch.

[♞ Pat Gent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice, solid character study in the workings of a public defender, probably one of the hardest jobs out there. There's a mystery that develops slowly, reminding you every little bit that there IS something sinister at work, but that it can get lost in the day to day minutiae of the main character's life. Until it's front and center. And then the story gets very VERY real.

I haven't read any of Gabriel Urza's books before, but this one was good enough that I'm planning on picking up another one on my next library visit.

[Benjamin Kessler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A complex love letter to a complex place, The Silver State is both a slow burn character study and a thrilling legal page-turner. Urza provides a rich insight into many quandries that accompany being a public defender, but the themes he explores can apply easily to anyone just starting a career in a field they've long idolized. Especially taut in the last third, the intrigue never lets up, and a nuanced protrayal of the cast of characters (no black-and-white moralizing here) pays off in spades. Always thoughftul, expertlyplotted, and definitly worth picking up.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is character driven literary fiction - I don't agree that it is thriller as categoried on Libby.

It highlights that extreme burnout, disappointments, and disillusionment a lot who enter service-based government jobs feel. Also the fear of making a mistake and losing all that we have gone to school for long for. These jobs can be all consuming and literally take everything away.

The author teaches at PSU; that's fun!

CJ was my favorite character. Adam was great; but his plot line was so stressful.


I need someone to explain the ending to me... I feel like I missed something.

[Pattyh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you for the opportunity to preview The Silver State. This is a legal thriller centered on a prosecutor, Santi, who is defending a man for the murder of a young woman.
The man is sent to death row but years later the conviction is questioned and the is man may be innocent.
Santi feels compelled to do the right thing but it’s not an easy decision and task to undertake.
A bit slow but overall a good legal novel. 3 stars

[Leah Waddington · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good legal thriller book and this one did not disappoint. I want to thank Goodreads, Algonquin Books and Gabriel Urza for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC. The book is released July 2025 and I highly recommend it. I could feel the emotional undertones of what a Public Defender has to go through while reading the book. I don’t want to give away any spoilers so will leave it at that!

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd been thinking about my next read to be a legal thriller. Then I read his article on CrimeReads. This would be my next read. I went to Vroman's Bookstore and made my purchase.

I was not disappointed. I really appreciated the structure, it a bit different. I was made more aware of the challenges public defenders face.

I hope to read, "All That Follows." I have an affinity for the Basque Country.

Based on "The Silver State," Mr. Urza should be better known as a writer.

[John Lamb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a little bit like expecting I was going to get ice cream, but ending up getting a salad. It was a nice fancy salad with name I always mispronounce, like a salade niçoise or something. I thought I was going to get a legal thriller, like Grisham, but it turned into literary exploration of being a public defender, which was thought provoking and good for me. But I was expecting a banana split.

[Rhys · Rating 4 out of 5]

DIGITAL - Libby —> Kindle

This was very riveting but also unpleasant. It’s a sticky, stressful, sorrowful read centered around one big case for a public defender and several smaller cases, taking place over nine years. Very thought-provoking, and sneakily a thriller - I read the latter 50% in one sitting quite easily.

Edit for 10 mins later thoughts: I feel like I lack a clear idea of who the narrator was throughout any of this which feels very intentional and artful.

[Barondestructo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not usually a fan of legal thrillers but was pleasantly surprised by The Silver State. A compelling story with some very well-drawn characters (CJ being my favorite). A rare recommended read from me.

[Gregory Van Den Berg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first story I have read by this author. I have to say I was very impressed with his writing. The story was from the perspective of the public defender. I believe you will find his writing intriguing.

[Xena! · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book showing the nitty gritty baseness of the criminal justice system, as well as so many of the lowlifes that exist within it. It is exciting enough to be a page-turner and has enough twists to make it far more than just a whiny sad story.

[JXRReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting character study with some interesting ideas and cool writing. a worthwhile read, in my opinion. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

[Carol Scheherazade · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a solid read. Def could have used an editor. Story was sad and shocking but I do like a man who does the right thing. Loved the fishing parts. All lawyers should fish.

[myreadingescapism · Rating 3 out of 5]

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