Make My Day: A Wyatt Blake Legal Thriller

by Morley Swingle

Wyatt Blake, district attorney turned defense lawyer, faces his most challenging murder case yet. He’s representing Senator Norm Brassfield, who is charged with murdering an intruder in his home, a famous actor accused of raping his teenage daughter. Colorado’s “Make My Day” defense will determine whether Wyatt can get Senator Brassfield out of jail, even though the evidence suggests he lured the victim to his death. Wyatt, a widower with a six-year-old daughter, faces challenges in his personal life as he tries to open his heart to love while battling grief and guilt over the tragic death of his wife.

“Morley Swingle delivers a well-planned twist.” Kirkus Reviews

“A sharp, twist-filled legal thriller that follows Wyatt Blake, a former district attorney turned defense lawyer. Set in the snow-draped peaks of Colorado, the story weaves courtroom drama, moral gray areas, and emotional backstories into a compelling take of justice, loss, and the fine line between right and wrong. . . What really got me wasn’t just the whodunit mystery; it was Wyatt himself. He’s a flawed, smart, funny, sad guy who’s trying to stitch life back together after losing his wife in a freak skiing accident.” Literary Titan

“Swingle writes with wonderful literacy.” Lithuanian Librarian

“Morley Swingle proves that some lawyers can actually write entertainingly.” Harry Levins, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

466 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 21, 2025

About the author

Morley Swingle is a former prosecutor now writing mystery/thrillers and law books. As both a state and federal prosecutor, he personally prosecuted 111 homicide cases and tried 178 jury trials. His cases have been featured on Dateline, Forensic Files and Oprah. His historical mystery thrillers include The Gold of Cape Girardeau (praised as absorbing courtroom drama by Elmore Leonard) and Bootheel Man (finalist for the 2008 William Rockhill Nelson Award for fiction). His true crime memoir Scoundrels to the Hoosegow was called “engrossing” and “highly recommended” by Vincent Bugliosi. His short story “Hard Blows” in the Mystery Writers of America anthology The Prosecution Rests was singled out by Publisher’s Weekly as “dramatizing the challenges prosecutors encounter.” His collection of 16 short stories won the 2024 Firebird Award for Crime Fiction. His law books teach search and seizure law and evidence with a dose of humor. Although relatively well-liked for a prosecutor, he occasionally found it necessary to wear a bullet-proof vest.

Reviews

[Amanda Parsons · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

This was significantly lower rating for me than the first one. Too much roller derby (like it should have been about two paragraphs) and the sex stuff is cringe.

Wyatt telling himself his dead wife would approve of his sex thoughts is purely ridiculous. And every woman in this series is sexually described it’s like come on.

I am going to read the third, not sure how that will go. He’s already going into detail with his first sex since his wife died and it’s pretty lame. But whatever.

And the last part with the actress who killed herself on the stand? It was the bailiff’s fault and not his. Oh and Harper getting a hall pass to carry a gun while being stalked? Sigh. Not how life works.

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting legal thriller

I really enjoy a story where the verdict could go either way. Wyatt Blake's cases are always interesting. Wyatt is a former prosecuting attorney now acting as a defense attorney. Some of his clients are questionable. I found the story engaging and it kept me interested throughout.

[Gwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

First book was good-this one not so much

The first book in this series was really good. This one dropped into near slap-stick by the last quarter. It ceased being a serious mystery with some humorous dialog, which made the first book entertaining. I won’t be following this author as I had hoped.

[Marjorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written and narrated by the author, this series gives us good characters, entertaining mystery and courtroom story, a refreshingly classical detective story style with lawyers for backup. Rarely is there this combination in current crime fiction.

[A.Blair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 2 in the Wyatt Blake Thrillers
👏🏼
Yess!!!!
Soo freaking thrilling. This had my stomach in knots not knowing how everything was going to play out. Gives you so much yet leaves you needing more.
Time to order the next book.

Absolutely loving this series!