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A Town on Trial
The year is 1990. A shocking murder of the star quarterback upends a sleepy Georgia town. After his father Jack decides to risk everything by defending the accused, young Chance Meridian—along with his three best friends—must grow up fast when the uglier lessons of life interrupt their carefree boyhood. Jim Crow may be dead, but old attitudes die hard.
Chance and his friends learn something else. That the courtroom is about the worst place in the world to find any justice.
A standalone suspense novel in the bestselling Atlanta Murder Squad series, A Town on Trial is a legal thriller about love, loyalty, and lost youth. The BookLife Prize describes it as “polished, plainspoken … with a unique framing device … that reads like a memoir, examining the impact of a killing in a small community, including the racial prejudice lurking beneath the surface of a post-Jim Crow South.”
Chance and his friends learn something else. That the courtroom is about the worst place in the world to find any justice.
A standalone suspense novel in the bestselling Atlanta Murder Squad series, A Town on Trial is a legal thriller about love, loyalty, and lost youth. The BookLife Prize describes it as “polished, plainspoken … with a unique framing device … that reads like a memoir, examining the impact of a killing in a small community, including the racial prejudice lurking beneath the surface of a post-Jim Crow South.”
410 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 21, 2025
16 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Lance McMillian
8 books44 followersLance McMillian is a recovering lawyer who gave up the courtroom for the classroom. For over a decade, Lance has taught Constitutional Law to future lawyers at Atlanta's John Marshall Law School. Now he writes books. The Murder of Sara Barton is his debut novel.
Being a great writer first requires being a great reader. Lance loves taut legal thrillers, heart-pounding crime fiction, and captivating murder mysteries. His literary inspirations include Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, John Grisham, Scott Turow, Michael Connelly, Erle Stanley Gardner, Ross Macdonald, Walker Percy, Agatha Christie, and, of course, Harper Lee.
Lance's writing career began as a weekly columnist for The Daily Tar Heel while an undergraduate at UNC. As a UGA law student, he also contributed columns to The Red and Black. In the academic realm, his scholarly work about lawyers and pop culture has appeared in leading law journals. The American Bar Association chose him to write a book chapter in its acclaimed project Lawyers in Your Living Room: Law on Television, which included chapters by actors Sam Waterston and James Woods.
But if Lance is being honest, writing novels is the most fun.
Being a great writer first requires being a great reader. Lance loves taut legal thrillers, heart-pounding crime fiction, and captivating murder mysteries. His literary inspirations include Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, John Grisham, Scott Turow, Michael Connelly, Erle Stanley Gardner, Ross Macdonald, Walker Percy, Agatha Christie, and, of course, Harper Lee.
Lance's writing career began as a weekly columnist for The Daily Tar Heel while an undergraduate at UNC. As a UGA law student, he also contributed columns to The Red and Black. In the academic realm, his scholarly work about lawyers and pop culture has appeared in leading law journals. The American Bar Association chose him to write a book chapter in its acclaimed project Lawyers in Your Living Room: Law on Television, which included chapters by actors Sam Waterston and James Woods.
But if Lance is being honest, writing novels is the most fun.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 21, 2026
Great captivating story, I recommend reading this book
I did love this background story. It answered a lot of questions about Chance. Chance grew up in the Deep South of Georgia when racism was at its core. Even though, Chance was raised as a young child by his parents about the injustice of Black peoples, they instill in him to treat everyone equally and with an understanding of respect, compassion and dignity. Chance saw racism through a different lens than most people of his race. He grew up believing all people are equal. But I also now can understand why Ella never had a chance to be Chance’s woman of choice. We are all human and we sometimes are oblivious towards our own shortcomings. I think Chance had a glimpse or glimmer of racism that he probably wasn’t aware of, when it came to dating outside his race. In one of the books, Scott questioned him about it and Chance wondered about it himself and questioned himself. The 4 “Cs” was truly hilarious.
I did love this background story. It answered a lot of questions about Chance. Chance grew up in the Deep South of Georgia when racism was at its core. Even though, Chance was raised as a young child by his parents about the injustice of Black peoples, they instill in him to treat everyone equally and with an understanding of respect, compassion and dignity. Chance saw racism through a different lens than most people of his race. He grew up believing all people are equal. But I also now can understand why Ella never had a chance to be Chance’s woman of choice. We are all human and we sometimes are oblivious towards our own shortcomings. I think Chance had a glimpse or glimmer of racism that he probably wasn’t aware of, when it came to dating outside his race. In one of the books, Scott questioned him about it and Chance wondered about it himself and questioned himself. The 4 “Cs” was truly hilarious.
January 9, 2026
All of the books in the Atlanta Murder Squad series are amazing and this one isn’t any different. I went into this book blind, not having read the back of the book, and I was pleasantly surprised. Getting a glimpse of where Chance came from and what influenced his path in life was a nice turn of events. I’m eager to see if more books come out of this series or if the author is going to start another!
January 24, 2026
Story reminds me of “To Kill a Mockingbird “ meets
“Stand by Me”.
Involves a murder case with the defence lawyer aided by his young son and 3 friends.
Justice is sought in the Deep South where racial tensions exist.
Plenty of court room insight in defence proceedings as well as colourful prosecution involvement.
Facts are presented and skillful questioning reveals the truth.
Sets the stage for future books 👏
“Stand by Me”.
Involves a murder case with the defence lawyer aided by his young son and 3 friends.
Justice is sought in the Deep South where racial tensions exist.
Plenty of court room insight in defence proceedings as well as colourful prosecution involvement.
Facts are presented and skillful questioning reveals the truth.
Sets the stage for future books 👏
September 20, 2025
Precursor???
Thought I might not like a legal story by a ten year boy. I was wrong. Written a kind of memoir,that also imparts father and son relationships that effect on the future.
Thought I might not like a legal story by a ten year boy. I was wrong. Written a kind of memoir,that also imparts father and son relationships that effect on the future.
October 29, 2025
Chance’s trip down memory lane may be my new favorite in this series.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews