The Murder List
Rachel North’s husband Jack is the top defense attorney in Boston. He’s on the murder list—the list of attorneys the state appoints to defend murder suspects who can’t afford their own lawyer. He hates Martha, the local District Attorney: he’s convinced that she’s cut corners to win convictions against some of his clients.
Rachel is a Harvard law student. To graduate from law school, she needs a summer internship, and she’s been offered one in Martha’s office. Jack warns her that Martha is a snake—“Satan in pearls”—but Rachel believes that a summer working for the prosecutor will give her an inside edge when she graduates and becomes Jack’s law partner.
Martha takes a special interest in Rachel, assuring her that she was chosen for her abilities rather than for who she’s married to. Rachel’s flattered, but she’s also wary of what Martha’ may be up to. Will the case they’re working on put Rachel in conflict with Jack?
The battles between Jack and Martha are nothing new, and Rachel’s seen them close up. Back before Rachel had even met Jack, she had a previous career working for a state senator. She was appointed his chief of staff on the same day that she was called to jury duty on a murder case. Jack was the defense lawyer in that case, Martha the prosecutor. The jury ended up voting to convict. Rachel has special insights into how the jury functioned, and thinks she has new evidence of how Martha swung the balance against Jack’s client.
Topping Kindle’s legal thriller list in May 2020, this novel takes us on a roller coaster ride between past and present, and between Rachel, Jack and Martha, examining issues of legal ethics along with taut interpersonal drama. The truth seems elusive, shifting from chapter to chapter, and the twist ending upturns everything we thought we knew.
Hank (short for Harriet) has been a television reporter since 1975; she continues working as an investigative reporter at Boston’s WHDH-TV. Headlined as “Hank Investigates,” her segments largely focus on consumer issues, and have often led to arrests or legislative changes. Her broadcast work has earned her 34 Emmy Awards and 14 Edward R. Murrow Awards.
She published her first novel in 2007. Prime Time, featuring Charlotte McNally, a Boston television reporter, won the Agatha Award for Best First Novel. Hank’s subsequent books have won multiple crime fiction awards and regularly hit the bestseller lists. She’s been called “a master of suspense” and “a gifted storyteller.” In total she’s now published eleven crime novels – two series (featuring Charlotte McNally and Jane Ryland) followed by two standalone novels: Trust Me (2018) and The Murder List (2019).
Hank is hugely supportive of other writers, frequently offering advice, encouraging their efforts and lauding their successes. She’s long been an active member of the crime writers group Sisters In Crime, and served as its national president in 2013. She contributes to two group blogs, Jungle Red Writers and Femmes Fatales. She lives in the Boston area with her husband, a civil rights and criminal defense attorney.
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