Silent Witness

After the murder of his high school sweetheart left him shattered, Tony Lord vowed never to return to his Ohio hometown of Lake City. Twenty-eight years later, Tony is a successful California criminal lawyer with a beautiful celebrity wife. He's living the good life…until long-buried memories come crashing down when he hears from an old friend, who needs his help.

Sam Robb is a track coach at Lake City High. He swears he is not responsible for the death of one of his female team members…even though forensic evidence reveals that he's the father of her unborn child.

Back when they were teenagers, Sam stood by Tony when he was a suspect in his young girlfriend's murder—and Tony desperately wants to do the same for him today. In doing so, Tony will have to revisit his troubled past and probe the darkest secrets of small-town life to get to the truth. And what he will find is more shocking than he ever could have imagined….

“Intense courtroom drama...As startling as the bang of a gavel.” —People

“This generation's best writer of legal thrillers...his strongest fiction to date.” —Entertainment Weekly

“Patterson hits the first line at a dead run....He never slows down....Everything is marvelously plotted.” —Philadelphia Inquirer

“Enthralling...the denouement is powerful.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Chilling.” —The Washington Post Book World

“Hypnotic...[Patterson] is at his finest when he gives the emotions of [his] characters, who are connected by a lifetime of love and resentment, full reign in the courtroom. These are the scenes that his fans will anticipate most eagerly, and they are as explosive and revealing as anyone could wish.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“An absorbing read.” —New York Daily News