Bonus Content
Excerpt
Chapter 1
"LET HER HANG until she's dead!"
"Take her out and hang her now! I'll do it myself!"
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Judge Otis L. Warren wielded his gavel with such fury I
thought he might smash a hole in the top of his bench.
"Quiet in the court!" the judge shouted. "Settle down, or by
God I will hold every last one of you sons of bitches in contempt."
Bam! Bam! Bam!
It was no use. Warren's courtroom was overflowing with
disgruntled white citizens who wanted nothing more than to
see my client hang. Two of them on the left side began a chant that was soon taken up by others:
We don't care where. We don't care how.
We just wanna hang Gracie Johnson now!
The shouts from some among the white majority sent such
a shiver of fear through the colored balcony that one woman
fainted and had to be carried out.
Another bang of the gavel. Judge Warren stood and shouted,
"Mr. Loomis, escort all those in the colored section out of my courtroom and out of the building."
I couldn't hold my tongue another second.
"Your Honor, I object! I don't see any of the colored folks
being rowdy or disrespectful. The ones making the fuss are
the white men in front."
Judge Warren glared over his glasses at me. His expression
intimidated the room into silence.
"Mr. Corbett, it is my job to decide how to keep order in
my court. It is your job to counsel your client - and let me tell you, from where I sit, she needs all the help she can get."
I couldn't disagree.
What I once thought would be an easy victory in the case
of District of Columbia v. Johnson was swiftly turning into a
disaster for Gracie and her increasingly helpless attorney, Benjamin E. Corbett: that being myself.
Gracie Johnson was on trial for the murder of Lydia Davenport, a wealthy white woman who was active in Washington
society at a level high enough to cause a nosebleed. Worse,
Gracie was a black woman accused of killing her wealthy white
employer.
The year was 1906. Before it was all over, I was afraid they
were going to hang Gracie.
I had to be careful they didn't hang me while they were at it.
(c) James Patterson
Alex Cross's Trial
Leave it to James Patterson to shake Alex Cross’s family tree and come up with the ancestor whose intolerance for injustice has clearly nourished the lower branches. In this breathtaking book “written” by Alex Cross, the #1 bestselling author breaks new ground as we head back to 1906, where news of widespread lynchings in the deep South have caught the attention of President Theodore Roosevelt. Deeply concerned, he summons Ben Corbett, a white lawyer who hails from Eudora, Mississippi, and asks him to return to his roots to investigate. But what Ben sees with the help of Abraham Cross, a stately man of 91, and his granddaughter, Moody, is a degree of lawlessness and cruelty that defies belief.
For Ben, whose championship of “charity” cases has caused a rift in his marriage, there could be no better partner in his fight for human dignity than Abraham, who, despite his advanced age, is no shrinking violet. When the elderly man’s home is attacked, Ben manages to catch the offenders, and the ensuing trial—a shocking, eye-opening examination of evil—creates a whole new meaning for the term “nail-biter.” Alex Cross’s Trial is another brilliant tour de force by the undisputed master.
Hardcover : 336 pages
Publisher: Hachette Book Group Usa ( August 24, 2009 )
Item #: 12-747187
ISBN: 9780316070621
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.25 x 0.8inches
Product Weight: 13.0 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Riveting! 
April 11, 2011
I called in to work sick one day just so I could finish this great book. I didn't want to put it down once I got started. I loved it. I really like all his books but this one in particular was great. If you are into history this brings it home and makes it real.
Reviewer: Barbara
could not put it down.
March 24, 2011
i read this book in 6 hours!!! i loved it. my mouth actually dropped oped a couple of times !!! i even teared up too. a real good read.
Reviewer: Patricia
The Best
January 18, 2011
I remember my grandmother telling old tells about the south, and how Pres Roosevelt almost starved them to death. I have almost every book of JP and this is one of his best, to bring both whites and blacks together, today is MLK birthday, that itself speaks out.
Reviewer: Beverly
Good Read 
October 20, 2010
Different from what Patterson usually throws at us and I enjoyed it.
Reviewer: scott
Gripping
October 06, 2010
I have never read any James Patterson. Just didn't seem like the kind of books I'd like. My wife (A Patterson fan) suggested this book because it was different. I really liked it. The subject matter is facinating, and the characters are very real. You get a very real sense of being there. I had a hard time putting it down....gripping to the inevitable ending.
Reviewer: Bob
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