The Color of Law

A Novel

By: Mark Gimenez

Narrated by: Stephen Hoye

WHAT IF you had to choose between:

your seven-figure salary
your fancy house in the exclusive suburb
your memberships at a posh health club and even posher country club
your marriage
(not your soul; you’ve been renting it out for so long, it’s as good as sold)

and
doing the right thing

And what if in doing the right thing, all of the above still wasn’t enough and you risked having to pay the ultimate price? This is the choice that Scott Fenney faces when he’s assigned a political hot potato of a pro bono defense case in Mark Gimenez’s debut legal thriller, The Color of Law.

A poor-boy college football hero turned successful partner at a prominent Dallas firm—who long ago checked his conscience at the door—catches a case that forces him to choose between his enviable lifestyle and doing the right thing in this masterful debut legal thriller.


Clark McCall, ne’er-do-well son of Texas millionaire senator and presidential hopeful Mack McCall, puts a major crimp in his father’s election plans when he winds up murdered—apparently by Shawanda Jones, a heroin-addicted hooker—after a tawdry night of booze, drugs, and rough sex.

Scott Fenney, who’s worked his way to being a partner at an elite Dallas law firm, is assigned to provide Shawanda’s pro bono defense after the federal judge on the case hears him deliver an inspiring, altruistic—and completely insincere—speech to the local bar association. Scott plans to farm the case out to an old law school buddy, do-good-attorney Bobby Herrin. But his plans go awry when Shawanda puts her foot down in court and refuses to be passed off to the lawyer she considers the lesser attorney.

As the case unfolds, pressure is exerted on Scott to deter him from being too aggressive in his defense of Shawanda. That pressure becomes palpable as Scott is slowly stripped of the things he’s come to care for most. Will he do the right thing—at a terrible cost—or the easy thing and keep his hard-earned fabulous life?

With echoes of early John Grisham, THE COLOR OF LAW is a provocative page-turner that marks the stunning debut of a major new talent.

Critic reviews

“With fast-paced and edgy prose, dramatic tête-à-têtes between attorneys, and an explosive courtroom conclusion, Gimenez effectively weaves elements of race, class, and justice into a story of a lawyer who rediscovers the difference between doing good and doing well.” —Library Journal, starred review

Enjoyable read

Very enjoyable book .... and there's nothing wrong with a Perry Mason ending. Even the author was aware of that.

I love this book

I’ve listened to this book a few times. It’s one of my go to books when I just want to feel good about a happy ending even though it’s bitter sweet.

Great story and great characters.

If you like Grisham you will like Gimenez. Lots of character depth and setting the surrounding atmosphere. The story keeps a good pace and you are never bored

Captivating Story

Great life lessons, irony and suspense.

Most insightful was a statement by one of the law firm partners...."The color of law isn't black or white. It is green. The rule of law is money. Money rules. Money makes the law. And the law protects the money. And the lawyers protects the people with money."

Dallas!

If you are from Dallas or know anything about the city it just makes this book that much more interesting. This book is where you go to find the souls of men!