The One-Eyed Judge

By: Michael Ponsor

Narrated by: Rich Orlow

The stunning new legal thriller from The New York Times best-selling author of The Hanging Judge, “[A] talent to watch” (The Washington Post).

When FBI agents barge into Sidney Cranmer’s home accusing him of a heinous crime, the respected literature professor’s life becomes a nightmare. Cranmer insists the illicit material found by the agents isn’t his, but the charge against him appears airtight, and his academic specialty - the life and work of controversial author Lewis Carroll, creator of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland - convinces investigators he’s lying.

Presiding over the case against Professor Cranmer, US District Judge David Norcross fears his daily confrontation with evil has made him too jaded to become a husband and father. His girlfriend, Claire Lindemann, teaches in the same department as the defendant and is convinced of his innocence. Soon, she will take matters into her own hands.

Meanwhile - with his love life in turmoil and his plans for the future on hold - a personal tragedy leaves Norcross responsible for his two young nieces. Unbeknownst to him, a vengeful child predator hovers over his new family, preparing to strike.

Michael Ponsor’s debut novel, The Hanging Judge, was praised by retired Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens for reminding readers “[T]hat the judicial process is not infallible” and by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder for bearing “[T]he heft of authenticity”.

The One-Eyed Judge again draws on Ponsor’s 30 years as a US district judge, offering listeners an insider’s view of one of the most harrowing kinds of cases faced by the courts. Fast-paced, thrilling, and thought-provoking, this is legal fiction at its most realistic and compelling.

The One-Eyed Judge is the second audiobook in the Judge Norcross novels, but you may enjoy listening to the series in any order.

©2017 Michael Ponsor (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

tough subject

The author did a good job navigating the difficult subject. A professor falsely accused of a heinous crime.

Awesome!

Fabulous book which addresses a sensitive subject in a masterful manner. The narration is flawless. The only downside is that Judge Ponsor will make us wait too long for another book.

The publisher's summary gives the plot away!

I really like narrator Rich Orlow who is the voice of Pike Logan in author Brad Taylor's series. He does a great job with this novel.

From my perspective the purpose of the publisher's summary is to give me enough background information to sell the novel while avoiding spoilers. A case can be made for The One-Eyed Judge being a 5 star novel, but that case is destroyed by the plot spoilers in the publisher's summary. I was tempted to down rate it further to 3 stars. This novel is a solid legal thriller which thoroughly humanizes the protagonist judge. I simply cannot account for the 3.5 star average Audible rating. The Amazon and Goodrreads reader ratings are much higher.

Unique Voices: A Standout Audiobook Experience

This book is excellently narrated. Although I didn’t like the story of the second book as much as the first, the narrator of both is phenomenal. Each character has a unique voice, making it one of the best narrations I’ve ever heard. In audiobooks, I’ve stopped listening to some that seemed to have a good plot simply because I couldn’t deal with the narrator’s voice, either because it was terrible or just didn’t fit. Even worse are books narrated by artificial intelligence (AI), terrible! But this book, both volumes, was fascinatingly narrated.

Beware

I found some of the subject matter to be quite disturbing. While I listened to the entire book, I wish I hadn't purchased it.