The Tenth Justice

Overview

A conscientious supreme court clerk. The professionals who share his house. A minor slip-up.

Ben Addison, fresh from Yale Law, is a new clerk for one of the Supreme Court's most respected justices. But when he accidentally reveals the secret outcome of an upcoming decision, a blackmailer makes millions and Ben starts to sweat. Big time. He turns to his co-clerk, Lisa, and his housemates, Nathan, Eric, and Ober, for help. Washington's best and brightest, they offer coveted insider access to the State Department, a major Washington newspaper, and the Senate. But before they know it, their careers--and their lives--are on the line.

Where does loyalty end? Where does greed begin?
And how much can you really trust your friends?

Editorial Reviews

The high price of ambition is explored in Meltzer's debut novel, a crafty legal thriller set in Washington, D.C. Ben Addison, a Yale Law School grad, is working as a clerk for a highly respected Supreme Court justice and being aggressively courted by a prestigious law firm. But this golden boy is brought down to earth when a wily con artist dupes him into revealing the confidential outcome of an upcoming Court decision involving millions of dollars. Terrified of ruining his career, Addison refuses to go to the authorities and admit his mistake. Instead, he enlists the aid of his co-clerk, Lisa, and of his conveniently well-placed D.C. housemates-Nathan, who works for the State Department; Eric, a reporter for the Washington Herald; and Ober, who clings to a menial job in a senator's office. Addison's friends also circumvent the law to help him, putting themselves at risk as lies, suspicions, accusations and betrayals threaten to tear the group apart. Addison is a difficult character to root for, not only because he is so willing to risk his friends' careers and lives to save his own, but because he seems too immature, petulant and self-absorbed. But Meltzer moves the story along at a crisp pace, spicing the action and legalese with lively banter and intriguing D.C. arcana. Meltzer's shadow-filled world will entertain most readers but it will rivet few; as Lisa says of some early threatening events: "This isn't The Firm." Major ad/promo; Literary Guild "Super Release"; author tour; audio rights to HarperAudio; foreign rights sold in the U.K., Germany, Japan, Israel and Finland; film rights to Fox 2000. (May) FYI: Meltzer, 26, wrote this novel while attending of Columbia Law School.

-- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.

Author Information

Bio of Brad Meltzer

Brad Meltzer is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Tenth Justice and Dead Even. A graduate of the University of Michigan and Columbia Law School, he currently lives in Maryland with his wife, Cori.

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Additional Info

Imprint

Vision

Filesize

2.96 MB

Number of Pages

500

eBook ISBN

9780446503860