Amazing book - literally couldn't put it down. Stacey Abrams strikes again! It's amazing how she was able to weave in her wealth of political knowledge with her writer's prowess to create a heart stopping page turner.

This book is a spellbinder. The story places a young law clerk working for a supreme court member at the heart of a government conspiracy. An absurd amount of decision making is placed on her shoulders by her employer as he lays in a coma, all because of his absolute faith in her belief in loyalty and the truth. Avery comes under condemnation from many with their own agenda, is in danger of losing not only her job but her reputation but clings to her beliefs to the end. The politics really give you the feel that to those involved, nothing matters but winning, no matter the cost to others. Excellent book I received from Netgalley. Thank you to the authors and publishers for making it available.

Avery Keene is expecting to make it through her clerkship on the Supreme Court, land a high-paying job with one of DC's "big law" firms, and make a comfortable living for herself in the upper echelons of the DC law circles. What she doesn't anticipate is being the focus of a national media maelstrom after her cantankerous and crotchety boss, Supreme Court Justice Howard Wynn falls into a coma and names her as his legal guardian. Avery is just as surprised as everyone else but must face uncomfortable questions and accusations from the Chief of the Supreme Court, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and every political pundit on the 24-hour news cycle.

As Avery tries to piece together Justice Wynn's intentions behind placing a lowly law clerk in such a position of power, she realizes that he has been conducting extensive research into one of the court's most hotly contested cases, a merger between a US-based biotech company and an Indian firm specializing in genetics research. As she follows his trail of breadcrumbs across DC, she realizes much more is at stake behind the scenes of this merger than anyone in the United States would believe, and that the corruption behind the desire to stop the merger from happening stretches straight to the Oval Office. Avery struggles to do not only what is right, but what is just in the eyes of the law as she unravels the webs of deception, lies, and deceit while dodging attempts on her life, libelous news stories, and intense pressure from the very highest levels of the government.

With "While Justice Sleeps" Stacey Abrams cements her status not only as a political savant but also as an immensely talented writer. She is following in the footsteps of Dan Brown and John Grisham as a heavyweight in the political thriller arena. I don't know how she finds the time to pen such brilliant novels with her incredible workload, but I hope for all of her readers' sakes that this is not the last we will see of the charismatic and intelligent Avery Keene. Special thanks to NetGalley and to Doubleday Books for providing an Advanced Reader's Copy of "While Justice Sleeps" in exchange for an unbiased review!

3.5 *

I was curious to read this book by someone I had first learned of for her work in the political arena. All in all, I enjoyed this thriller set mostly in Washington, DC. It's mainly a puzzle of large proportions, but touches on quite a few current hot issues: genetic research, the Supreme Court, unethical behavior in politics... and chess. Sometimes the riddles are so obscure that readers may roll their eyes when the solutions are found, but I still found the book to be an interesting and quick read

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in order to give an unbiased review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for the free ARC.

A legal thriller that starts off a little slow but then really gets going. Makes you wonder how much we really do know about our government...

While Justice Sleeps is one of the most suspenseful thrillers I've read in a long time. Stacey Abrams' political and legal knowledge combine to create a thriller of twists and turns with tension throughout. You find yourself rooting for the main character as you read and actively despise some other characters. I hope she continues to write political thrillers in the future because I'll be first to read them all.

You can read the full text of my review of this title in the July-August 2021 issue of The Brooklyn Rail.
Here's an excerpt:

...in While Justice Sleeps, political powerhouse Stacey Abrams brings us a complex thriller focused on a young mixed-race woman investigating corruption at the highest levels of the US government.

I guess you could call this a Supreme Court thriller written by a much-admired prominent woman. It was fast-paced and enjoyable. Not the best book I ever read, but definitely worth reading.

Is there no end to the unbelievable talents of Stacey Abrams? While Justice Sleeps is an engaging mystery/thriller that is intelligent and has you rooting for the heroine. Run and pick up this book.

I really wanted to love this book but I didn't. I'm not sure where it went wrong for me but I could not get into this story.

One of the best books that I have read this year (2021).
Well written and timeless. PLEASE MAKE A SERIES

This was fun and readable. While the hefty hold list was definitely due to Abrams name, it hasn't been duplicated in the follow up

How incredibly fun and cinematic - reminiscent of Stephen Carter's Emperor of Ocean Park. Looking forward to any future legal thrillers Stacey Abrams writes.

Avery is a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Wynn and he is acting erratically. An important case is coming up and he could be the swing vote. But he falls into a coma and leaves Avery as his legal guardian and power of attorney and leaves her a mystery to solve. The more she learns the more dangerous her life becomes. Will she be able to solve the mystery in time?

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2022 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2022/01/readers-advisory-announce-2022-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

What a smart book! I felt more intelligent just from reading it, while also being thoroughly entertained. It reached deeper to get at more robust topics than the cheap thrills of other legal thrillers. I look forward to reading more from Stacey Abrams.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this title. All opinions are my own.

Stacey Abrams has a reputation politically, so I was really excited to dive into her debut fiction. Knowing that both former President Clinton and former Secretary Clinton have also co-written novels, I wonder if we'll begin to see this more and more? While some elements of the plot were convoluted, I'll admit that I don't come to thrillers because they seem likely to happen in real life. There's a true crime genre for that! The more outlandish (within reason), the better to keep me turning pages. Ultimately I think those interested in legal thrillers to begin with will like this better than the general population.

This was exactly what I wanted from a political, down to every last twist and turn. The mystery was well woven throughout the novel, keeping me guessing each and everyone I thought I had finally figured out what was going on. The pacing was absolutely perfect; it wasn’t so fast that was having a problem keeping up with what was going on but it wasn’t too slow that I was finding myself bored. I think this is the perfect book to introduce someone to the world of political thrillers.

Not only is Stacey Abrams a real-life rockstar in the Georgia political world, but she is an amazing author too! Great book for those fans of intense mysteries.

I can still feel the adrenalin pumping through my body from reading the last chapters of Stacey Abrams’s first thriller, While Justice Sleeps. This conspiracy story with a legal and medical edge is complex yet riveting. Its convoluted plot takes the reader from the upper echelons of the White House to the dusty basements of the Pentagon, twisting through the action to a riveting conclusion.

When Justice Howard Wynn makes a surprising speech at a university’s commencement ceremony, whispers are already stirring of paranoid delusions and his ability to continue as a Supreme Court Justice. This is just the beginning. Merely days later, he falls into a coma and the country is shocked to discover that Avery Keene, his law clerk, has been awarded power of attorney at Wynn’s explicit request.

While Justice Sleeps follows Avery, a young Black woman with a brilliant mind who is just as baffled as everyone else at her new responsibility. As she begins looking for answers, she only finds more questions, which seem to centre around the Supreme Court’s impending decision on a controversial biotech merger. Together with Wynn’s estranged son, her best friend from college, and Wynn’s lawyer, she embarks on a journey to solve a seemingly endless stream of puzzles and clues laid out for her by Wynn, leading her to uncover a conspiracy that will put her at the centre of a deadly power struggle.

The narrative plays out cinematically, Abrams’s visceral imagery bursting to life in the mind’s eye. The details are intricate, gifting the reader nuggets that turn into gems as the story unfolds. It’s the perfect thriller for those who love to try and figure out the mystery as they read. From the inner workings of the American legal system to the complex lines of code and analysis of biogenetic research, Abrams includes a vast amount of information that pulls the reader into the world of the novel. It can sometimes be a little difficult to digest, but Abrams seamlessly incorporates these details into the narrative to explain complex notions in layman’s terms.

It is refreshing to read a book with a Black woman protagonist that doesn’t centre around racism or her identity. Avery is just an unlucky bystander pulled into a whirlwind of corrupt politicians, hitmen, and pharmaceutical companies. But Avery is smart, stubborn, and uncompromising in her principles. She isn’t willing to lay down and allow external forces to play her like a chess piece. No, she digs for the truth and pursues a just resolution, even if she has to fight the Supreme Court to do it.