Name of Book: The #1 Lawyer
Author: James Patterson & Nancy Allen
Publisher: Little Brown and Company
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: March 18, 2024
My Rating: 4.3 Stars!
Pages: 400

Stafford Lee Penney is Biloxi, Mississippi’s #1 Lawyer and considered a celebrity. He has been practicing law for fifteen years and has never lost a case!
Story starts in the courtroom (I do love courtroom drama). Stafford Lee is the attorney for Dr. Daniel Caro, a well-known doctor who is charged with two counts of murder- Aurora Gates a young woman of color and her under born baby. Did he do it?
However, this case is no sooner over when Stafford-Lee’s wife Carrie Ann is murdered while in bed with another man.
Although Stafford –Lee and Carrie Ann were currently separated this sends him over the edge. Rehab has him ending up working as a lifeguard – a job typical for a teen or college student certainly not a professional lawyer,
He mentions sounding his lifeguard whistle to unsupervised pre-teens telling them not to go out too
deep. One young boy flips him the bird. –he said he felt like he was back in court!
He does make it back to the courtroom, but in beach wear and flip flops.

Aww I enjoyed this and certainly hoping for the next adventure of Stafford-Lee Penny the #1 Lawyer and of course hoping it includes Jenny!

I read "Juror #3" and loved it! Nancy Allen coauthored it with JP. . She practiced law for fifteen years as Assistant Missouri Attorney General and Assistant Prosecutor in her native Ozarks, trying over thirty jury cases. She served on the faculty of Missouri State.
She is perfect for this collaborator featuring a Biloxi lawyer. Hoping this is a series and the coauthor team continues!!!

Want to thank NetGalley and Little Brown and Company for this early uncorrected proof.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for March 18, 2024.

Being a good lawyer in your hometown. Is not all fun and games. Your job is to get people off for their crimes.. See what happens when the tables are turned on you.

This is a "stand alone" book for James Patterson.

Stafford Lee is a defense lawyer that is trying to defend his client Dr. Caro, who is accused of murdering one of his patients that he also got pregnant during their affair!! Caro has ties to the mob via his father, and when he doesn't like the way he is coming across his court, his dad's 'goons' send him a message.

His private investigator, Jenny comes across someone else whose wife also had an affair with the same doctor, and also died in the same manner. She tries to bring it to Stafford Lee's attention, but he doesn't want to hear it.

Overall, a great story that I enjoyed reading and looked forward to each new chapter. Thank you to #netgalley for this #arc.

Ok, so I'm a snob. I will confess to never having read James Patterson. I prefer Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny to Bill Clinton and James Patterson. But then I read another review where he was described as "popcorn reading," where you know exactly what you're going to get and you just enjoy the ride. So I thought, I enjoy a good beach read as much as the next person, and I certainly enjoy legal thrillers, so why not give this a try. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised. Yes, this is firmly in John Grisham territory, but Patterson/Allen definitely do it justice. I was hooked by the characters and the plot, and just kept turning the pages. There were plenty of twists and turns, and a rather satisfying ending. Go enjoy!

Great legal thriller to read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for an advanced copy of James Patterson and Nancy Allen’s novel. My opinions are my very own.
The #1 Lawyer is a fast-paced read filled with action, twists and turns! Mr. Patterson never disappoints me with his excellent mystery thriller! He and Ms. Allen make a great writing team! His best southern legal thriller yet!

The #1 Lawyer is a fast paced story that draws you in at the start and never lets you go. The first third of the book involves an exciting trial of a doctor accused of murdering his patient. I felt the excitement and tension developed in this first part of the book and it would have been enough if the story had ended there. However, it continued to deliver numerous twists and turns with additional excitement and surprise revelations.

Spoilers Ahead!


I finished the #1 Lawyer and almost threw my kindle against the wall in frustration. What. The. HELL??? I liked all the twists and turns along the way leading the reader towards one conclusion and then a different conclusion, but the final reveal was an insult to readers everywhere. I was 90% finished with the book when my husband wanted me to go on a hike with him. I told him I would go only after I finished the story. The poor man had to spend the next two hours listening to me rant about how mad I was that I had invested so much time with this book. Do. NOT insult me with pulling something out of left field when there was not even a hint of a possibility. Now that I have gotten that off my chest, we can talk about the good. Up until the last part, this was a good read, the characters were relatable and the plot twists were fast and furious. The writing style was good, as expected. I could picture Stanford Lee Penney as he practiced in court and I loved the downslide and redemption. Jenny could have been flushed out as well and Mason? Well, enough said. Ai appreciate the opportunity to have gotten this as an ARC via NetGalley and the publisher. I will continue to read James Patterson novels because I generally love them, but I just feel my intelligence was “disrepected” with this one.

John Grisham, please step aside. There is a new southern law author in town. The #1 Lawyer by James Patterson and Nancy Allen is a grand slam home run. The main character, Stafford Lee Penney is a southern top notch attorney in Biloxi. He is a defense attorney with a perfect record of winning all his cases. The novel opens up with Stafford Lee defending Dr. Daniel Caro, a renowned OB/GYN whose father owns a local casino and is tied up with the local organized crime syndicate, is accused of murdering one of his patients after having an affair with her.

The first third of this intense novel takes us on the journey of the trial. After the trial ends, Stafford lee’s life falls a part. He is accused of murdering the wife of the casino owner and is arrested for her murder. Stafford Lees wife is murdered. The rest of this exciting read is following along with Stafford Lee and a couple of his loyal friends to solve this complex mess of a life.

In addition to a blistering exciting pace, this novel builds the main characters perfectly. You are emotionally invested in these characters and the boom is very hard to put down.

Nancy Allen teamed up with Patterson in the past, writing “The Third Juror”. Hopefully this team will write several more exciting novels.

Thanks to Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to read an early copy of this book for an unbiased review. Watch the best seller list for “ The #1 Lawyer” to make its appearance.

I always enjoy a good James Patterson book, and this one is no exception. As always, there were great characters and a fast-paced story. The suspense kept me intrigued to not want to put it down. Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown & Company for a digital arc of this title.

I enjoyed reading this book. It had a good story to it. I liked the variety of characters in it. I have read other books by this author and liked them. I liked the style of writing in this book.

This book was really good. You never know what to expect reading a book by James Patterson. This book had so many twists and turns. I finished it in a day the ending was different from what I expected. It was better. I'm grateful that netgalley and the publishers let me read this in exchange for an honest review.

The #1 Lawyer
James Patterson & Nancy Allen
The setting is Biloxi, Mississippi. Stafford Lee Penney is a defense attorney with quite a record. He has never lost a case. This tale opens with Penney winning a tough case. Daniel Caro, the local doctor was accused of murdering a young woman and her unborn baby. Her body was found floating in the river. Private Investigator and friend of Stafford, Jenny discovers some information that turns the way of the trial. It was a tough case, but Penny comes through again and wins.
Then the unthinkable happens, Stafford Lee Penney’s wife is killed, in bed with another man. Penney is the main suspect. His whole life changes, his reputation and career begins to crumble. Suddenly this well-dressed, suave lawyer shows up in court dressed like lifeguard down to the flip flops. He takes on the job of lifeguard, protecting the beaches. Can Penney retain his reputation for never losing a case when he is the one on trial for murder?
James Patterson and Nancy Allen make quite a team. They have created a new character that will be loved by all. This will possibly be a new series. All of the characters are well fleshed out. This is a well-paced tale. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep you turning the pages. The plot will keep you guessing until the very end.

Wow what a page turner. He goes from be the number one defense lawyer to a murder suspect. And a whole lot of plot in between. Great read

What a fantastic story, thoroughly enjoyed his latest book. Captivating story of Stafford Lee, a practicing attorney in Biloxi, Mississippi. Things start to unravel when he takes on a seemingly un-winnable case, and chaos starts to unfold both in his personal and professional life. When he seems to have hit rock bottom, his friends rally around him to rebuild his life, and his reputation. Such a fantastic read!

Thank you very much to NetGalley for this ARC, all opinions are my own.

Pub Date: March 18th, make sure to add this to your TBR list asap!

Excellent Southern legal mystery! James Patterson and Nancy Allen have teamed for a #1 Thriller with their book The #1 Lawyer. This is a captivating, don’t-want-to-put-it-down, don’t-want-it-to-end novel with breathtaking twists and turns throughout. Loved it!

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Enjoyable read. I was leary initially because it was set in Mississippi and I don't know a lot about Mississippi, but I'm glad I took a chance.

My Thoughts

Stafford Lee Penney is a Defense Lawyer whose sterling reputation was earned as the man with an unbeatable streak winning case after case in the courtroom.

However, when he tries and wins his latest trial the lucky streak he has counted on for years suddenly turns sour.

First his wife is found murdered and Stafford Lee himself becomes the number 1 suspect.

With no proof the police let him out on bail, after which his life turns into something akin to a really bad dream.

Forced into rehab to detox from his over a year-long alcoholic binge by his best friend, and fellow lawyer, Mason Burnett and their PI Jenny is when Stafford Lee starts to make his way back from the brink of disaster.

Then out of the blue a former clients’ wife is murdered and his law student intern Rue Holmes and he himself are arrested and accused of the crime.

This is where things get even more interesting and the truth slowly comes out with the biggest shocker saved till last.

Short, sweet and to the point this was a smooth and easy to follow read from beginning to its ending.
[EArc from Netgalley]

On every book read as soon as it is done and written up for review it is posted on Goodreads and Netgalley, once released then posted on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles as well.

James Patterson has been able to recruit extraordinary co-authors through the years (Maxine Pietro, Brian Sitts, Mark Seal, Mike Lupica, James O. Born, Marshall Karp, Candice Fox, and even President Bill Clinton and Michael Crichton). There’s a James Patterson co-authored book or a “James Patterson presents” novel or kids book arriving nearly every month. Most of these authors have their own standalone books as well. It’s probably possible to read 50 James Patterson Universe books a year.

Nancy Allen is part of that amazing group with the Ruby Bozarth series (“The Jailhouse Lawyer” and “Juror #3) and she’s the perfect collaborator for possibly a new series featuring Biloxi lawyer (moving into Grisham geography) Stanford Lee Penney, a fancy attorney who’s fallen on difficult times after the murder of his wife. Co-author Allen is a former Missouri Assistant Attorney General, so her Southern courtroom experience is invaluable. Our latest series star (I am confident there will be another Stanford Lee book) recreates himself as a “lifeguard lawyer” (including flip-flops).

My secret Patterson obsession kicked in again, because, as always, the standard book structure is short, thrilling chapters, and always about 100 chapters (good for quick breaks or distractions interrupting reading). Other authors couldn’t get away with that, but it makes Patterson + collaborator popcorn books unique to me. There is no chance of a long, droning middle part. Nancy Allen helped transport me to the world of Southern law in this quick novel. 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO The only green eye is also red, purple, and black due to getting punched.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Appropriately regional Kiowa nuts and Elliot pecans make an appearance.

Thank you to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Like any other James Patterson book, this one is filled with great. characters and a fast-paced story along with suspense that will leave you guessing until the end. I think that Patterson and Allen make a good team with a new character that we are all going to love.

Stafford Lee is one of the best lawyers in the state of Mississippi having never lost a case. Stafford is faced with some unexpected life changing events and finds himself on the opposite side of the defense table. Who can Stafford trust though and will he be able to prove his innocence? You will have to read this one to find out how Stafford comes out. It will keep you guessing until the end so hold on for the ride.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all opinions are my own. Thanks to NetGalley, the authors and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. I know you will enjoy this one as I did.

Thank you to @netgalley and @LittleBrownandCompany for this ARC. Stafford Lee is a lawyer in Biloxi that has won every case to date. But when he is brought in on a murder charge, can he win this case too? The story was good, the characters interesting but I thought the first 75% of the book was build up and the last 25% rushed all the facts. Did the story still grab me? Yes. #The#1Lawyer #JamesPatterson #LittleBrownandCompany #March2024