From Wall Street Journal bestselling author Robert Bailey comes a compelling legal thriller about a lawyer who takes on his sister’s case—and confronts small-town secrets and family skeletons.

Attorney Jason Rich has made a fortune off other people’s bad luck. His billboard slogan—“In an accident? Get Rich!”—accosts motorists on highways from Alabama to Florida. As ambulance chasers go, he’s exceptional.

But after a recent divorce and a stint in rehab, Jason has hit a rough patch. And things only get worse when his sister, Jana, is accused of her husband’s murder. Even though Jason has no experience trying criminal cases, Jana begs him to represent her.

Jason has mixed feelings about returning to Lake Guntersville, Alabama—and even more reservations about diving back into his sister’s life. Between the drugs, the affairs, and a tendency to gaslight everyone in her inner circle, Jana has plenty of enemies in town.

But did Jana hire someone to kill her husband? Jason isn’t so sure. He heads back to his hometown to unravel the truth and face off against opponents old and new.

PUBLISHER AND ACCOLADES

Thomas & Mercer, September 2022

• Amazon Charts Bestseller – Most Read
• Amazon Charts Bestseller – Most Sold
• Amazon Best Book of the Month – Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
• Publishers Weekly Starred Review
• Bookstat Ebook Top 20 Bestseller List
• Bookstat Ebook Top 20: Mystery & Thriller Bestseller List

“Well-drawn characters match the surprise-filled plot. Phillip Margolin fans will be enthralled.”
—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“Rich Blood is a deliciously clever legal thriller that keeps you turning pages fast and furious. Robert Bailey’s latest is wildly entertaining.”
—Patricia Cornwell, #1 New York Times bestselling author

SUBSIDIARY RIGHTS

Audio

• Brilliance Audio

Foreign

• Chinese (Complex): Spring International Publishers

• Japanese: Shogakukan

A haunting legal thriller about the price of redemption for a billboard lawyer who takes a case he can’t win in a town he can’t forget.

Now that attorney Jason Rich has returned home to Guntersville, Alabama, the “In an accident? Get rich!” lawyer is anxious to leave his checkered past behind. Jason hopes this next chapter in his life will be a chance to confront his personal troubles while making amends with his family.

But when a former high school football star stands accused of killing a police officer, Jason is unwillingly thrust into the chaos. The local meth king blackmails Jason into defending the alleged murderer, and Jason knows he can’t refuse. With the lives of his family and closest friends on the line, he takes the obviously unwinnable case.

As Jason dives into the investigation, he vows to dismantle the meth empire gripping his hometown. But as he confronts alternative suspects and follows new leads, Jason realizes that everyone has secrets to hide and interests to protect—at any cost.

PUBLISHER AND ACCOLADES

Thomas & Mercer, June 2023

• Amazon Best Book of the Month: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
• Amazon Books’ editors’ pick for Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
• Real Book Spy’s 10 Books to Read After You Binge Watch “Suits” on Netflix

“Small town, big story—Rich Waters works like magic as a mystery and a legal thriller, but what I loved best was Robert Bailey’s attention to the details of character and place. I’d ride with Jason Rich to a courthouse anywhere!”
—Michael Connelly, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“A compelling dive into the life of a lawyer out way past his depth.”
—Kirkus Reviews

SUBSIDIARY RIGHTS

Audio

• Brilliance Audio

Foreign

• Japanese: Shogakukan

In this twisty thriller, a disgraced attorney’s mistakes come back to haunt him when he’s tried for a murder he didn’t commit.

Once the flashy, successful lawyer known for his in-your-face billboards—IN AN ACCIDENT? GET RICH—Jason Rich has fallen from grace, his reputation scrubbed of its glitz and his life stripped of the people he cares about. All thanks to meth kingpin Tyson Cade.

But when Cade is shot and killed in the heart of his territory, things go from bad to worse for Jason as he is charged with his murder.

To clear his name, Jason seeks help from an unlikely source: Shay Lankford, an old adversary and attorney almost as disgraced as Jason himself. Now Jason and Shay have even more to lose—their lives—as they dig into the dangerous truth behind Tyson Cade’s murder.

Neither time nor evidence is on their side, but after everything he’s lost, Jason is determined to save his future from the mistakes of his past—no matter the price.

PUBLISHER AND ACCOLADES

Thomas & Mercer, May 2024

“Although this case seems designed to avoid the very possibility of a surprise ending, Bailey closes by pulling a rabbit as big as a kangaroo from his hat. Sturdy legal thrills for readers willing to go the distance with a flawed hero in an even more flawed world.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Small town, big story—Rich Waters works like magic as a mystery and a legal thriller, but what I loved best was Robert Bailey’s attention to the details of character and place. I’d ride with Jason Rich to a courthouse anywhere!”
—Michael Connelly, #1 New York Times bestselling author

A small-town attorney takes on prejudice and corruption in this powerful legal thriller.

Small-town lawyer Bocephus Haynes comes home late one night to find District Attorney General Helen Lewis waiting for him. Her ex-husband has just been killed. She’s about to be arrested for his murder. And she wants Bo to represent her.

There’s a lot working against them. Just before his death, Helen’s ex-husband threatened to reveal a dark secret from her past. Bo has been in a tailspin since his wife’s death. What’s more, his whole life has been defined by a crime committed against his family, and he continues to face prejudice as the only African American litigator in Pulaski, Tennessee.

Bo’s back is against the wall, and Helen resigns herself to a dismal fate—but a stunning discovery throws everything into chaos. There’s a chance for justice, but to achieve it, the cost might be too much for Bo to bear.

PUBLISHER AND ACCOLADES

Thomas & Mercer, June 2020

“A stunning discovery, a triple twist, and dramatic courtroom scenes all make for a riveting, satisfying read in what might well be Bailey’s best book to date…Legacy of Lies is a grand story with a morality-tale vibe, gripping and thrilling throughout. It showcases Bailey once more as a writer who knows how to keep the suspense high, the pacing fast, the narrative strong, the characters compellingly complex, and his plot full of white-knuckle tension and twists.” 
—Southern Literary Review

SUBSIDIARY RIGHTS

Audio

• Brilliance Audio

Foreign

• Japanese: Shogakukan Inc.

A battle-worn lawyer fights for a young man’s life in this criminally enthralling legal thriller.

Teen pop star Brittany Crutcher is found dead in small-town Tennessee. For attorney Bocephus Haynes, it’s just another night in Pulaski. Bo swore off criminal work after his last case, but the beloved singer’s murder demands answers.

The prime suspect is local high school football hero and the victim’s boyfriend, Odell Champagne. However, this fallen athlete is one of Bo’s son’s best friends. Bo knows this young man and does not believe him capable of the crime.

When Odell is charged with murder, Bo reluctantly takes the case, sparking outrage throughout the town. But as Bo follows the evidence, he learns that the victim made decisions in her last hours that would give powerful forces motive to harm her. Feeling mounting pressure from the community and the DA, Bo forges ahead. But as the seconds count down, he wonders whether justice is even possible.

PUBLISHER AND ACCOLADES

Thomas & Mercer, August 2021

• Publishers Weekly Starred Review

“Bailey expertly ratchets up the suspense as the plot builds to a surprise punch ending. Readers will impatiently await the next in the series.”
—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“Social tensions redoubled by race intensify a workmanlike mystery.”
—Kirkus Reviews

SUBSIDIARY RIGHTS

Audio

• Brilliance Audio

Foreign

• Japanese: Shogakukan Inc.

Law professor Thomas Jackson McMurtrie literally wrote the book on evidence in the state of Alabama. But when a power-hungry colleague uses a recent run-in between McMurtrie and headstrong student Rick Drake to end his career, he is left unsure what to do next.

Meanwhile, a devastating trucking accident in Henshaw, Alabama, leaves a young family dead. Drake, now a fledgling lawyer, takes the case against the freight carrier and soon begins to uncover the truth behind the tragedy that is buried in a tangled web of arson, bribery, and greed. On the eve of the trial and with his case unraveling in the midst of a dangerous cover-up that threatens to silence his star witnesses, Drake realizes that only his estranged mentor, Professor McMurtrie, can help him now.

With everything to lose and only justice to gain, will McMurtrie and Drake overcome bad blood to defeat a ruthless adversary? Can the Professor turn back the clock and recover all that he’s lost?

PUBLISHER AND ACCOLADES

Thomas & Mercer, August 2015

• Wall Street Journal Bestselling Series

“Taut, page-turning, and smart, The Professor is a legal thriller that will keep readers up late as the twists and turns keep coming. Set in Alabama, it also includes that state’s greatest icon, one Coach Bear Bryant. In fact, the Bear gets things going with the energy of an Alabama kickoff to Auburn. Robert Bailey knows his state and he knows his law. He also knows how to write characters that are real, sympathetic, and surprising. If he keeps writing novels this good, he’s got quite a literary career before him.” 
—Homer Hickam, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Rocket Boys and October Sky

“Gripping from the first page to the last.” 
—Winston Groom, author of Forrest Gump

“Robert Bailey is a thriller writer to reckon with. His debut novel has a tight and twisty plot, vivid characters, and a pleasantly down-home sensibility that will remind some readers of adventures in Grisham-land. Luckily, Robert Bailey is an original, and his skill as a writer makes the Alabama setting all his own.The Professor marks the beginning of a very promising career.” 
—Mark Childress, author ofGeorgia BottomsandCrazy in Alabama

SUBSIDIARY RIGHTS

Audio

• Brilliance Audio

Foreign

• Italian: Hope Edizioni
• Japanese: Shogakukan Inc.
• Russian: Exem License Limited

In 1966 in Pulaski, Tennessee, Bocephus Haynes watched in horror as his father was brutally murdered by ten local members of the Ku Klux Klan. As an African American lawyer practicing in the birthplace of the Klan years later, Bo has spent his life pursuing justice in his father’s name. But when Andy Walton, the man believed to have led the lynch mob forty-five years earlier, ends up murdered in the same spot as Bo’s father, Bo becomes the prime suspect.

Retired law professor Tom McMurtrie, Bo’s former teacher and friend, is a year removed from returning to the courtroom. Now McMurtrie and his headstrong partner, Rick Drake, must defend Bo on charges of capital murder while hunting for Andy Walton’s true killer. In a courtroom clash that will put their reputations and lives at stake, can McMurtrie and Drake release Bo from a lifetime of despair? Or will justice remain hidden somewhere between black and white?

PUBLISHER AND ACCOLADES

Thomas & Mercer, March 2016

“Bailey’s solid second McMurtrie and Drake legal thriller (after 2014’s The Professor)…provides enough twists and surprises to keep readers turning the pages.”
—Publishers Weekly

“A gripping legal suspense thriller of the first order, Between Black and White clearly displays author Robert Bailey’s impressive talents as a novelist. An absorbing and riveting read from beginning to end.”
—Midwest Book Reviews

SUBSIDIARY RIGHTS

Audio

• Brilliance Audio

Foreign

• Japanese: Shogakukan Inc.

Former law professor Tom McMurtrie has brought killers to justice, and taken on some of the most infamous cases in Alabama’s history. Now he’s tackling his greatest challenge.

McMurtrie’s old nemesis, Jack Willistone, is found dead on the banks of the Black Warrior River. Willistone had his share of enemies, but all evidence points to a forgotten, broken woman as the killer. At the urging of the suspect’s desperate fourteen-year-old daughter, McMurtrie agrees to take the case.

But as seasoned as McMurtrie is, even he isn’t prepared for how personal and dangerous this case is going to get. With the trial drawing near and his sharp young partner, Rick Drake, dealing with a family tragedy, he recruits his best friend, Bocephus Haynes, to help investigate.

As key witnesses disappear and old demons return, time becomes McMurtrie’s most fearsome opponent. Soon loyalties will be tested and the boundaries of law will be broken as McMurtrie fights to save his legacy—and his client’s life—before the truth is buried forever in the muddy waters of the Black Warrior.

PUBLISHER AND ACCOLADES

Thomas & Mercer, May 2018

“Take a murder, a damaged woman, and a desperate daughter, and you have the recipe for The Last Trial, a complex and fast-paced legal thriller. Highly recommended.” 
—D. P. Lyle, award-winning author

SUBSIDIARY RIGHTS

Audio

• Brilliance Audio

Foreign

• Japanese: Shogakukan Inc.

His last challenge: live long enough to save the lives of those he loves.

Cold-blooded killer JimBone Wheeler blames Tom McMurtrie for putting him on death row. He once vowed that he’d bring “a reckoning” on Tom and everyone the southern lawyer holds dear. When Wheeler escapes from prison, he aims to fulfill his promise. Victim by victim, he’s getting closer to his ultimate target. But for Tom, who’s dying of cancer, the role of savior and protector is a struggle that is becoming more desperate by the hour.

As the body count mounts, Tom, his partner, Rick Drake, and his best friend, Bocephus Haynes, brace for a confrontation like nothing they have ever faced before. This battle will be waged not in a courthouse but on the streets and fields of north Alabama. With all those he loves at risk, Tom must save his family, his friends, and his legacy from a killer whose hunger for retribution knows no bounds.

Now, as time ticks down and fate and vengeance close in, who will survive Wheeler’s final reckoning?

PUBLISHER AND ACCOLADES

Thomas & Mercer, April 2019

“The Final Reckoning is explosive and displays every element of a classic thriller: fast pacing, strong narrative, fear, misery, and transcendence. Bailey proves once more that he is a fine writer with an instinct for powerful white-knuckle narrative.”
—Southern Literary Review

SUBSIDIARY RIGHTS

Audio

• Brilliance Audio

Foreign

• Japanese: Shogakukan Inc.

The Golfer’s Carol

An inspirational and heartwarming novel for lovers of Mitch Albom and Andy Andrews, blending elements of It’s a Wonderful Life and Field of Dreams into a moving story all its own.

Four rounds. Four heroes. Four life-changing lessons.

On the morning of his fortieth birthday, Randy Clark believes the only way he can help his family is to end it all. Standing on the Tennessee River Bridge in Decatur, Alabama, with his dreams of a pro golf career long gone, his marriage struggling, and facing financial ruin, Randy sees no other alternative to help his wife and daughter but to jump, which he plans to do in the next twenty-four hours.

But his plans are put on hold when the ghost of his best friend–who did live out the fantasy of playing the PGA tour–reveals to Randy that he will be given a wonderful gift: four rounds of golf with his four heroes, the champions he’s looked up to his whole life, each with a life-changing lesson to impart.

For anyone who has ever dealt with tragedy, adversity, or failure, The Golfer’s Carol will bring grace that stays with you long after you’ve turned the last page.

PUBLISHER AND ACCOLADES

G.P. Putnam’s Sons, November 2020 (auction)

“Inspiring…Sharp in its dialogue, real with its relationships, and fascinating in details of the game, The Golfer’s Carol is that rarest of books—one you will read and keep for yourself while purchasing multiple copies for friends.”
—Andy Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of The Noticer and The Traveler’s Gift

“A celebration of faith, family, and the human spirit, The Golfer’s Carol is a page-turning story of love and second chances that is sure to become a classic. The four inspiring lessons will stay with readers long after the last page is turned.” 
—Winston Groom, author of Forrest Gump

“The greatest golf courses are those that can be enjoyed by duffers and aces alike. The same can be said for The Golfer’s Carol, a story you don’t have to be a golfer to love, though it doesn’t hurt. Bailey grabs your imagination from the first swing, and walks you through a course of miracles that golf dreamers will cherish. Packed with heart and with hope, golf needed a Christmas classic, and now it has one.” 
—Tom Coyne, New York Times bestselling author of A Course Called Ireland and A Course Called Scotland 

“Bailey wrings genuine emotion from Randy’s tragedies. This life-affirming sports odyssey will appeal to fans of uncomplicated inspirational yarns.” 
—Publishers Weekly

“Enjoyable…charming and engaging.” 
—Bookreporter.com

“Sophisticated…The emotional currents are broad ones, family ones.” 
—Shawangunk Journal

“Easy reading that brings to life several great golfers and specific holes on some very famous golf courses.” 
—Bowling Green Daily News

 “At some point in our lives, most golfers like to imagine playing a round of golf with our sporting heroes, a heavenly foursome comprised of the greats of the game and maybe a missing loved one. In his wee gem of a book, The Golfer’s Carol, Robert Bailey creates both a hymn to the heroes of golf and a moving fable about what is most important–and enduring–to learn from the game. The moral rings clear: It’s never too late to have a Wonderful Life. George Bailey couldn’t have told the story any better!” 
—James Dodson, author of Ben Hogan: An American Life

“A fun, fast read, this novel kind of sneaks its wisdom up on you. I thought it splendid.” 
—Homer Hickam, author Rocket Boys and Carrying Albert Home

SUBSIDIARY RIGHTS

Audio

• Penguin Audio

Foreign

• British: Headline Publishing Group
• Japanese: Shogakukan Inc.

Book Club

• Bookspan