While Justice Sleeps

One

Sirens shrilled outside the dingy casement window. The high whines seeped in, piercing sleep with pinpricks of sound. Avery Keene rolled to her side and tugged the lumpy pillow over her head. She continued to drift along the Danube, serenaded by the lead singer of some innocuous boy band clad only in his Calvin Klein finest. The sounds jangled louder, transforming into the insistent chime of a phone ring. Avery flung out a searching hand and fumbled blindly for the cell phone. Green eyes shut tight, she grabbed the device.

What?

Avery, baby. A rasping cough. A sullen giggle. It s Momma.

The sirens dropped away, leaving a more jarring reality. Wearily, Avery slid up to lean against the wall, braced against a raft of pillows. She hadn t been able to justify the expense of a headboard yet. One more year. Peeling open tired lids, she tracked the neon flickers against rain-­spattered glass. Rita. Where are you?

Another giggle. Adams Monathalan.

Adams Morgan? With her free hand, she shoved the heavy fall of black away from a smooth, caramel-­toned forehead, the kinky-­curly mass tumbling down bare shoulders squared with tension. Sleep cleared quickly, and she checked the bedside clock. Nearly three on Sunday, no, Monday morning. Figured. Nothing good would be happening for her mother in the Adams Morgan neighborhood at this time of night. After the well-­to-­do retired to their neat row houses, the clubs spewed out partyers looking for hotter action. Are you in Adams Morgan, Rita?

Rita Keene harrumphed. Absolutely. I said so. Adams Morahan.

Recognizing the rise of belligerence, Avery spoke quickly, tightly. Are you in jail?

Won t be if you come and give this cutie pie some money.

Cutie pie? Brows furrowed, Avery puzzled over the statement. If Rita was in jail, arraignment wouldn t come until morning. Sunday night busts had to wait until the judges arrived for Monday morning calls. But just in case, she asked, They ve set your

STACEY ABRAMS is a New York Times bestselling author, entrepreneur and political leader. She served as Minority Leader in the Georgia House of Representatives, and she was the first black woman to become gubernatorial nominee for a major party in United States history. Abrams has launched multiple nonprofit organizations devoted to democracy protection, voting rights, and effective public policy. She has also co-founded successful companies, including a financial services firm, an energy and infrastructure consulting firm, and the media company, Sage Works Productions, Inc.

"Supremely entertaining...A page-turner, plot-driven in the extreme...It succeeds brilliantly." The Boston Globe

"Stacey Abrams delivers a taut, twisty thriller, drawing the reader into the hallowed halls of the Supreme Court along the strands of a complex web of politics, raw ambition and deadly deception." Nora Roberts, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Come Sundown

"While Justice Sleeps is a mesmerizing legal thriller that does the rare thing: It uses the novel to get at the truth. Stacey Abrams is a powerful new voice in fiction." Michael Connelly, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Harry Bosch series

"In While Justice Sleeps, Stacey Abrams firmly establishes herself as a powerful new player in the crime thriller space, with her heroine Avery providing a voice to women everywhere. Twisty, clever and full of surprises, this will be one to watch this Spring. Abrams proves she is not only a force for change in politics but a force to be reckoned with in fiction, too." Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Girls

"Glossy, gritty, breathlessly suspenseful, effortlessly authentic, and altogether wonderful. Why am I not surprised? Lee Child, New York Times bestselling author of the Jack Reacher series

"A political-legal thriller that should hold the reader rapt from its opening line . . . to the extraordinary climactic courtroom scene that turns the plot upside down with ironic flair and utter conviction." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Twisty good fun. . . . As the stakes rise, and murderous villains lurk, readers come to understand that horrific moral and ethical boundaries have been crossed. The unfolding morality tale, the labyrinthine game the law demanded, plays out in the final fireworks scene at the Supreme Court. Abrams plays it to the hilt." The Christian Science Monitor

"Abrams debut is a pip of