Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Your Digital Footprint Is the New Crime Scene

Judicial Junkie.Reads @judicialjunkie.bsky.social · 8d

📚Truth in a sworn affidavit? No. Evidence is now found in passive-aggressive WhatsApp messages. "The Killer Question" is Digital Footprint Noir at its best. And Janice Hallett proves to be the genre's Queen.

#NetGalley #BookSky

@atriabooks.bsky.social @janicehallett.bsky.social

bit.ly/3KtayI4

The Epistolary Novel Gets A Killer Tech Upgrade In Janice Hallett’s New Mystery The Judicial Junkie

The Year's Best Legal Thriller Isn’t on the Crime Shelf

1 1 3

Judicial Junkie.Reads @judicialjunkie.bsky.social · 15d

The best legal thriller of the year isn’t by Grisham or Connelly. It’s Culpability—a literary novel where a self-driving crash turns a family vacation into a criminal investigation. AI may be the star witness.

@bruceholsinger.bsky.social
@spiegelandgrau.bsky.social
#BookSky

bit.ly/3W3zSql

Bruce Holsinger’s "Culpability" is a literary gut-punch where AI, family guilt and law converge after a fatal crash

In Defense Of The Solitary Bookworm's Mind

Judicial Junkie.Reads @judicialjunkie.bsky.social · 22d

📚 More than a whodunit, “A Case of Mice and Murder” explores what it means to be a bookworm. Gabriel, a barrister who’d rather read, is drawn into a London murder. Beautifully written, it asks: does reading bring us closer or keep us distant? @bloomsburybooksus.bsky.social #BookSky bit.ly/3KpnE8T

A Terrific Cozy Mystery That Made Me Want to Cancel Plans and Read Until 4 a.m.

“Mississippi Blue 42:” A Gonzo Legal Brief for Paying College Athletes

Judicial Junkie.Reads @judicialjunkie.bsky.social · 29d

A gonzo legal thriller that sticks the landing: Cranor’s "Mississippi Blue 42" tackles race, corruption & unpaid labor in college football—with laughs, blood & duffle bags of cash.
Friday Night Lights, but NCAA—meets the DOJ.

#Booksky
@sohopress.bsky.social @mysteriousbookshop.com

bit.ly/3VKkVt2

Eli Cranor’s gripping new novel is a wild, brilliant takedown of race, greed and the NCAA’s unpaid labor system

Justice by Algorithm and Absurdity: Law, Trauma, and the Windowless Courtroom

Judicial Junkie.Reads @judicialjunkie.bsky.social · Sep 2

✨No new post this week (Labor Day pause!) but thrilled to share this: one of my early reviews was just selected for “The Stories That Shaped BAOS in 2025”—a living archive of work that resonated across the "Books Are Our Superpower" community.

@lailalalami.com

#BookSky

bit.ly/47jSUjf

I Spent Years in Family Court. “The Dream Hotel” and “Mothers and Sons” — one speculative, one starkly realistic — show how 5-minute legal…

The Best Literary Party I Ever Attended

2 2 4

Judicial Junkie.Reads @judicialjunkie.bsky.social · Aug 26

📖What if Donna Leon threw a cocktail party and talked about opera, her favorite mysteries, what makes stories work and why Tom Ripley is the kind of sociopath you’d want a drink with? That’s the vibe of her excellent new book of essays.

#NetGalley
@groveatlantic.bsky.social

bit.ly/3JxRxU7

9 Books that Donna Leon’s “Backstage” Added to My TBR Pile

How to Rob a System That’s Already Robbing You

1 1

Judicial Junkie.Reads @judicialjunkie.bsky.social · Aug 19

Fired from retail. $200K in student debt. Hunted by the Debt Police.

Kashana Cauley’s "The Payback" is a darkly funny heist novel about fighting back when the system’s already stacked against you.

@kashana.bsky.social @atriabooks.bsky.social

#ThePayback #KashanaCauley #Booksky

bit.ly/45HCMWr

This novel is “Ocean’s Eleven,” if Danny Ocean had just lost a minimum wage job and had $200,000 in student debt

When Fiction Delivers Justice

Judicial Junkie.Reads @judicialjunkie.bsky.social · Aug 12

📚What happens when the courts walk away? In her author's note (yes, read it first!), Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie states her t aim is to "write a wrong in the balance of stories." And she does: "Dream Count" is a reckoning. Not a verdict, but a greater truth.⚖️

#Booksky #DreamCounts

bit.ly/45LRexA

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “Dream Count” reimagines a high-profile sexual assault case, giving a voice to a victim the legal system failed

Legal Briefs: Waiting for the Next Mandalorian Episode, I Ended Up Reading a Star Wars Lawsuit

Judicial Junkie.Reads @judicialjunkie.bsky.social · Aug 8

📚This is the Way! Disney & Gina Carano have settled The Mandalorian lawsuit — no terms disclosed.

⚖️If you missed my dive into the original complaint (yes, I read the brief!) along with a Mando-inspired book list, now's a great time to catch up.

#BookSky #Mandalorian

bit.ly/46i7VS5

Not your typical legal brief — this one’s packed with Star Wars references, courtroom drama, and a surprising sense of humor

A Novel That Asks If Affordable Housing Is a Fairy Tale

Judicial Junkie.Reads @judicialjunkie.bsky.social · Aug 5

📚Have you ever felt gaslit by a rental listing? Evie's tragic (yet comedic) odyssey in "Dwelling" will make you feel seen. It’s a surreal, darkly funny, and painfully real fable about housing and a broken system.

#Booksky #NetGalley #Dwelling #EmilyHuntKivel
@fsgbooks.bsky.social

bit.ly/3Hny5J5

Emily Hunt Kivel’s “Dwelling” turns eviction, displacement, and late-stage capitalism into a dark, fun surreal fable

When Online Obsession Becomes a Legal Weapon

Judicial Junkie.Reads @judicialjunkie.bsky.social · Jul 29

When your browser history becomes Exhibit A...
If you loved “Gone Girl’’” or “The Silent Patient," check out Nicci Cloke's “Her Many Faces.” A twisty satisfying, psychological thriller exploring online radicalization.

@wmmorrowbooks.bsky.social

#Booksky #HerManyFaces #NetGalley

bit.ly/40F8P7A

Nicci Cloke’s “Her Many Faces” explores how a woman’s teenage browsing history — and a conspiracy site called The Rabbit Hole — becomes…

What Stacey Abrams’s “Coded Justice” Taught Me About AI’s Ethical Frontier

Judicial Junkie.Reads @judicialjunkie.bsky.social · Jul 22

📚Fixing veteran care & bigotry with AI sounds noble—until Abrams's gripping "Coded Justice" shows Milo hallucinating patients & faking alignment. "Have I built loveable Data, or evil HAL?”

@doubledaybooks.bsky.social
@staceyabrams.com

#BookSky #NetGalley #CodedJustice #MustRead

bit.ly/40rUfAj

A Gripping Legal Thriller Where Due Diligence Collides with Untamed Algorithms

Legal Briefs: Waiting for the Next Mandalorian Episode, I Ended Up Reading a Star Wars Lawsuit

5

Judicial Junkie.Reads @judicialjunkie.bsky.social · Jul 18

📖 My patience for a new #Mandalorian installment is running thin, so I'm hitting the books! From a wild #StarWars lawsuit ⚖️ to "The Rescue" graphic novel 🚀& @penguinrandom's reading list, I'm staying busy in the galaxy.

#Booksky

@penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social

bit.ly/46i7VS5

Not your typical legal brief — this one’s packed with Star Wars references, courtroom drama, and a surprising sense of humor

Charell Star’s “Trash Bag Tales & Other Stories from an Accidentally Happy Life”

Judicial Junkie.Reads @judicialjunkie.bsky.social · Jul 16

📚From navigating the complexities of the foster care system to finding moments of joy hitting a tennis ball—Charell Star's memoir is a deeply honest personal narrative, showcasing the powerful impact of advocacy. 💪

#BookSky #CharellStar #TrashBagTales

@fostercarefilm.bsky.social

bit.ly/3UhAFTI

Charell Star’s Trash Bag Tales: & Other Stories from an Accidentally Happy Life is a memoir of remarkable personal resilience, and that very quality makes it a must-read. It’s profoundly sad, smart…

Legal Briefs: Voter Fraud, But Make It Constitutional

1 3

Judicial Junkie.Reads @judicialjunkie.bsky.social · Jul 12

📚Gary Shteyngart's "Vera, or Faith" brilliantly envisions a near future, satirizing politics via a chilling "Five-Three” Amendment. A prescient, must-read novel!

Still dreaming of his ultimate full on legal thriller. 🙏🏻

@shteyngart.bsky.social.

#VeraOrFaith #BookSky #NetGalley

bit.ly/3ImQplF

How Shteyngart’s “Vera, or Faith” Inverts American History to Redefine Citizenship

“The Silver State”: A Masterclass in What Law School Doesn’t Teach You

3

Judicial Junkie.Reads @judicialjunkie.bsky.social · Jul 9

📚Santi Elcano is a public defender answering endless voice mails, representing clients who probably aren't innocent, and procrastinating on visiting a client on death row. Highly recommend. Just don't expect closure.

🙏ARC from
@algonquinbooks.bsky.social

#Booksky #TheSilverState

bit.ly/3IgtOqT

Gabriel Urza doesn’t just give us a legal thriller; he gives us a raw, honest window into the human cost of justice

Summering in the Hamptons? Better Lawyer Up

Judicial Junkie.Reads @judicialjunkie.bsky.social · Jul 4

📚 If your July 4 weekend involves the Hamptons, bad choices, or a bingeable legal drama, these page turners are for you!

⚖️ Both with lawyers you definitely want on speed dial.

(A repost of an earlier blog.)

#Booksky #GreatBlackHope
#TheNote

bit.ly/4nyljaQ

Franklin’s “Great Black Hope” delivers literary firepower; Burke’s “The Note” is a twisty legal thriller

Judicial Junkie.Reads @judicialjunkie.bsky.social · Jul 1

Murky is good. The missing legal guardrails is all too real—pitch perfect. And SCOTUS being MIA, is (sadly) on brand with the Roberts Court.

The Constitution Didn’t Save Him. Google Did.

Judicial Junkie.Reads @judicialjunkie.bsky.social · Jul 1

Kevin Nguyen’s "My Documents" reimagines Japanese American internment for the tech age. A wickedly smart, darkly funny, devastating look at a future following one family when mass incarceration meets Amazon Prime. bit.ly/4et8J8V

@knguyen.bsky.social
@oneworldbooks.bsky.social

#Booksky #MustRead

I kept waiting for the Constitution to show up in Kevin Nguyen’s fantastic dystopian novel “My Documents.” It never did.

Legal Briefs: When Hamilton & Burr Were Co-Counsel

1 1 10

Judicial Junkie.Reads @judicialjunkie.bsky.social · Jun 27

Because nothing says “hot girl summer” like 18th-century court transcripts, dueling lawyers and and questionable verdicts.

3 fantastic page-turners based on real-life historical trials.

#Booksky

@laurenwillig.bsky.social
@harpercollins.bsky.social
@henryholtbooks.bsky.social

bit.ly/4432QLY

“The Girl from Greenwich Street” brings America’s first murder trial to life and two other excellent historical courtroom dramas

This Wild Novel Made Me Rethink Everything About Easy Money

3

Judicial Junkie.Reads @judicialjunkie.bsky.social · Jun 25

Get in, losers—we’re building a pyramid scheme. 💸 Megan Abbott’s "El Dorado Drive" is a razor-sharp, page-turning suburban noir à la "Big Little Lies," but with fewer yoga moms and much more financial fraud.
👉 bit.ly/44jvsPS
#Booksky #LawFi
@meganabbott.bsky.social
@penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social

Megan Abbott’s “El Dorado Drive” is a vodka-soaked ride through suburban angst and the seductive logic of a scam