John Ellsworth Books in Order

In the Nine Lives series, a long‑hidden manuscript surfaces with information that could overturn a conviction and ruin powerful reputations. As lawyers, judges, and former witnesses circle it, the fight over who controls the truth turns dangerous.

This novella drops readers into a deadly game of cat and mouse as enemies from past cases come after Thaddeus Murfee. On the run and cut off from his usual resources, he has to outthink hunters who know his every move.

Collecting and expanding material from Michael Gresham’s backstory, this volume traces his family’s journey through mob wars, wartime service, and Chicago scandals, leading up to the fateful promise his grandmother demands in *Lies She Never Told Me*.

Lisa, a privileged college student, and Lou, a farm boy seeking a better life, fall in love just before the Vietnam War tears them apart. Decades later, a lost letter finally reaches Lisa, forcing her to face what might have been.

A high‑profile case exposes the dark side of the entertainment industry, where careers and silence have long been traded together. When survivors finally speak, a seasoned trial lawyer must navigate media storms and old power structures to find justice.

In a high‑stakes espionage case, Michael Gresham discovers that American energy secrets are being sold to Russia. As he tries to expose the conspiracy, he finds himself caught between intelligence agencies, corporate interests, and a ruthless enemy.

Lisa Marie Dearing is on trial for murdering the man who lied to her and ruined her life. Thaddeus Murfee defends her, while an unusually rebellious jury secretly gathers outside evidence, changing the course of the case.

Assistant district attorney Lettie Portman, herself a survivor of abuse, is called to the hospital after an eleven‑year‑old girl is brutally attacked. As she prosecutes the case, Lettie must confront her own past to win justice for the child.

A Los Angeles prosecutor nicknamed RICO Rocky uncovers a ring of dirty cops, then realizes he is in over his head. Thaddeus Murfee is called in to help dismantle the network before the investigators themselves become targets.

A mother faces criminal charges after doing the unthinkable to protect her child. In court, buried abuse and institutional failure come to light, forcing Michael Gresham to argue that sometimes breaking the law is the only way to survive.

In her second major case, Lettie Portman investigates the death of a senator’s wife that looks like suicide but feels wrong. Digging into politics, marriage, and old trauma, she races to prove what really happened before the trail goes cold.

Doctor Jenny Ipswich’s husband dies, and his life insurance is set to pay half to a woman Jenny has never heard of. As she digs into his secret life, Michael Gresham helps her untangle fraud, betrayal, and a high‑stakes civil battle.

A gravely ill young woman asks the court for the right to die on her own terms. Thaddeus Murfee represents her family as they move from California to Chicago and finally to a tiny desert town, testing the boundaries of compassion and the law.

When Thaddeus Murfee’s teenage nephew is kidnapped and taken to South America, he has to step far outside normal practice. Negotiating with criminals, corrupt officials, and cartels, he uses every legal and extralegal skill to bring the boy home.

LAPD Detective Harley Ellis investigates the murder of a powerful Hollywood studio head. As she follows a trail through missing daughters, studio politics, and old grudges, the case becomes a race to stop another killing close to home.

KGB officer Nikolai Semenov secretly agrees to spy for Britain after Russia destroys his family. When he tries to run, he can save only his wife or his daughter. The escape plan triggers a ruthless chase through Moscow’s streets and tunnels.

Paris, 1940. As German forces occupy the city, young Claire shelters an orphaned Jewish child and is drawn into the resistance. The novel follows her choices under occupation, where small acts of courage carry life‑or‑death consequences.

A man who preyed on his stepdaughter is shot dead, and both mother and daughter confess. Thaddeus Murfee must navigate two overlapping trials, twisted loyalties, and community outrage to determine who actually pulled the trigger.

In a glittering California beach town, a presidential reception turns deadly. A detective facing her own harassment accusations, a volatile tech billionaire, and a traveling boy band all intersect as Thaddeus Murfee chases the truth.

A bestselling book about life after death inspires a troubled reader to attempt suicide. When tragedy follows, Thaddeus Murfee is drawn into a case that asks whether an author can be blamed for a stranger’s desperate act.

Michael Gresham and Marcel search for a client’s missing wife, a brilliant lawyer nominated to the federal bench. As political enemies close in and bodies appear, they uncover secrets that could destroy a judicial career and much more.

Spanning mob‑ruled Chicago, World War II battlefields, and the civil rights era, this saga traces Michael Gresham’s family of lawyers. When his beloved grandmother asks him to kill one man for her, he must choose between the law and blood loyalty.

An FBI pursuit through Phoenix ends in a deadly shootout with the Vittini mob, igniting a chain of reprisals. Thaddeus Murfee is pulled into the aftermath, riding a metaphorical justice train as federal agents and gangsters clash.

Michael Gresham discovers he has an adult daughter only when she calls from death row, thirty days from execution. With other lawyers giving up, he races through old files and buried evidence to overturn the sentence before time runs out.

Melissa steps out of her daughter’s hospital room for a quick sandwich and returns to an empty bed. With no body, no ransom note, and few clues, she embarks on a relentless search that leads into the dark world of child trafficking.

Lawyers connected to the U.S. Attorney’s office are being gunned down, and Michael Gresham is assigned to prosecute the killer. When conventional leads run dry, his daughter Annie builds a profile that may catch the murderer but puts her in danger.

Twelve‑year‑old Annie Gresham can read people with unnerving accuracy. When Michael brings her into a difficult case, her observations reshape the investigation, forcing the legal team and the court to reckon with a child who sees what adults miss.

Michael Gresham defends a man accused of killing a judge’s wife while juggling a fragile brother, an ex‑wife with demands, and mounting threats. As evidence twists and bodies fall, he must expose a deeper plot or lose everything.

When one of Michael Gresham’s law partners is murdered, suspicion lands uncomfortably close to home. Soon Michael himself is facing criminal charges, forcing him to defend his own life while unmasking the real killer inside the firm.

A horrific crime tears apart a family and leaves a father desperate to save his child. Michael Gresham steps in, uncovering buried histories, police missteps, and dangerous loyalties as he fights to keep both father and defendant from ruin.

Two CIA field operators uncover a shipping document that suggests a massive illegal arms deal. The trail leads to a Russian courtroom where Michael Gresham must navigate foreign laws, hostile officials, and a case that could tip an international crisis.

Carlos is a quiet family man whose daughter needs expensive medical care. Desperate, he robs a bank and lands in Michael Gresham’s office. As the trial unfolds, Michael must convince a jury to see the father behind the crime.

Fresh out of law school and broke, Thaddeus Murfee takes a mysterious job spying on a U.S. Attorney accused of selling secrets. Drawn into back‑street Washington intrigue, he must decide who to trust as foreign agents circle.

In Nazi‑occupied Poland, a young Jewish man learns the horrors of Treblinka and narrowly escapes. Years later he must decide how much risk he will take to save others, in a story of resistance, trauma, and fragile hope.

Still recovering from a brutal attack, Thaddeus Murfee is begged by a longtime friend to try one more major case. Weakened but unwilling to refuse, he steps into a courtroom war that could break his client, his firm, and his own body.

Attorney Thaddeus Murfee is skyjacked to Moscow alongside Angelina Sosa, a brash young journalist who decides to write a blockbuster book about him. Their flight into Russia turns into a high‑stakes tangle of espionage, ambition, and survival.

A Syrian wedding party is annihilated by a Hellfire missile fired from an American drone, leaving one traumatized survivor. She turns to Christine Susmann to seek justice, dragging the lawyer into a battle that reaches from war zones to U.S. courts.

War‑hardened lawyer Christine Susmann takes on a college rape case after shocking photos surface from a fraternity party. Up against wealthy families and a university in damage‑control mode, she fights to give one young woman a voice.

When a law partner dies under suspicious circumstances and a child vanishes, Thaddeus Murfee is pulled into a case involving a client whose personality seems to change by the hour. He must untangle madness, greed, and manipulation to find the truth.

Rookie lawyer Thaddeus Murfee agrees to sue a powerful businessman for assaulting a local waitress, then the man is found murdered and his client is charged. Facing the death penalty and mob pressure, Thaddeus must keep her alive.

A beloved district attorney is found shot dead, and his wife calmly admits she pulled the trigger. Thaddeus Murfee defends her, digging into small‑town grudges, political deals, and a marriage built on secrets to learn who really benefited.

A routine delivery turns tragic when baby Chase suffers a devastating brain injury. Thaddeus Murfee takes on the hospital and its insurers, uncovering systemic negligence as grieving parents demand answers and accountability in court.

After helping put a mob godfather behind bars, Thaddeus Murfee becomes a marked man. He files a bold lawsuit against the syndicate, then flees west while killers track him, forcing one last showdown to reclaim his future.

Thaddeus Murfee has seized a mob casino, and now they want it back. While defending his estranged sister on a murder charge and an employee on drug counts, he is indicted for tax crimes, fighting three felony cases at once.