Michael Gresham Books in Order
Part ofJohn Ellsworth Books in OrderFind all the Michael Gresham legal thrillers by John Ellsworth in order, with story summaries, character background, and tips on how they connect to his other courtroom series.
Last updated: June 7, 2026
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Publication Order
13 books
Carlos the Ant
by John Ellsworth
2016
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.
Sakharov the Bear
by John Ellsworth
2016
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.
The Defendant's Father
by John Ellsworth
2016
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.
The Law Partners
by John Ellsworth
2016
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.
The Lawyer
by John Ellsworth
2016
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.
Annie's Verdict
by John Ellsworth
2017
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.
Dead Lawyer on Aisle 11
by John Ellsworth
2017
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.
30 Days of Justis
by John Ellsworth
2018
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.
Lies She Never Told Me
by John Ellsworth
2018
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.
The Fifth Justice
by John Ellsworth
2018
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.
Girl, Under Oath
by John Ellsworth
2021
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.
Mother, Under Oath
by John Ellsworth
2021
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.
Lawyers in Gray
by John Ellsworth
2022
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.
Series background & context
The Michael Gresham novels follow an older trial lawyer who has already logged his years in court and carries the scars to prove it. Where Thaddeus Murfee begins as a young outsider, Michael walks onto the page with a past: a difficult brother who will not stay on his medication, an ex‑wife with expensive plans, and a Chicago practice that survives on hard cases other attorneys turn down.
In The Lawyer Michael defends a client accused of murdering a judge’s wife, a job that would be stressful enough without the judge himself suddenly trying to hire Michael too. The book lays out much of what makes this series tick. Cases are messy. Judges and prosecutors are not always neutral. And Michael’s own finances and health are never far from the line.
As the series grows, Ellsworth surrounds Michael with recurring characters. Marcel, his investigator, becomes a kind of partner in both digging up facts and surviving danger. Later books introduce Annie, Michael’s twelve‑year‑old daughter, a brilliant observer who begins to build criminal profiles when adults have run out of theories. Their dynamic sits at the heart of Annie’s Verdict and Dead Lawyer on Aisle 11, where Annie’s insights change the direction of major investigations.
The cases themselves sprawl across a wide map. Michael helps desperate parents, bank robbers with sick children, federal targets, and judges who suddenly find themselves under suspicion. Carlos the Ant starts as a bank robbery story and turns into a study of how far a father will go for a child’s medical care. In Sakharov the Bear he is dropped into a Russian courtroom drama tied to illegal arms shipments. 30 Days of Justis traps him in a race against the execution date of a daughter he has only just met.
Big conspiracies and intimate family battles share the same stage. Lies She Never Told Me and No Direction Home rewind the clock to tell a multigenerational saga about Michael’s own family, from mob wars in early twentieth‑century Chicago to a grandmother who asks for a killing as her final favor. Later entries such as Girl, Under Oath, Mother, Under Oath, and Lawyers in Gray brush up against espionage, secret second families, and plots that reach well beyond one courtroom.
Throughout, Michael’s voice stays wry and grounded. He is smart, but he is not invincible. Injuries linger, mistakes have costs, and victories do not always feel clean. The Michael Gresham books are ideal if you like legal thrillers that sit at the intersection of big cases and the everyday troubles of a middle‑aged lawyer trying to keep his practice, and his family, intact.
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