Description (from cover): “Supreme Court clerk Avery Keene is back, trying to get her feet on solid ground after unraveling an international conspiracy in While Justice Sleeps. But as the sparks of Congressional hearings and political skirmishes swirl around her, Avery is approached at a legal conference by Preston Davies, an unassuming young man and fellow law clerk to a federal judge in Idaho. Davies believes his boss, Judge Francesca Whitner, was being blackmailed in the days before she died. Desperate to understand what happened, he gives Avery a file, a burner phone, and a fearful warning that there are highly dangerous people involved.

Another shocking murder leads Avery to a list of names — all federal judges — and, alarmingly, all judges on the FISA Court (the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court), also known as America’s “secret court.” It is the body which grants permission to the government to wiretap Americans or spy on corporations suspected of terrorism. As Avery digs deeper, she begins to see a frightening pattern — and she worries that something far more sinister may be unfolding inside the nation’s third branch of government. With lives at stake, Avery must race the clock and an unexpected enemy to find the answer.

Drawn from today’s headlines and woven with her unique insider perspective, Stacey Abrams combines twisting plotlines, wry wit, and clever puzzles to create another immensely entertaining suspense novel.”

My Thoughts:

While Justice Sleeps was the first book in the series by Stacey Abrams that introduced readers to Avery Keene, a Supreme Court clerk, who was thrown into political intrigue by her boss, Justice Howard Wynn, that rocked America to its core. While I won’t go into much more detail than that, I highly suggest reading that book, not just because it was phenomenal in its own right, but because in order to read this next book in the series, you will have to had read the first in order to follow what is going on in this book. Also, if you haven’t read the first book, then please skip the rest of this review as it will contain spoilers.

In this latest installment, Avery Keene is a pariah embroiled in the middle of the upcoming impeachment trial of President Stokes. She is the one who brought the nation’s attention to President Stokes illegal activities of the highest degree and accused him of murder. She is on leave from her job with the Supreme Court and the media is stalking her every move. Avery is not relishing the attention and she is frustrated that she cannot move on with her life. People are taking sides on the political scandal and saying she is a liar and she made up all of the allegations and her new number one enemy is President Stokes who clearly has a target aimed straight at her back. Will her life ever be the same?

Avery is attending a routine legal conference and trying to keep her head down, when she is approached by Preston Davies, who is the clerk for the now deceased Judge Francesca Whitner. Davies believes that his former boss, a federal judge in Idaho, was being blackmailed and that led to her suicide. He pleads with Avery to investigate and hands her a folder and a burner phone that contains messages and videos from the blackmailer and suddenly flees the scene. Avery is determined to ignore Mr. Davies pleas for help as she doesn’t want to bring more attention to herself; however, she chases after him to learn more information and why he thinks she is the one who can solve the case. While chasing after Mr. Davies, she is shocked when she sees him murdered right in front of her in the middle of the street. Now, Avery is determined to find out what Davies was trying to tell her at any cost as she cannot let an innocent man die for no reason.

Avery soon enlists her tech-savvy boyfriend, her roommate and their lawyer friend, along with FBI agent Robert Lee to assist her with her investigation. The details start pouring out. There are links to the energy grid, the judicial system, and the FISA Court which is responsible for allowing the nation’s investigative bureaus to seek evidence on suspected terrorists secretly. It seems that as Avery continues to unravel the threads of the investigation that there is more going on than what meets the eye.

The twists and turns of this book were enough to keep this reader fully engaged. Avery is a smart character, it is hard not to like her, and she is determined to seek justice at any cost. I will say that Abrams is a phenomenal writer and this series is one that I encourage everyone to read. Not only do you get a thriller of a mystery, you also learn things along the way. I have mentioned previously on this blog that I am a paralegal by day and while I have an advanced knowledge of the judicial system and how it works, I was surprised to learn about the FISA Court. I had never heard of the FISA Court until I read this book and it was interesting to see that this is a real court that operates in America every single day. There are many federal agencies that Ms. Abrams alludes to in this book as well and every single one of them are real agencies that operate in our government. Abrams has done her research and it really shows throughout the pages of this book. I highly recommend this book to all readers and hope that you come to love this series as much as I have.

Overall Rating: 5+ stars

Author: Stacey Abrams

Series: Avery Keene #2

Publisher: Doubleday

Publication Date: May 23, 2023

Pages: 356

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Get It: Amazon

Disclaimer: This book was given to me by the publisher, through NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review. I reviewed this book without compensation of any kind. All thoughts and opinions are solely mine.