Peremptory

A jury can decide a life in minutes. But what if the verdict was shaped before the trial began?

Dr. Lena Castellan knows how easily a courtroom can be turned against the truth. A jury consultant whose work has put her at the center of a Chicago scandal, she helped expose a fixed jury-and now faces a suspended license, public disgrace, and an investigation with evidence prosecutors cannot yet use.

Then a first-class ticket arrives, inviting Lena to Atlanta to meet Vivian Cade, a woman linked to the shadowy network Lena calls the Venire. The FBI sees an opening: go undercover, get close to the people manipulating juries, and find proof strong enough to hold up in court.

Lena understands the cost. The Venire has already shown it can reach into trials and private lives. She can read a room; the network she is entering knows how to read people, too. To expose the conspiracy, she must enter its world without knowing whom she can trust-or whether the justice system will be able to act on what she finds.

A false verdict can take years from the innocent and leave damage long after a courtroom empties. From Chicago's legal fallout to an Atlanta operation built around hidden pressure and carefully shaped verdicts, Peremptory is a legal thriller about jury tampering, compromised evidence, and the fragile line between justice and corruption. When the people who control a jury control the verdict, can one consultant uncover the truth before the next trial is decided?