Stacey Abrams, the former Democratic minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, will publish a political thriller in 2021, People magazine reports.
While Justice Sleeps is a thriller set within the halls of the U.S. Supreme Court; its protagonist is a young law clerk whose life turns upside down when the judge she works for falls into a coma. Doubleday will publish the book next spring, with a first printing of 150,000 copies.
“Drawing on my own background as a lawyer and politician, While Justice Sleeps weaves between the Supreme Court, the White House and international intrigue to see what happens when a lowly law clerk controls the fate of a nation,” Abrams said in a statement. An avid reader of legal suspense novels and political thrillers, she started the novel 10 years ago from the seed of a plot idea concerning the consequences of our system of lifetime Supreme Court appointments.
Abrams’ forthcoming thriller follows two bestselling nonfiction books: Lead from the Outside: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change in 2019, and Our Time is Now, published in June. The starred Kirkus review of the latter called it “a detailed exposé of how our democracy has been eroded,” and concluded that “if you are feeling hopeless about politics, this well-informed blueprint for change may begin to restore your faith.”
Abrams has also written eight romantic suspense novels under the pen name Selena Montgomery.
A tax attorney by training, Abrams has become a national champion in the fight against voter suppression. Her name appeared on longlists for the Democratic vice presidential slot now occupied by Kamala Harris.
“I’ve had tremendous admiration for Stacey Abrams’ political work for quite some time,” said Doubleday editor Jason Kaufman, “but it was an unexpected pleasure to discover that she is also a masterful thriller writer.”
While Justice Sleeps is slated for publication on May 25, 2021.
Marion Winik is a regular Kirkus reviewer and author of The Big Book of the Dead.
