The Last Appeal

It’s a thin line between being a workaholic and obsessed… 

For double-murder defendant Harold Ashbourne, it's his last chance at an appeal to save him from the death penalty. 

After spending years with a death sentence hanging over his head, Ashbourne knows that his time could nearly be up. 

For Peter Harrigan, his attorney, in a way this case is the last shot at putting his own life back together. 

Five years earlier, while preparing Ashbourne's first appeal, Harrigan lost his entire family in a sudden car accident. 

For Harrigan, it really isn’t just a case. 

For Harrigan, after putting what little left he had into his work, losing the case would mean losing the final, fragile link to his past. 

Now when a surprise witness surfaces, Harrigan is not sure whether this new development is a blessing or a curse. 

His new witness is a master of deception who, at the same time, may hold the proof of Ashbourne's innocence. 

In Harrigan’s desperation to find the truth and free his client, he will have to plunge into the treacherous corners of California's radical environmental movement.

In a final desperate race to lay his ghosts to rest, he will have to team up with a beautiful female investigator. 

Under the glare of the courtroom, the pressure is mounting as Harrigan has to face his old demons in order to try and finally lay the case to rest, once and for all.

‘A thrilling legal drama’ – Thomas Waugh 

Bill Blum is an experienced attorney. Familiar with the ins and outs, and the pitfalls of criminal procedures, he presents a riveting, hard-hitting and authentic legal thriller, one that offers a fascinating insider’s look at the shifting political dynamics within the criminal justice system. Bill Blum has also written for a wide array of publications, including the Los Angeles Times, ABA Journal, The Nation and California Lawyer, hosted a radio talk show, and lectured widely. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and family.