Protect & Defend

On a cold day in January, President Kerry Kilcannon takes the oath of office — and within days makes his first, most important move: appointing a new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Kilcannon's choice is a female judge with a brilliant record. And a secret.

While the Senate spars over Caroline Masters' nomination, an inflammatory abortion rights case is making its way toward the judge — and will explode into the headlines. Suddenly, the most divisive issue in America turns the President's nomination into all-out war. And from Judge Masters to a conservative, war-hero senator facing a crisis of conscience and a fifteen-year-old girl battling for her future, no one will be safe. Protect and Defend takes us on a riveting journey between what is legal, what is right...and the price of finally knowing the difference.

"Brilliant....Patterson has caught lightning in a bottle....Put this one at the top of your list." Stephen King

"There are a million books out there on the racks now posing as intelligent legal thrillers. Most of them are anything but. Protect and Defend is the real thing, a super-smart political novel with narrative drive and real heart." San Francisco Chronicle

"With Protect and Defend, Richard North Patterson lays further claim to being one of America's best contemporary popular novelists." The Detroit News

"Protect and Defend is engrossing from the first page, and my discomfort turned to fascination as Patterson cranked up a wild ride on a roller coaster of morality, politics and emotions." Carol Memmott, USA Today

"[A] thoroughly convincing account of a controversial Supreme Court confirmation proceeding....This is a page turner that leaves you not merely satisfied but informed." John W. Dean, The New York Times Book Review

"A blissfully large-scale political thriller that's also an unsparing examination of tough questions about abortion, by an author shrewd and generous enough to give spokespeople of every persuasion their day in court." Kirkus Reviews

"[A] meticulously researched, sharply observed tension builder....Patterson's strong characterizations and sensitivity to both sides (though he leans pro-choice) illuminate one of society's most bitter and divisive issues." Publishers Weekly

"Patterson...delivers a whopping political novel that is at once suspenseful and informative, gripping and touching....[B]oth a compelling story and an accessible dissertation on the complexities of our most troubling social issue." Booklist

"In Protect and Defend, Mr. Patterson's characters of all political stripes are convincingly and memorably drawn. Through their public actions and backstage maneuvers, Protect and Defend builds to a powerful catharsis." Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal

"Although the presentation suggests a pro-choice slant, Patterson's characters argue both sides of the issue intelligently, contributing to the intriguing complexity of a very thrilling political novel. Highly recommended." Library Journal

Richard North Pattersons ten previous novels include six consecutive international bestsellers. His novels have won an Edgar Allan Poe Award and the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière. Formerly a trial lawyer in Washington and San Francisco, Mr. Patterson also served as an assistant attorney general in Ohio and as the SECs liaison to the Watergate special prosecutor. He now serves on the boards of Common Cause, the Family Violence Prevention Fund, Handgun Control Inc., and Ohio Wesleyan University. He lives with his wife, Laurie, and their family in San Francisco and on Marthas Vineyard.