The Judge's Last Case
After a well-respected judge is found murdered, a retired attorney is called back to uncover the complex web of corruption that may have led to the judge's death. However, the deeper they dig, the more perilous their life becomes as they uncover secrets that powerful people would kill to keep hidden.
Suggested length: A short story: 1,500 to 5,000 words, or flash fiction under 1,000
Start the clock
Pick a sprint, press start and keep going until it stops. Momentum beats polish on a first draft.
Make it yours
Three ways to take this prompt somewhere nobody else will.
- Put a clock on it: the hero has until midnight.
- Trap your hero in one place they can't easily leave.
- Raise the stakes from personal to public halfway through.
Writing thriller books
Something terrible is coming. Can they stop it in time?
Where a mystery looks back at a crime, a thriller looks forward at a threat. The reader often knows more than the hero, and the tension comes from watching danger close in. Short chapters, high stakes and a ticking clock are the tools of the trade.
What readers expect
- A clear, escalating threat
- A hero under pressure
- Twists and reversals
- Pace: little time to breathe
A tip before you start
Put a clock on it. A deadline the reader can count down turns every scene into a race.
More Legal Thriller prompts
- The Law Firm's Missing GirlA legal assistant at a small family law firm stumbles upon a hidden file on an old computer that details a cold case involving a missing girl and a…
- The Prosecutor's Leaking CaseDescribe the intense week in the life of a prosecutor who has found irrefutable evidence linking a respected civic leader to a series of unsolved…
- The Prosecutor's False VerdictThe story starts at the end of a sensational trial where a celebrated prosecutor secures a major victory in a serial murder case. However, when one of…
- The Firm's Environmental Cover-UpA brilliant law student interns for a prestigious but secretive firm, only to find out they are involved in legally covering up major environmental…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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