The Winter Verdict follows a lawyer and dedicated skier who decides to take an early morning run, and gets brutally attacked on the mountain, finding himself and his family at the center of a conspiracy that stretches across the world. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I began working on the storyline for The Winter Verdict in late fall when my thoughts always turn to skiing. My family and I are avid skiers, and we spend most weekends during the winter in Windham, New York, which has become our second home. Windham is a beautiful small ski town with wonderful people and gorgeous views. It quickly became the inspiration for the fictional town of Castle Ridge. I also thought it would be fun to set a legal thriller in a small ski town instead of a big city metropolis, like I did with my first book, The Manipulator. So, I decided to marry my two passions: skiing and writing legal thrillers, and the result is The Winter Verdict.

How important was it to ground the story in family stakes rather than just plot escalation?

It was the main focus of my story. First and foremost, Tom Berte is a husband and a father, and family means everything to him. His day job happens to be working as a top-flight litigator, which gets him into all sorts of legal entanglements, corporate espionage, and international conspiracies with potentially deadly consequences. At the heart of The Winter Verdict lies not only the quest for justice, but Tom also battles to protect his family and the lives of millions of innocent victims.

How did you approach blending courtroom instincts with high-stakes action?

Being a successful trial lawyer involves good storytelling. And the stories I like to write about involve family relationships, lots of dramatic scenes, and literally life and death stakes. I can create all of that by using legal maneuverings for dramatic effect and to add a layer of complexity and heighten the tension. I don’t intend for the legal wranglings to take center stage or dominate the storyline; instead, I use the law as a backdrop for the high-stakes pursuit of justice and the battles Tom faces in combating terrorists intent on committing unspeakable atrocities.

What will the next book in that series be about, and when will it be published?

The third book in the Tom Berte Legal Thriller Series is System of Justice. A shocking murder strikes the Supreme Court, killing Tom’s former mentor. A young law clerk is accused of committing the murder, and when she reaches out to Tom, he can’t ignore her desperate pleas for help. Reluctantly stepping into criminal defense for the first time, Tom swiftly finds himself maneuvering through Washington’s hidden corridors of power. But he soon uncovers a dark secret that could mean the difference between the law clerk’s guilt and innocence. The only problem is that Tom can’t reveal the secret. The case becomes a game of life and death, where proving the law clerk’s innocence might cost Tom his life.

System of Justice will be released later in 2026.

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