The Nickel Choir, by Poli Flores Jr., is a dark, deeply human courtroom drama that pulls no punches. The story follows Linda Sanchez, a seasoned Los Angeles prosecutor whose work in death penalty cases earns her a place in the exclusive “Nickel Choir,” a grim club of attorneys with five death penalty convictions. The book takes readers into the heart of legal battles, the raw aftermath of violent crimes, and the private toll borne by those who prosecute them. It blends gritty trial scenes, personal tragedy, and moral questions in a way that feels both brutally honest and heartbreakingly intimate.

The writing grabbed me from the start. Flores’s background as a judge and lawyer bleeds through every page, giving the legal scenes an authenticity that feels impossible to fake. The courtroom dialogue crackles with tension, and the way jurors, lawyers, and victims’ families are portrayed feels painfully real. But what struck me most was Linda’s voice. It’s confessional, self-deprecating, tough as nails, but also fragile. She compares herself to a donkey, plain on the outside but stubborn, resilient, and more capable than people expect. That metaphor resonated with me. I found myself rooting for her, not just in court but in life, through the unbearable loss of her family, her battles with addiction, and her complicated sense of justice.

The death penalty is a subject that’s hard to read about, let alone process, and Flores doesn’t soften it. He brings readers face-to-face with the cruelty of crimes and the cold mechanics of punishment. Some passages made me angry, others left me hollow, and a few had me questioning my own beliefs. That kind of discomfort isn’t easy, but it’s also the mark of writing that dares to go somewhere raw. I think that’s where the book shines most: it doesn’t tell you what to think, it makes you sit with the mess of choices and flaws.

The Nickel Choir isn’t just a courtroom thriller; it’s a meditation on justice, morality, and survival in a world where answers are never clean. I’d recommend it to readers who like legal dramas with emotional grit, who don’t mind being challenged, and who are drawn to stories that mix professional triumph with personal pain.

Pages: 250 | ISBN : 978-1804680964