Scott Pratt Books

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Scott Pratt was an American author that wrote mystery novels. Born in 1956, Pratt came from a family of five children. He started working at his grandfather’s bar at a young age, an experience that gave him the work ethic that drove him to success later on.

Pratt could be seen cleaning and taking out the trash early in the morning and late at night. But his life at the bar did not revolve around work. He would also take every chance he got to beat on the drums, using the opportunity to teach himself to play.

The local golf course was another place that consumed significant chunks of Pratt’s time. The author loved sports. But even though his talents as an athlete were unrivaled, his primary passion was music. The gifted artist dedicated his youth to playing instruments and dancing, a pursuit that paid off when it led him to Kristy, the love of his life.

The future bestseller attended East Tennessee State University, where he got his English degree. This was after serving in the US Air force. After plying his trade in journalism for a little while, Pratt eventually went to Law School (University of Tennessee School of Law).

He got his JD and became a defense attorney. The profession kept him busy for the next ten years. But then his writing career came along and changed everything.

‘An Innocent Client’ was the author’s debut novel. The book follows Joe Dillard, an experienced criminal defense attorney who cannot stand the many moral compromises he has made over the course of his career.

Dillard is determined to represent one innocent client before abandoning the legal field for good. However, the young girl he’s tasked with representing isn’t quite what she seems.

‘An Innocent Client’ was a difficult book for Pratt to write. After a strong career in journalism, the author knew he could write. However, writing columns was drastically different from telling a fictional story.

Pratt knew he was out of his depth, which is why he hired ‘The Editorial Department.’ With the company’s help, the author made several changes to his manuscript in between rejections until he secured a publisher.

He has credited James Scott Bell’s ‘Plot and Structure’ for adding a fundamental piece to his understanding of writing. Overall, it took Pratt a year and a half to write and sell his debut novel.

During that time, he realized that publishers did not care about the quality of the books they bought. In fact, the industry did not want good books. They wanted bestsellers. They had no interest in taking chances on first-time authors with no track record, which is why the first few publishers Pratt approached were so hesitant to accept his submissions.

Scott Pratt Awards

Pratt received a Macavity Award nomination.

Best Scott Pratt Books

A driving accident claimed the author’s life in 2018, five months after his wife lost her battle with cancer. Pratt’s best books include:

An Innocent Client: Joe Dillard doesn’t like his job. Dillard is a decent criminal defense attorney, but his conscious does not appreciate the things he has done to advance his career. The cynic is tired of defending guilty clients.

He wants a chance to side with someone innocent. When that opportunity finally comes, he refuses to let it go even though his personal life is in shambles, what with a sister that just left prison and a mother with an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

Justice Redeemed: Things are not going well for Darren. Two years ago, the public was praising the attorney for the part he played in exposing the rot in the district attorney’s office.
But then Jalen Jordan hired Darren to resolve a simple traffic violation. Darren had no idea that Jalen had potentially murdered two boys when he accepted the case.

Once new evidence came to light, the attorney tried to distance himself from Jalen. But his client had other plans. Jalen wanted Darren to stick around, and he secured the attorney’s cooperation by threatening to harm his son.

Darren thought things couldn’t get worse. He was wrong. Someone got to Jalen. They shot him in the chest. And now, Darren is fighting for his life. The DA’s office won’t rest until they convict him of murder.

When Does The Next Scott Pratt book come out?

Scott Pratt doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Last Resort and was released on June, 1st 2023. It is the newest book in the Joe Dillard Series.

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