William Deverell books

William Deverell is a Canadian novelist and former criminal lawyer whose books draw on his 25 years of courtroom experience, most notably in the Arthur Beauchamp series.

Arthur Beauchamp Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Trial of Passion 1997 Buy
April Fool 2005 Buy
Kill All the Judges 2008 Buy
Snow Job 2009 Buy
I’ll See You in My Dreams 2011 Buy
Sing a Worried Song 2015 Buy
Whipped 2017 Buy
Stung 2021 Buy
The Long-Shot Trial 2024 Buy

Non-Fiction

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Fatal Cruise / A Life on Trial 1991 Buy
Shaped by the West, Volume 2: A History of North America from 1850 2018 Buy

Standalone Novels

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Needles 1979 Buy
High Crimes 1981 Buy
Mecca 1983 Buy
The Dance of Shiva 1984 Buy
Mindfield 1989 Buy
Platinum Blues 1989 Buy
Kill All The Lawyers 1991 Buy
Street Legal 1995 Buy
Slander 1999 Buy
The Laughing Falcon 2001 Buy
Mind Games 2003 Buy

William Deverell is a Canadian author and retired trial lawyer who spent 25 years in criminal courts, handling over a thousand cases, including 30 murder trials. That courtroom experience runs through all of his fiction. His debut novel, Needles, was published in 1979, and he has been writing steadily since then.

Deverell is best known for the Arthur Beauchamp series, which follows a semi-retired defense lawyer living on an island in British Columbia who keeps getting pulled back into complicated cases. The series started with Trial of Passion in 1997 and has continued through nine novels, with The Long-Shot Trial published in 2024. His standalone novels, including The Dance of Shiva and Mindfield, also deal with crime and legal drama.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has William Deverell written?

William Deverell has written 22 books across three series.

What was William Deverell's first book?

William Deverell’s first book is Needles, published in 1979.

Has William Deverell won any literary awards?

Yes. His novel Trial of Passion won the Dashiell Hammett Prize and the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel in 1998. April Fool also won the Arthur Ellis Award in 2003. Several of his other books have been shortlisted for awards including the Stephen Leacock Medal.

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