All of Richard North Paterson’s novels are excellent. He addresses real issues in (usually but not only courtroom) “thrillers.” For example, he addresses  Supreme Court appointments, abortion rights, back room politics and gun legislation. His depictions of political party and presidential dynamics read really accurate and are eye opening in a trilogy he did about a Kerry Kilkanon presidency. But his most recent novel, The Trial, is just published and is about racism, voter suppression, police violence, white supremacy, Black Southern life, etc. and it comes with a real world story as well. Patterson has been attacked on grounds a white guy shouldn’t and can’t sensibly write a novel about racism, black life and views, etc. In fact, despite being an incredibly successful author whose books have earned huge returns for some of them, The Trial was rejected by 19 consecutive New York houses, large, mainstream, and often Liberal on those same grounds. You could look him up on google (remember Richard North not James Patterson) and see real world exchanges regarding the controversy, or you could first read the novel and then consider the controversy and his responses.