An Unreliable Truth
From the bestselling author of A Killer’s Wife, Victor Methos’s acclaimed Desert Plains series continues with the saga of two brilliant defense attorneys and a client whose confession may not be what it seems.
Two couples cut to bits near a canyon close to the Nevada border. The police pull over blood-soaked Arlo Ward not far from the site of the grisly murders; he fully cooperates with the officers, grinning through a remorseless confession dripping with gory detail. Investigators find no murder weapon, but young, awkward Arlo’s confession is signed, taped, and delivered.
Defense attorney Dylan Aster and his partner, Lily Ricci, are two rising legal stars. They’re hesitant about pursuing the Arlo Ward case, as it seems like a slam dunk for the prosecution―Arlo was covered in the victims’ DNA and admitted to everything. But the state psychiatrist shares the impossible with Dylan: Arlo Ward is likely innocent. The man is racked with delusional schizophrenia, seizing on these murders as an opportunity for macabre attention.
Dylan can’t resist. He and Lily take on Arlo as their client, but once the trial commences, it’s clear that the real secrets and lies are just beginning.
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Victor Methos
Few writers of legal thrillers have lived the stories they tell as closely as Victor Methos. Born in Kabul and raised in the United States from the age of nine, he grew up with an outsider’s eye, watching, questioning, and writing. By ten, he was already crafting short stories in English, sensing that the written word could carry both truth and danger. That instinct would follow him into adulthood, shaping a career that straddled the courtroom and the page.
Before turning to fiction full time, Methos built his reputation in the legal world. He studied philosophy at the University of Utah, then shifted course to law school, where his fascination with justice became something far sharper. Over the next decade, he tried more than a hundred cases ranging from capital murder to high-stakes civil rights battles. Each trial demanded not just intellect but moral clarity, and many of those experiences left their imprint on his novels.
Desert Plains
Desert Plains consists of three books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
