{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260417T162657Z","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DMH76RRM?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"B0DMH76RRM","authors":["Timothy Andrés Pabon","Gabriel Urza","Algonquin Books","& 0 more"],"book_id":"9781643756677","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/the-silver-state-B0DMH76RRM","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781643756677.jpg?v=20260417T162657Z%3A2026-04-17T16%3A26%3A57Z","description":"When a public defender receives a letter from a client on death row, he is forced to reexamine his role in the murder case he cannot shake; a gripping and thought-provoking legal thriller that redefines the genre—by critically acclaimed writer and criminal defense attorney What if justice isn’t something the legal system is truly capable of? Law school graduate Santi Elcano’s idealism is wearing away by the cases and clients he’s assigned. When a young mother, Anna Weston, is brutally murdered and her body is found near Reno’s infamous silver mines, Santi and his mentor in the public defender’s office, C.J., are tasked with defending Michael Atwood, a man arrested for Anna's murder on scant physical evidence. Eight years later, a shocking letter from Atwood—now on death row—forces Santi to reexamine his role in the case. At the time, public obsession with Anna’s disappearance and intense pressure on the police to make an arrest led to a rushed trial. As they investigated the case, Santi and C.J. became increasingly convinced they were defending an innocent man. Now, a horrific discovery leads Santi to reconsider everything he once believed, and all that it has cost him—love, family, and friendship. Illuminating the deals that get cut in the name of justice, The Silver State explores the murkiness between victim and perpetrator, and the cost of a life in the law. Turning the legal thriller on its head, Urza tells an electrifying, emotionally charged tale of systemic failure and moral ambiguity that asks: What if justice isn’t something the legal system is truly capable of? For readers of Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent and Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy.\" “A propulsive, hallucinatory, urgent novel. This book will haunt you.\" —Sierra Crane Murdoch, author of Yellow Bird","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9781643756677","publication_date":"20250708","publisher":"Little, Brown and Company","slug":"the-silver-state","subtitle":"A Novel","title":"The Silver State"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"FIC031030","confidence_band":"high","label":"Legal Thrillers","score":0.8327,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"FIC031010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Crime Fiction","score":0.8016,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"FIC022020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Police Procedurals","score":0.793,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"FIC031030","confidence_band":"high","label":"Legal Thrillers","score":0.8327,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"FIC031010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Crime Fiction","score":0.8016,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"FIC022020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Police Procedurals","score":0.793,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"FIC030000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Suspense","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"FIC031010","confidence_band":"high","label":"Crime Fiction","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"FIC031030","confidence_band":"high","label":"Legal Thrillers","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Legal Thrillers","score":0.8327,"slug":"legal-thrillers"},{"label":"Crime Fiction","score":0.8016,"slug":"crime-fiction"},{"label":"Police Procedurals","score":0.793,"slug":"police-procedurals"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy Legal Thrillers","Good for readers interested in literary","Good for fans of Mystery"],"related_lists":[{"intro":"","slug":"shelf-fic031030-legal","title":"Legal Books","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/lists/shelf-fic031030-legal"}],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Robert Bailey"],"book_id":"9781503945548","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781503945548.jpg?v=20260417T162657Z%3A2026-04-17T16%3A26%3A57Z","score":19.271,"title":"The Professor","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781503945548"},{"authors":["Phillip Margolin"],"book_id":"9781250356895","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781250356895.jpg?v=20260417T162657Z%3A2026-04-17T16%3A26%3A57Z","score":17.3001,"title":"False Witness","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781250356895"},{"authors":["Robert Petkoff","Joey Hartstone","Random House Audio","& 0 more"],"book_id":"9780385547819","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780385547819.jpg?v=20260417T162657Z%3A2026-04-17T16%3A26%3A57Z","score":17.0258,"title":"The Local","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780385547819"},{"authors":["Andrew Eiden","Jon Cowan","Simon & Schuster Audio","& 0 more"],"book_id":"9781668051139","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781668051139.jpg?v=20260417T162657Z%3A2026-04-17T16%3A26%3A57Z","score":16.9886,"title":"Proof","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781668051139"},{"authors":["Michael Connelly"],"book_id":"9780316069502","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780316069502.jpg?v=20260417T162657Z%3A2026-04-17T16%3A26%3A57Z","score":16.91,"title":"The Gods of Guilt","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780316069502"},{"authors":["Gary Tiedemann","Matt Godfrey","Saskia Maarleveld","Janina Edwards"],"book_id":"9780316566353","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780316566353.jpg?v=20260417T162657Z%3A2026-04-17T16%3A26%3A57Z","score":14.9371,"title":"Saving Emma","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780316566353"},{"authors":["Peter Giles","Michael Connelly","Little, Brown & Company"],"book_id":"9780316563826","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780316563826.jpg?v=20260417T162657Z%3A2026-04-17T16%3A26%3A57Z","score":14.8962,"title":"The Proving Ground","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780316563826"},{"authors":["Scott Turow"],"book_id":"9781538706329","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781538706329.jpg?v=20260417T162657Z%3A2026-04-17T16%3A26%3A57Z","score":14.6408,"title":"Suspect","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781538706329"}],"topics":[{"evidence_refs":["keyword:missing women"],"label":"Women","score":0.5667,"slug":"women"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:literary thriller"],"label":"Thriller","score":0.2042,"slug":"thriller"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:literary thriller"],"label":"Literary","score":0.0955,"slug":"literary"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:courtroom drama"],"label":"Drama","score":0.0527,"slug":"drama"}],"what_you_get":["Themes: Women, Thriller, Literary.","Reading lane: Legal Thrillers and Crime Fiction.","Publisher: Little, Brown and Company."]},"llm_signals":null,"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":false,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":37,"goodreads_ratings_count":198,"goodreads_reviews_count":44,"quality_score":0.8967}}