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One of the themes of Special Directives is that convicted defendants continue to return to the trial court asking for relief from their lengthy sentences. Pearl Sinthia Fernandez is another example of this judicial merry-go-round.

Fernandez pled guilty in 2018 to the first-degree murder of her 8-year-old son who was the victim of inhuman child abuse. I will spare you the details, but the abuse was horrific. Fernandez was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

Thanks to the...

" Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2026

Format: KindleVerified Purchase

"An attorney for 43 years (a deputy public defender for 4 years and a career prosecutor for 31 years) I enjoyed reading this well written novel. An easy read that flows and builds and doesn’t disappoint. I think it accurately and plausibly captures the reality of the job of a judge and does so with wit, suspense, drama, and insight. I sincerely recommend it and I’m confident you won’t be disappointed. In fact, I...

We have replaced the original cover of Special Directives. Sales are brisk, ratings are good, and the results warrant a flashier cover.

Special Directives by Matt Graham tells the fictional story of a juvenile sex offender being released from prison early due to the efforts of a progressive DA and a like-minded judge, who don't believe in treating juvenile offenders like adults. Special Directives is fiction, so you may or may not buy the story. But does stuff like that really happen?

Darryl Lamar Collins was convicted of two murders in 1998 and sentenced to fifty years to life in state prison. Sounds fine so far...

After...

Special Directives by Matt Graham, the #1 legal thriller new release on Amazon, received more five-star reviews yesterday. This one says it all...

"5.0 out of 5 stars A riveting and informative page-turner

Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2026

"I started Special Directives after returning home from a cross-country flight, convinced that after a chapter or two, I’d fall asleep. That didn’t happen. I kept reading into the night and finished it the next day. Matt Graham is a great...

A big part of Special Directives was the idea that downtown Los Angeles juries hand out multi-million dollar verdicts like Halloween candy. A verdict returned last week proved that to be true.

A woman supervisor with the LAPD was fired for being caught having sex in a car with a junior officer. She admits what she did was wrong, but brings a "what about the male officers' lawsuit," alleging that her male colleagues are treated less harshly for similar misconduct.

If true, that might be worth a...