The Juror’s Lie

Standalone Legal Thriller
The Juror’s Lie by Derek Fermin book cover
Released February 10, 2026

The Juror’s Lie

Twelve jurors. One hidden agenda. And a woman willing to burn a trial to the ground to expose the truth about her sister’s murder.

She lied to get into the jury box. Now someone knows exactly who she is.

Standalone Novel
Legal Thriller
Psychological Suspense
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Case Summary

She lied her way onto the jury.

The hidden juror

Clinical psychologist Claire Estrada has spent years trying to outrun the night her younger sister, Isabel, was killed.

When the man accused of the murder finally goes on trial, Claire does the unthinkable. She assumes another identity and lies her way onto the jury, determined to sabotage the case from inside the deliberation room.

She enters the courthouse believing she knows who is guilty, what happened, and what justice should look like.

The case unravels

Inside the jury room, nothing is as simple as guilty or not guilty. Witnesses contradict one another. Evidence bends under scrutiny. Jurors carry their own secrets into deliberations.

Someone else appears to know exactly who Claire really is, and every attempt she makes to control the verdict pushes the trial closer to collapse.

As the pressure mounts, Claire must answer a brutal question: is she there to deliver justice—or destroy it?

Inside the Jury Room

Every juror brought a secret.

Juror File 01

A Stolen Identity

Claire enters the courtroom under an assumed name, knowing one background check, one familiar face, or one careless answer could expose everything.

Juror File 02

A Fractured Case

The state’s theory looks airtight until the testimony begins to shift, evidence stops fitting, and the accused no longer looks like the only person hiding something.

Juror File 03

A Dangerous Verdict

Claire can manipulate the room, expose the prosecution, or force a mistrial—but every option risks protecting her sister’s killer.

Tone & Suspense

A locked-room thriller inside a jury box.

What to expect

  • Tense courtroom testimony and volatile jury deliberations.
  • A protagonist whose motives are never entirely clean.
  • Psychological pressure, buried grief, and shifting memories.
  • Evidence that changes meaning depending on who controls it.
  • A murder trial where nearly everyone has something to hide.

Perfect for readers who love

  • High-stakes courtroom thrillers.
  • Unreliable narrators and hidden identities.
  • Jury-room conflict and moral dilemmas.
  • Psychological suspense with earned twists.
  • Characters forced to choose between truth and vengeance.
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She entered the jury box to control the verdict. She never expected the trial to expose her first.