Donald E. McInnis – Author and Attorney
Donald E. McInnis is a California criminal defense attorney and has served as a Deputy District Attorney, Deputy Public Defender, and Superior Court Judge Pro Tem.
He is the author of the legal thrillers The Sphynx Murder Case, Return of the Sphynx, Blood of the Father, Cops Gone Bad, Blood in the Water, and the true-crime book She’s So Cold: The Stephanie Crowe Murder Case — A Defense Attorney’s Inside Story.
Critical Reception of the legal thriller, Blood in the water
The book has been named an Editor’s Pick by Publisher’s Weekly Booklife Reviews, which praised it as a “sharply plotted thriller exploring the gray zone between justice and vengeance,” and highlighted its philosophical depth as well as its suspenseful, fast-paced narrative. The review also commended McInnis’s skill in weaving together courtroom drama, political intrigue, underwater investigation, and complex ethical dilemmas without losing momentum.
Midwest Book Review called the novel “a must-read for fans of the genre,” describing it as “a brisk, intellectually engaging thriller that fuses courtroom drama, political intrigue, and maritime mystery.”
Critics frequently compare “Blood in the Water” favorably to works like Paul Levine’s Jake Lassiter series and L.T. Ryan’s Bear Logan
Books
NEW RELEASE
Two teenage children of a ruthless Mexican cartel drug lord have been illegally kidnapped and are being secretly held by the FBI.
Has the President of the United States of America ordered the kidnapping as an excuse to expand his executive powers? Can the President use the fentanyl crisis as justification?
Will the President, as Commander-in-Chief, refuse to obey a judicial order, even one from the U.S. Supreme Court? The entire nation holds its collective breath… more
Cops Gone Bad, the young lawyer Andrew Jackson Hawke finds himself deeply embroiled in another aspect of the legal system. This time, he faces something few people talk about: The police brotherhood and its Blue Code of Silence.” more
A.J. Hawke, Attorney at Law, no sooner reads about the death of Nevan Pansky, an influential member of the U.S. Senate, than a woman barges into his office, demanding that he represent her.
When he questions her need for a criminal defense attorney, she blurts out: “I killed my husband. I need you to arrange for my surrender to the police and my confession….” more
Editor’s Pick:
“Highly recommended.” – Midwest Book Review
In Donald McInnis’s second novel, Return of the Sphynx (September 2022), a young man is arrested for the so-called Sphynx rapes when his DNA matches that of the rapist’s DNA.
But is the suspect the real Sphynx rapist?… more
In the first novel of the series (February 2022), The Sphynx Murder Case, a young man confessed; case closed. Or is it?
Did David Caine actually confess? Did he truly rape and kill his college sweetheart?
A. J. Hawke, believes otherwise, insisting the real culprit, dubbed The Sphynx, raped and killed the young woman.
Worse yet, The Sphynx is still at large. … more
TRUE CRIME
In his true-crime book, She’s So Cold: The Stephanie Crowe Murder Case — A Defense Attorney’s Inside Story, Donald E. McInnis unveils the truth behind the coerced confessions that nearly sent three innocent 14-year-old boys to prison for a crime they did not commit. … more
