Attorney Ben Crump’s first foray into crime fiction is delivering more than courtroom drama. His debut novel “Worse Than a Lie” is driving packed signings, sold-out shelves, and a measurable spike in revenue at Black-owned bookstores across the country.
Released Feb. 17, the legal thriller has translated into approximately 25,000 copies sold in pre-sales and in-store purchases during its first week, with several Black independent retailers reporting they exhausted their initial inventory shortly after hosting Crump tour events.
Rather than rely primarily on national chains, Crump partnered directly with Black-owned bookstores for signings, conversations, and community gatherings.
Kevin Johnson, founder and president of the National Association of Black Bookstores and a former Sacramento mayor and NBA All-Star, said in a published report that the strategy behind the rollout carried real weight for independent retailers.
“Ben Crump has always used his voice to fight for justice. With this release, he also put action behind that voice,” Johnson stated.
Among the stops were Baldwin & Co. in New Orleans, Da Book Joint in Chicago, the DMV’s Mahogany Books, Malik Books in Los Angeles, Marcus Books in Oakland, The Dock Bookshop in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and Underground Books in Sacramento. Stores in cities including Tallahassee, Florida; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Los Angeles and Oakland, California; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Miami Gardens, Florida; and Dallas, Texas also reported record levels of support.
The surge comes at a time when Black-owned bookstores have steadily rebuilt their footprint nationwide. According to the African American Literature Book Club, nearly 180 Black-owned bookstores now operate across the United States, up from just 54 in 2014.
“By facilitating purchases of his book through the National Association of Black Bookstores, he ensured that independent Black-owned bookstores across the country directly benefited,” Johnson said. “That kind of intentional support matters. It strengthens businesses, families, and the cultural institutions that help tell our stories.”
The Inspiration Behind ‘Worse Than a Lie‘
The novel launches a new series centered on Beau Lee Cooper, a lawyer drawn into a case that begins with a violent traffic stop and spirals into a battle over truth and justice inside the criminal legal system.
The story opens on Nov. 4, 2008, as the nation celebrates the election of its first Black president, while a 53-year-old Black former police officer, Hollis Montrose, is shot 10 times during a traffic stop and later charged and imprisoned after what is described as a wrongful conviction.
Crump said the shift to fiction grew naturally from his work as a trial attorney.
“What trial lawyers do on a regular basis is we tell engaging stories to juries, and in my case, juries all across America,” Crump stated. “And so oftentimes, I find myself taking notes when I see things or observe different cases to tell the next story.”
He also traced his inspiration back to early influences, such as the “Perry Mason” series.
“And so that was the impetus for me to write ‘Worse than a Lie,’ knowing that the old ‘Perry Mason’ [series were] books, I watched this TV show with my grandmother, and that kind of inspired me when I was young,” Crump remarked. “And then as we got older, the John Grisham books and the ‘Lincoln Lawyer’ books. So, all those things led me to saying, ‘we are going to tell a different kind of story, a civil rights legal thriller.”
For Crump, the impact extends beyond the page.
“When we support Black bookstores, we are investing in literacy, legacy, and liberation,” he said. “They are invaluable community centers that host author talks, youth programs, civic dialogue, and cultural gatherings, all while honoring our past, present, and future.”