The Hanging Judge

People fear Judge Esmé Morell. They call her The Hanging Judge because she actually uses the execution chamber she travels with from colony to colony. She places market value on lives. But she might come to regret that. Because not everyone fears her as much as she thinks.

In this insightful story, Hugo Award-winning author Kristine Kathryn Rusch proves that when it comes to space exploration, expect the unexpected.

"Rusch has style."
—Charles de Lint

USA Today bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch writes in almost every genre. Generally, she uses her real name (Rusch) for most of her writing. Under that name, she publishes bestselling science fiction and fantasy, award-winning mysteries, acclaimed mainstream fiction, controversial nonfiction, and the occasional romance. Her novels have made bestseller lists around the world and her short fiction has appeared in eighteen best of the year collections. She has won more than twenty-five awards for her fiction, including the Hugo, Le Prix Imaginales, the Asimov's Readers Choice award, and the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Choice Award.
To keep up with everything she does, go to kriswrites.com. To track her many pen names and series, see their individual websites (krisnelscott.com, kristinegrayson.com, krisdelake.com, retrievalartist.com, divingintothewreck.com, fictionriver.com). She lives and occasionally sleeps in Oregon.