The Color of Death

63 pages2-hour read

Fiction

Novel

Adult

Published in 2025

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Summaries & Analyses
Plot Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapters 1-14
Chapters 15-28
Chapters 29-42
Chapters 43-56
Chapters 57-70
Character List
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Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
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Background

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.

Authorial Context: Trey Gowdy

Co-author Trey Gowdy brings decades of legal experience to The Color of Death, grounding its narrative in the authentic mechanics of the criminal-justice system. Born in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1964, Gowdy earned his undergraduate degree in history from Baylor University before completing his law degree at the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1989. His legal career began in private practice, but he soon transitioned to public service, serving as an assistant US attorney in the District of South Carolina from 1994 to 2000, where he prosecuted narcotics, bank-robbery, and child-pornography cases. He was later elected solicitor, or district attorney, for South Carolina’s 7th Judicial Circuit, a role he held for a decade. During this time, he prosecuted a wide range of criminal cases, including numerous homicides and seven death-penalty trials. Gowdy subsequently served four terms as a US congressman representing South Carolina’s 4th District from 2011 to 2019, chairing the House Select Committee on Benghazi and the House Oversight Committee before declining to seek reelection and returning to the practice of law. He later joined Fox News as a contributor and host.

This extensive courtroom background directly informs the novel’s protagonist, Colm Truesdale, a skilled prosecutor known as “The Artist” for his persuasive power. Gowdy’s firsthand knowledge is evident in the detailed depictions of trial strategy, forensic analysis, and the psychological toll of prosecutorial work. Gowdy has spoken about the historical murder of beauty-salon owner Dana Satterfield in 1995, whose case partially inspired the mystery at the heart of his novel: “It was a way for me to honor her and the parents. […] I write in the book that the best prosecutors put themselves in the position of the victim and then communicate that to the jury” (Cooper, Elise. “Interview With Trey Gowdy.” Crimespree Magazine, 19 Sept. 2025). Gowdy reflects this by rendering all of Colm’s perspective chapters in first-person point of view and voice and by depicting all the other characters’ perspective chapters in third-person voice. By drawing on his real-world experiences and his extensive case knowledge, Gowdy imbues the fictional narrative with a procedural realism that elevates its authenticity, allowing readers to see the case unfold through the eyes of a seasoned legal professional.

Methodological Context: The Bruton Rule in Joint Trials

The novel’s courtroom climax is built around a complex legal principle known as the Bruton rule, which originated in the 1968 Supreme Court case Bruton v. United States. In that case, George Bruton and William Evans were jointly tried for armed postal robbery. During the trial, a postal inspector testified that Evans had orally confessed to the crime and named Bruton as his accomplice. Although the trial judge instructed the jury to consider the confession only against Evans and to disregard it entirely when determining Bruton’s guilt, the Supreme Court, in an opinion authored by Justice William J. Brennan Jr., reversed Bruton’s conviction. The Court held that the admission of the confession violated Bruton’s Sixth Amendment right to confront and cross-examine the witnesses against him because Evans, as a co-defendant, could invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege and refuse to take the stand. Overruling its earlier decision in Delli Paoli v. United States (1957), the Court concluded that limiting instructions were insufficient to cure the prejudice inflicted by a “powerfully incriminating extrajudicial” statement of a non-testifying co-defendant (“Bruton v. United States.” Berkman Klein Center).

Subsequent cases have refined the doctrine’s scope: Richardson v. Marsh (1987) held that redacted confessions omitting all reference to the co-defendant’s existence do not violate Bruton, while Gray v. Maryland (1998) found that obvious redactions, such as replacing a name with a blank space or the word “deleted,” remain constitutionally impermissible. Prosecutors typically respond to Bruton problems by severing trials, redacting statements, or forgoing use of the confession altogether.

In The Color of Death, prosecutor Dillon Bickler’s plan to try father and son Martin and Lucas Weber together falls apart when the judge points out this exact issue. She notes that using each defendant’s statement against the other would create a “Bruton problem,” forcing Colm Truesdale to grant Lucas full immunity to secure his testimony.