Jonathan Lash, a former federal Washington prosecutor, is venturing into the world of fiction with his debut novel, “What Death Revealed,” which combines his legal background with his passion for storytelling. The book explores themes of corruption, violence and injustice in Washington, D.C. during a pivotal moment in history.

Lash’s novel is set against the backdrop of a city that, while known as the “gleaming capital of the free world,” also harbored deep racial divides. In the 1960s, D.C. was home to a predominantly Black, poor population that had little power in shaping their own governance until the riots following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “What Death Revealed” follows the journey of a young prosecutor using and a jaded police sergeant as they navigate this fraught environment while seeking justice.

“I’d retired, and I joined a writing group. And one morning I wrote a little vignette about something that 
had happened when I was a prosecutor,” Lash said.

“The other people in the group said, ‘Oh, that sounds like it’s the beginning of a book.’ And it was like a 
kind of madness took over, and I couldn’t stop thinking about all the characters. My imagination was 
just filled. I just started writing, and the characters told me where to go.”

Lash also reveled he is already working on the sequel, titled “Stanley’s Revenge.”

To learn more about Jonathan Lash and his debut novel, visit www.jonathanlash.com.