Spike Adams

A retired Colorado judge, trial attorney, and proud father of three sons, I have shared 35 wonderful years of marriage with my soulmate. My legal career began at the Public Defender’s Office, where I handled serious felony cases before moving into private practice. The people I encountered along the way— and the lives forever altered by that system— left me with lasting questions about accountability, justice, and whose suffering the world chooses to remember. Those questions became the foundation of The Fourth Cross, a novel rooted in the enduring legacies of Emmett Till and George Floyd, and in the long, unfinished reckoning with racial violence in America. I enjoy reading, movies, good food, and family time.

2026 Black Caucus American Library Association (BCALA) Honor Award Recepient.