This essay reviews the following works:   The Achilles Heel of Democracy: Judicial Autonomy and the Rule of Law in Central America. By Rachel E. Bowen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017. Pp. x + 302. $35.99 paperback. ISBN: 9781316630907.   Manipulating Courts in New Democracies: Forcing Judges off the Bench in Argentina. By Andrea Castagnola. New York: Routledge, 2017. Pp + 184. $54.95 paperback. ISBN: 9780367372033.   Judicial Politics in Mexico: The Supreme Court and the Transition to Democracy. Edited by Andrea Castagnola and Saúl López Noriega. New York: Routledge, 2016. Pp. xiv + 190. $48.95 paperback. ISBN: 9781138697829.   Courts and Social Transformation in New Democracies: An Institutional Voice for the Poor? Edited by Roberto Gargarella, Pilar Domingo, and Theunis Roux. New York: Routledge, 2016. Pp. xiv + 328. $59.95 paperback. ISBN: 9781138264540.   Shifting Legal Visions: Judicial Change and Human Rights Trials in Latin America. By Ezequiel A. González-Ocantos. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Pp. xiii + 342. $36.99 paperback. ISBN: 9781316508800.   Beyond High Courts: The Justice Complex in Latin America. Edited by Matthew C. Ingram and Diana Kapiszewski. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2018. Pp. viii + 359. $55.00 hardcover. ISBN: 9780268102814.