Bum Deal - (Jake Lassiter) by Paul Levine (Paperback)

About the Book

"Second-string linebacker turned disillusioned defense attorney Jake Lassiter finally switches teams. Appointed special prosecutor in a high-profile murder case, he vows to take down a prominent surgeon accused of killing his wife. There's just one problem, or maybe three... no witnesses, no evidence, and no body."--Page [4] of cover.

Book Synopsis

AN IMPOSSIBLE CASE? CALL JAKE LASSITER

No witness? No evidence? No body?
Big problem for new prosecutor Jake Lassiter

Appointed to prosecute a high-profile murder case, the linebacker-turned-lawyer vows to take down a prominent surgeon accused of killing his wife. Problem is...there's not a scrap of forensic evidence, and the defense lawyers are the crafty team of Steve Solomon and Victoria Lord.

Not only that, Lassiter's symptoms of CTE are threatening to cut short his career and disable him. Melissa Gold, his doctor and lover, performs experimental treatments intended to halt the advance of the incurable brain disease.

Drained of his mental edge just when he needs it most, Lassiter faces the possibility of losing the case--and his life--in court.

"BUM DEAL is the real deal. Jake Lassiter at his smart-talking, fast-thinking best. A funny, compelling and canny courtroom thriller." --Scott Turow, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Review Quotes

PRAISE FOR "BUM DEAL"

"Fascinating, fully developed characters and smart, well-paced dialogue keep the pages turning. Levine manipulates the expectations of the reader as skillfully as Jake manipulates the expectations of the jury" --Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"BUM DEAL is the real deal. Jake Lassiter at his smart-talking, fast-thinking best. A funny, compelling and canny courtroom thriller." --Scott Turow, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"Any book with Jake Lassiter is a drop-everything, read-it-now for me--and this one has Solomon & Lord too. Bum Deal is fantastic." --Lee Child, #1 bestselling author of the Jack Reacher series

"The ending is perfect: a nudge in the ribs that doesn't sell out the novel's sinister edge. This is a triumph of mood and tone as well as plotting."--Booklist

"A terrific setup, razor-sharp repartee, and enough plot reversal to make your head swim like an afternoon daiquiri, Bum Deal is vintage Paul Levine: entertaining and exceedingly smart." --Andrew Gross, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"Jake Lassiter is up against his greatest challenge--an incurable, brain-wasting disease that threatens to rob him of his brilliant, legal mind when he needs it the most. It's an astonishing, bittersweet, and daring gamble, but those are the qualities that have always set Levine and Lassiter apart from the pack." --Lee Goldberg, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"Jake Lassiter for the prosecution? What will Paul Levine think of next? How about a brilliant doctor who just happens to be a murderous psychopath? How about Solomon & Lord for the defense? How about the jackhammer headaches that may have scrambled his brain once too often? It's all there as Levine connects the funny bone to the heart in the pulse-pounding 'Bum Deal.'" --John Schulian, PEN/ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award winner

"There are enough twists and turns in the final third of the book to entrance even the most jaded reader...'Bum Deal' is full to the brim with the humor, courtroom brilliance and subtle pathos that have made Levine's other novels winners." --Bookreporter

PRAISE FOR THE JAKE LASSITER SERIES

"Take one part John Grisham, two parts Carl Hiaasen, throw in a dash of John D. MacDonald, and voilà, you've got Jake Lassiter." --Tulsa World

"Jake Lassiter is great fun." --New York Times Book Review

"Lively entertainment. Lassiter is attractive, funny, savvy, and brave." -- Chicago Tribune

"Mystery writing at its very, very best." -- USA Today

"Jake Lassiter is the lawyer we all want on our side, and on the page." -- Lee Child

"Paul Levine is one of Florida's great writers, and 'Lassiter' is his greatest creation. It's funny, smart, and compelling." -- Dave Barry

"The legal excellence of a Grisham thriller with the highwire antics of Carl Hiaasen." -- David Morrell