Guest Review: Bum Luck

Summary: Thirty seconds after the jury announced its verdict, I decided to kill my client.

Second-string linebacker turned trial lawyer Jake Lassiter squares off against his toughest, most unpredictable adversary yet: himself.

The downward spiral begins when Jake's client, NFL superstar Thunder Thurston, is cleared of murdering his wife. Jake didn't expect to win, didn't want to win, since he is sure his client is guilty. When Thurston walks free, Lassiter vows to seek his own kind of justice. Street justice. Vigilante justice.

Law partners Steve Solomon and Victoria Lord can't believe their friend has become so inexplicably obsessed with killing his client. Convinced Jake's unhinged behavior is due to repeated concussions suffered during his pro football career, they beg him to seek treatment. But as Lassiter's raging fixation on vengeance grows, Solomon and Lord wonder if they're too late to help. Is it game over for Jake's career...and his life? -- Thomas & Mercer

Guess who's back? Booking Pap Pap! And this time he's reviewed BUM LUCK by Paul Levine. Here are his thoughts:

BUM LUCK, the twelfth addition to the Jack Lassiter series by author Paul Levine, finds attorney Jack Lassiter regretting the acquittal of his client, an NFL all-pro running back, for the murder of his wife. Jack thought his client was guilty, wanted to lose and now after winning, questions his own morals. He decides to take matters into his own hands and plans to kill or at least frame his client. Jack is so obsessed by this case that his friends, law partners Steve Solomon and Victoria Lord (characters from another Levine series), are concerned that Jack is suffering from brain injuries incurred during his NFL playing days. To reinforce their concerns, Jack suffers from severe headaches and memory problems, but has continually delayed tests that may indicate chronic traumatic encephalopathy (C.T.E.).

To make matters even more interesting, Jack was up against the state’s top homicide trial lawyer who needed a win to accelerate her run to unseat the state’s top attorney, who happens to be Jack’s friend. The consequences of this are interesting as the story plays out.

While pondering his next action regarding the murder case, Jack takes on another case representing a large life insurance company against a mother/ MMA fighter who committed suicide and coincidently may have been suffering from C.T.E. His court room opponents are his friends Solomon and Lord. An expert witness at the trial specializing in C.T.E. influences the case as well as Jack’s attitude about his own health.

Jack Lassiter is an interesting character who walks a fine line in performing his duties as an attorney. He had previously been acquitted of murder, on occasion circumvents the law and has been threatened with disbarment; but, he is tenacious in defending his clients, even one he suspects of murdering his wife. His two lawyer friends, Solomon and Lord add a bit of levity to the story. The inclusion of the C.T.E. issue adds a current theme to the novel and highlights a serious issue the sports world is dealing with.

Although this book is part of an ongoing series it was not necessary to read any of the prior novels to follow the characters and the storyline. BUM LUCK, classified as a legal thriller, is an enjoyable fast paced, easy-to-follow story. Readers of the legal thriller genre will enjoy BUM LUCK.

Thanks to Saicheck Publicity for providing a review copy of this novel.
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