Book Review/Tour: BUM RAP by Paul Levine

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Bum Rap: A Thriller by Paul Levine, Published by Thomas & Mercer (July 1, 2015)

First chapter, first paragraph:
The gunshot hit Nicolai Gorev squarely between the eyes. His head snapped back, then whipped forward, and he toppled face-first onto his desk. 

There were two other people in the office of Club Anastasia.

My comments:
Paul Levine describes the book best in his Author's Note at the end of the book.
 "Bum Rap brings together Lassiter, the lineback-turned lawyer, and mismatched law partners Steve Solomon and Victoria Lord."

I thought it was clever of the author to bring together in Bum Rap the main characters of his two separate thriller series. The book becomes just as much a love triangle possibility as a legal thriller, when Victoria enlists Lassiter's help to clear her partner in life and law, Solomon, of a murder that would bring him many years in jail if he is convicted. As the sparks fly between Victoria and Lassiter, the two fight to find legal ways to "bend the system" to bring about a kind of ultimate justice and free Solomon.

Legal thriller readers will love this book. Though not lawyerly-inclined, I was equally intrigued by the arguments and strategies Lord and Lassiter use to try to bring about a desired outcome. But first they have to find out what really happened the day the Russian mafia type was killed, supposedly by Solomon. Solomon is saying something different, however, but is it the truth?

Objective rating: 4.5/5

Book description:
NFL linebacker-turned-lawyer Jake Lassiter... gets a call from Victoria Lord, the better half of hot local legal team Solomon & Lord. Her partner in life and law has been arrested for murder. What’s worse: the only person who can clear him has fled the city. Now it’s up to Jake and Victoria to track down the witness—a stunning “Bar girl”—before she’s roped in by the feds…or eliminated by the Russian mob. (publisher)

PAUL LEVINE worked as a newspaper reporter, a law professor and a trial lawyer before becoming a full-time novelist. His books have been translated into 23 languages; Levine has won the John D. MacDonald fiction award and has been nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award, the Macavity, the International Thriller Writers Award, the Shamus Award, and the James Thurber Humor Prize. Connect with Paul Website | Facebook | Twitter

Thanks to TLC Book Tours and the author for a review copy of this book.

For more reviews of Bum Rap, and giveaways, visit the tour schedule.

Author Interview: Paul Levine, the Solomon and Lord legal thrillers

Paul Levine is author of the “Solomon and Lord” legal thrillers--
Solomon vs. Lord, The Deep Blue Alibi, Kill All the Lawyers, Habeas Porpoise (formerly titled Trial & Error).

The books were nominated for the Edgar, Macavity, International Thriller, and James Thurber awards, and have been released as Kindle Exclusives.

         
Q: “Solomon vs. Lord” opens with the lyrics from an old Frank Sinatra song called “But I Loved You.” That’s a little odd for a legal thriller, isn’t it?

A:Would you like me to sing a verse?

Q:Only if you must.


A:“Opposites attract, the wise men claim, Still I wish that we had been a little more the same,It might have been a shorter war.”


 Q: So, is it a thriller with humor or a mystery with romance?

A: A legal thriller with humor. A dramedy.

Q: If you had to compare the story to earlier works...?

A: Shakespeare, of course.

Q: Of course.

A. Seriously.  The ‘opposites attract’ set-up goes all the way back to “The Taming of the Shrew.”  Then there’s Dashiell Hammett’s “The Thin Man.”  “The Bickersons” on radio.  “Moonlighting” on television. Two people love-hate each other.  Life sizzles when they’re together, fizzles when they’re apart.

Q: Let’s look at the book’s teaser: 

          “Victoria Lord follows all the rules...

Steve Solomon makes up his own...

bed.”

Does that leave anything out?

A: All the kinky sex.

Q:  We’re not sure if you’re being serious.

A:  Totally.  My working title was “Fifty Shades of Plaid.”

Q: One reviewer described the book as “Carl Hiaasen meets John Grisham in the court of last retort.”  Fair assessment?

A: I probably bring humor to my work because, as a trial lawyer, I saw so much nuttiness in the courtroom.

Q: In “The Deep Blue Alibi,” there’s a chapter at a Florida nudist resort.  Is it fair to ask how you researched the scene?

A: Like Jackie Chan, I do my own stunts.

Q: What about the title?  Are you paying homage to John D. MacDonald’s “The Deep Blue Good-Bye?”

A: “Homage?” That’s French for cheese, isn’t it?

Q: Now you’re being facetious.

A: That’s what they pay me for.

Q: Let’s be serious.  You’ve won the John D. MacDonald Fiction award.  You’re not denying his influence on you.

A: After I moved to Florida, I read all of MacDonald’s Travis McGee books.  When I wrote my first Jake Lassiter novel (“To Speak for the Dead”), one of my first fan letters was from John D. MacDonald’s son. I think JDM nailed Florida’s weirdness and corruption.

Q: Does that explain the title of your third Solomon & Lord novel, “Kill All the Lawyers?”   A combination of Shakespeare and MacDonald.

A: As lawyers constantly point out, that line was spoken by a villain in “Henry VI.” The guy wanted to overthrow the government, and killing all the lawyers seemed like a good place to start.

Q: While we’re on the topic of titles–

A: Which you seem to be obsessed with.

Q: What about “Habeas Porpoise?”

A.  I didn’t steal that one from Shakespeare.

Q: Or anyone else.  That would seem to be original.

A: Here’s the story.  When Bantam published the book, my editors rejected the title as too funny.  Now, the story opens with two highly trained dolphins being kidnapped by some hapless animal rights people, so I thought “funny” was okay.  But we settled on “Trial & Error” for the book. When I got the rights back for e-book publication, I restored the original name.

Q:  Tell us about your background.  Your education.

A: At Penn State, I majored in journalism.  At the University of Miami Law School, I majored in the swimming pool.

Q: You’ve been a successful television writer. What advice would you give to people who want to break into Hollywood?

A: Marry a blood relative of Jerry Bruckheimer or J.J. Abrams.

Q: Lacking that, when aspiring authors or screenwriters sit down at the computer, what should they be writing?

A: Ransom notes, maybe? Look, it’s really hard to break into the business. Some people suggest writing a spec script. But that’s a tough route.  Years ago, Elmore Leonard said, “Writing a script and sending it to Hollywood is like drawing a picture of a car and sending it to Detroit.” So I’d recommend entry level positions as assistants or script readers.  In the TV business, assistants sometimes manage to sell a script to the show they’re working on.

Q: Any last words about “Solomon vs. Lord?”

A: I wasn’t kidding about the kinky sex.

More information on Paul Levine’s website: http://www.paul-levine.com

Thanks to Wiley Sachek of Authors on the Web for this interview.

Book Review: Paydirt by Paul Levine

A Super Bowl thriller...
Bobby Gallagher has it all...a great job, a loving wife, and an adoring son. Then he’s fired; his wife divorces him; and he goes bankrupt. Now, to reclaim his life, all he has to do is rig the Super Bowl, win a huge bet, and avoid getting killed. (book description)

Paydirt: a Novel by Paul Levine
CreateSpace (2011), Paperback, 338 pages
Free on Kindle for two days, including today Feb. 4
Objective rating: 4.5/5

Comments: Easier said than done, to leave his job, as Bobby is employed by his wealthy and influential father-in-law who also owns the football team going to the Super Bowl. The father-in-law is not happy with Bobby's leaving and sees it as a betrayal. Bobby also becomes estranged from his wife because of this and works hard to keep part custody of his young son. Falling to the lowest level of his career possible, Bobby somehow fights to get his family back and to thwart his father-in-law who is set on destroying him at the Super Bowl.

I learned a lot about how betting is done on football games, what the rules are, and how sometimes they are broken. This is fiction, but the legal aspects keep you on edge as you watch Bobby fight to keep his principles intact and get back up on his feet. I found the romantic aspect - Bobby's continued love for his wife who doesn't seem to know what's going on between Bobby and her father-  a bit unrealistic and slightly sentimental, but overall this was an enjoyable thriller and just in time for the real Super Bowl.

I received a review ecopy of this book.

New and Older Books: Just Arrived

Here's what arrived in my mailbox:

A Cup of Jo (Maggy Thorsen Mysteries) by Sandra Balzo, an ARC to be published Oct. 1, 2010.  Coffeehouse owner Maggie Thorsen is a suspect in the death of her chief rival in a barista competition. She has to solve the mystery, clear her name, and "heat up her love life" at the same time.

Inside Out: A Novel by Barry Eisler, released June 29, 2010. "...the propulsive thriller that only former CIA operative turned bestselling novelist Barry Eisler could write." Jailed soldier Ben Treven will be released from prison if he accepts an assignment - find a rogue operator who has stolen torture tapes from the CIA and is using them to blackmail the U.S. government. Some heady stuff in this thriller!

And what I brought home from the library:

A Twist of Orchids: A Death in the Dordogne Mystery by Michelle Wan, 2008. I've read her previous orchid mysteries, Deadly Slipper, and The Orchid Shroud. The up and down  relationship between Julian Wood and Mara Dunn is tested when strange things start happening to their friends in the mountains of France. I enjoy botanical mysteries such as this series set in France among orchid lovers and plant finders.
 

TO SPEAK FOR THE DEAD (The Jake Lassiter Series) by Paul Levine, published 1991, introduced readers to linebacker-turned-lawyer Jake Lassiter.

PAUL LEVINE worked as a newspaper reporter, a law professor and a trial lawyer before becoming a full-time novelist. Two of his other books, Night Vision, and 9 Scorpions are also being made into e-books.

Book Review: ILLEGAL and author interview with Paul Levine

Illegal

Illegal by Paul Levine
Published March, 24, 2009; Bantam
Genre: thriller; rating: 4 of 5 stars

Interview with Paul Levine:

1. What are the major factors that inspired you to write the novel, Illegal?
News stories about the horrific incident where several Mexican citizens died in the back of a locked trailer truck on a run across the California/Arizona desert. And....the facts contained here: http://live.psu.edu/story/38537


2. How did your legal background and experience help in writing this book?
Not so much. Very little courtroom in ILLEGAL. It's unlike most of my legal thrillers.

3. Do you plan on writing other books with similar topics?
I think I've exhausted myself and the subject.

4. Are you at work on another book at this time?
I'm revisiting my roots. My first Jake Lassiter novel since 1997. My first one was "To Speak for the Dead," 1990; and the seventh and last was "Flesh & Bones," 1997.

5. Several reviewers on Amazon say that ILLEGAL is the beginning of a new series with your new main character (Jimmy Payne). What do you say to that?
Jimmy Payne on hold until I write the new Lassiter.

My review:

This suspense thriller about the hazardous journey that a woman and her young son make to the U.S. from Mexico is as riveting and suspenseful as it is shocking, to anyone not familiar with illegal immigration issues along the border.

The novel centers around trial lawyer Jimmy Payne, whose life, marriage, and career has spiralled downward after the death of his teenage son Adam in a car accident caused by a drunken worker from Mexico, Manuel Garcia. The accident weighs on Payne's mind as something he could have prevented. He hits bottom low after he keeps some of the bribe money in a sting operation to expose a crooked L.A. judge. The judge, exposed as corrupt, commits suicide, and fellow lawyers start shaking their heads at Payne's folly.

Payne decides to take a new turn in his life. He drives to Mexico to find Garcia, the man who killed his son. In reality, he heads to Mexico to help a precocious and gutsy 12-year-old Mexican boy find his mother, Marisol, who was separated from the boy during their long trip to the U.S.

"Sure, he would do his best to find Marisol Perez. His good deed. Then he would go to Mexico and find Manuel Garcia. His murderous deed."

The boy, Tino, had sought Jimmy out in L.A. as someone famous and sympathetic, someone who had successfully defended several illegal immigrants who had survived a notorious border crossing some time back. The trip to Mexico to trace the route taken by Marisol reveals the hazards she faced trying to reach the U.S., and the new dangers after she arrived. Marisol and others were at the mercy of ruthless people traffickers, drug smugglers, and people running safe houses for illegals in transit from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and other Central American countries.

Marisol's journey leads Payne and Tio back to the U.S. for the story's suspenseful climax. The book is a thriller with no holds barred. It reads like stark realism and has graphic violence, against men and women, but the book 's harsh reality depicts the journeys as full of danger, despair, and death, even for some who make it across the border.

Well worth reading! I recommend the book for anyone interested in the plight of Mexican nationals seeking to enter the U.S.

Book provided by the publisher, for my objective review.

Book Review: Illegal, a novel by Paul Levine

This suspense thriller about the hazardous journey that a woman and her young son make to the U.S. from Mexico is as riveting and suspenseful as it is shocking, to anyone not familiar with illegal immigration issues along the border.

The harsh reality portrayed by Paul Levine in his new book makes the journeys he describes seem all too real - full of danger, despair, and death, even for some who make it across the border.

(See my fuller review with author comments dated June 13)
Illegal: A Review and Author Interview--------------------------------