Imagine a lawyer being upset when his client is found not guilty by a jury. That is the set up to Bum Luck by Paul Levine.
Jake Lassiter is a former football player turned lawyer. He was not very good as an NFL linebacker and seems to be just slightly above average as an attorney.
The story opens with Lassiter finding out his client, star football player Thunder Thurston, is not guilty of murder. The victim was Thurston’s wife. Lassiter was sure his client was guilty and had offered up a less than stellar defense. To his surprise, the jury must have bought it.
In the weeks after the trial Lassiter contacts both the District Attorney and the victim’s father for help in finding a way to put Thurston behind bars.
The father is furious with Attorney Lassiter for getting Thurston off. He would rather see Lassiter die than help with a vigilante mission against Thurston.
At the same, time the DA can’t help because there has been an allegation against Lassiter for jury tampering. Which sends the lawyer on a mission to both clear his name and see his client serve time for his crime.
Overall the novel has a good pace to it. Lassiter has some family and dating issues so while he is working to make sure a murderer does not go scot free he has his home life to juggle.
The book takes a few twists. One of the big ones deals with Lassiter wondering if he has concussive brain injuries suffered during his pro football career. Is it possible Thurston truly was innocent, and a possible brain injury is manifesting an irrational anger?
This was a fun read. As a police officer, I always wondered what lawyers think when they know a client is guilty. Granted this is a work of fiction but the author’s bio lists him as a former attorney. Which would make me think some of the guilty feelings Lassiter expresses might parallel some of the more ethical lawyers in the world.
Bum Luck is available in eBook, Paperback, and audio.