Bum Luck by Paul Levine (Jake Lassiter #12)

Bum Luck is the 12th book in Paul Levine’s Jake Lassiter legal thriller series, and it’s also the first book I’ve read by this author.

I was a bit worried that picking up a book without knowing anything about the series beforehand would be difficult, but it was anything but. The story was easy to follow and the characters were fun to learn about.

And let’s face it, it’s not very often you read about a lawyer who wants to kill his client right after winning his freedom. At the very start of the book. Yeah that definitely got my attention right away.

So Jake Lassiter, a former pro football player, is a heavy hitter defense attorney who’s had a deep look into his soul and saw a bit of grey with lots of dark spots.

He is very good at his job – maybe too good in fact, and knowing that he probably got his client gets off on a murder charge for killing his wife, made him question his morals. And in his mind, the only way to right a wrong would be to kill said client.

Thunder Thurston maintains he is innocent of the crime, but Jake knows better. So he comes up with various plans to kill Thunder, some of which he runs by his two friends, Victoria Lord and Steve Solomon (who are main characters in another series by the author), who tell him he’s plain crazy and he should have his head checked out by a doctor.

So Jake finally decides that if he can’t kill his client, he’ll at least frame him, so Thunder would go to prison for a long time.

While plotting Thunder’s fate, Jake takes on a second case given by his ex-employer, a wealthy insurance company, which should keep him busy for at least a little while.

But the thing is, Jake can’t leave his Thunder obsession alone. And so he gets himself from pickle to pickle plotting Thunder’s demise.

The story was fun to read, however I’m confused about why it is called a legal thriller. While there were some thrilling bits in it, for the most part I was chuckling through the conversations and situations Jake put himself into over and over again.

Bum Luck is truly a humorous, smart and enjoyable fast-paced read. A thriller? Not so much.

Besides entertainment, I enjoy reading books where I can learn new things about life. And Bum Luck made me aware of a serious condition that many athletes who suffer several concussions during their careers are prone to: chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive neurodegenerative disease which has no cure and is fatal.

It is a disease I’ve never heard of before, so, of course, I had to google it. Quite a scary illness, and rather widespread among athletes.

Since this is the latest Jake Lassiter book, I will probably go back to the earlier books in the series and start reading them from the start, time permitting. And since I grew quite fond of Victoria and Steve, I will also read the Solomon vs. Lord series, which seems to remind many people of the Moonlighting TV show, one that I adored in my teens.