Paul Levine Books in Order
Paul Levine is an American legal thriller author and former trial lawyer whose novels are influenced by his 17 years of courtroom experience in Miami. Winner of the John D. MacDonald Fiction Award, he’s best known for the Jake Lassiter series featuring a former NFL linebacker turned Miami defense attorney, and the Solomon vs. Lord series about two battling law partners.
Paul Levine is the only legal thriller author to have won both the PenCraft Best Book of the Year Award (in 2023 for Early Grave) and to have had his historical thriller Midnight Burning named Best Historical Thriller of 2025 by Best Thrillers, with three of his novels (Solomon vs. Lord, State vs. Lassiter, and Early Grave) on their list of Best Legal Thrillers of the 21st Century alongside Michael Connelly and John Grisham.
This page lists all Paul Levine books in order, including the Jake Lassiter legal thrillers, the Solomon vs. Lord series, the crossover Lassiter/Solomon & Lord novels, the new Einstein-Chaplin historical thrillers, standalone novels, and short story collections.
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Jake Lassiter Series (Books in Order)
The Jake Lassiter series follows former Miami Dolphins linebacker Jake Lassiter, a backup player turned night-school lawyer who practices with his own code of ethics in Miami’s criminal courts. A “brew and burger guy in a paté and Chardonnay world,” Lassiter’s main principle is that rough justice is better than none at all, which allows him to defend clients with his street smarts and a keen sense of uncovering the truth along with the trouble that usually comes with it. The international bestseller To Speak for the Dead started the series and was adapted as the 1995 NBC television movie Jake Lassiter: Justice on the Bayou, starring Gerald McRaney. Early Grave (2022), the fifteenth and final book in the series, won the 2023 PenCraft Best Book of the Year Award and was named by Best Thrillers as the third-best legal thriller of the 21st century.
Reading Order
- Last Chance Lassiter, 2012
- To Speak for the Dead, 1990
- Night Vision, 1991
- False Dawn, 1993
- Mortal Sin, 1994
- Riptide, 1995 (also titled Slashback)
- Fool Me Twice, 1996
- Flesh and Bones, 1997
- Lassiter, 2011
- State vs. Lassiter, 2013
- Bum Rap, 2015
- Bum Luck, 2017
- Bum Deal, 2018
- Cheater’s Game, 2020
- Early Grave, 2022
Solomon Vs. Lord Series (Books in Order)
The Solomon vs. Lord series follows Miami lawyers Steve Solomon and Victoria Lord, incompatible law partners who have a love-hate relationship that is visible both in the courtroom drama and their romantic tension. Solomon is an ethically challenged Coconut Grove beach bum who lives by his own set of rules (Solomon’s Laws), including “When the law doesn’t work, work the law.” Lord is a Yale-educated, straight-laced Coral Gables blueblood who does everything by the book. However, despite constant bickering, they works surprisingly well together in court.
The series won or was nominated for multiple major awards: Solomon vs. Lord was a finalist for the Macavity Award and the James Thurber Humor Prize, while The Deep Blue Alibi received Edgar Allan Poe Award and International Thriller Writers Award nominations, and Kill All the Lawyers was a finalist for the ITW Award.
Reading Order
- Solomon vs. Lord, 2005
- The Deep Blue Alibi, 2006
- Kill All the Lawyers, 2006
- Habeas Porpoise, 2007 (also titled Trial and Error)
Lassiter, Solomon & Lord Series (Books in Order)
The Bum Rap trilogy brings Jake Lassiter together with Steve Solomon and Victoria Lord for three high-risk legal adventures. The three novels, Bum Rap, Bum Luck, and Bum Deal, are also available as a boxed set titled Miami Law.
Reading Order
Superbowl Thrillers Series (Books in Order)
The Superbowl thriller series follows Bobby Gallagher, a man who has it all but then loses it all, and then, together with his 12-year-old son, tries to get it all back by rigging the Super Bowl, beating the mob at their own game, all without getting killed along the way. The series has currently only one book.
Reading Order
- Paydirt, 2011
Einstein-Chaplin Series (Books in Order)
The Einstein-Chaplin series imagines real-life friends Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin fighting fascists in 1930s Hollywood. Set during the rising fascism in America and Europe, the series is loosely based on actual historical events, including the real friendship between Einstein and Chaplin, Georgia Ann Robinson’s groundbreaking role as the LAPD’s first Black female police officer, and “Operation Hollywood,” a Nazi plot to assassinate Hollywood celebrities and incite an insurrection in the US. Midnight Burning, the series debut, was named Best Historical Thriller of 2025 by Best Thrillers and selected as one of Bookreporter’s Favorite Books of 2025.
Reading Order
- Midnight Burning, 2025
- Midnight Patriots, 2026
Standalone Novels
- Naked Came the Manatee, 1997
- 9 Scorpions, 1998 (re-titled Impact)
- Illegal, 2009
- Ballistic, 2011
Short Story Collections and Anthologies
- Naked Came the Manatee, 1997
- Miami Noir, 2006
- The Prosecution Rests, 2009 (edited by Linda Fairstein)
- Intrigue, 2011
- Top Suspense, 2011
- Suspense Magazine July 2012, 2012
- Writing Crime Fiction, 2012
- The Road to Hell, 2013
Paul Levine Biography
Paul Levine is an American legal thriller author whose 20+novels are directly influenced by his 17 years as a trial and appellate attorney in Florida. He is a winner of the John D. MacDonald Fiction Award and the 2023 PenCraft Best Book of the Year Award, and his novels have been translated into 23 languages and adapted for television.
Official website: paul-levine.com
Born January 9, 1948, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Paul Levine graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1969 with a degree in journalism, where he served as editor-in-chief of The Daily Collegian. After working as a courthouse reporter for the Miami Herald, he graduated with honors from the University of Miami School of Law in 1973. At Miami Law, he was on the winning team at the 1971 National Moot Court Competition and contributed to the University of Miami Law Review.
After finishing his studies, Paul Levine became a trial lawyer, during which time he was made a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. He practiced law in Florida for 17 years before leaving his partnership at the firm to pursue writing full-time. During his legal career, he was also a legal commentator for WPLG-TV and WTVJ-TV in Miami and taught communications law as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Miami School of Law. In 1999, he moved from Florida to Los Angeles after receiving an invitation from his friend, Don Bellisario.
His debut novel, To Speak for the Dead, published in 1990, introduced Jake Lassiter and became an international bestseller, being recognized by the Los Angeles Times as one of the best mysteries of the year. The book was adapted as the 1995 NBC television movie Jake Lassiter: Justice on the Bayou, starring Gerald McRaney.
Paul Levine also wrote 20 episodes of the CBS military drama JAG and co-created the Supreme Court drama First Monday, starring James Garner and Joe Mantegna, which aired on CBS in 2002.
Paul Levine is married to Marcia Silvers, a criminal appellate attorney. He is a member of Penn State’s Society of Distinguished Alumni and received the Alumni Achievement Award from the University of Miami School of Law. He spends his time in Santa Barbara, California and Miami, Florida.
Paul Levine Book Adaptations
- To Speak for the Dead – adapted into the television movie Jake Lassiter: Justice on the Bayou (1995), produced by Stephen J. Cannell for NBC, starring Gerald McRaney
Paul Levine Awards and Honors
Awards
- Early Grave – PenCraft Best Book of the Year Award (2023)
- John D. MacDonald Fiction Award
- Midnight Burning Best Historical Thriller of 2025 (Best Thrillers)
- Early Grave – Best Legal Thriller of 2023 (Best Thrillers)
- To Speak for the Dead – Los Angeles Times Best Mysteries of the Year
Nominations and Shortlists
- The Deep Blue Alibi – Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original (2007)
- The Deep Blue Alibi – International Thriller Writers Award for Best Original Paperback Novel (2007)
- Solomon vs. Lord – Macavity Award for Best Novel (2006)
- Solomon vs. Lord – James Thurber Prize for American Humor (2006)
- State vs. Lassiter – Shamus Award (Private Eye Writers of America)
