Review: Flesh and Bones

Flesh and Bones

Paul Levine

Series or Stand Alone: Jack Lassiter series, book seven

Release Date: January 1997 (hardcover)

Publisher: William Morrow & Company (hardcover)

Pages: 320 (hardcover)

Author Site: http://www.paul-levine.com/content/index.asp

My Rating: 3.5/5

Source: Received for review from author (e-book)

Synopsis:

[from goodreads.com]

“I was sitting at the end of the bar sipping single-malt Scotch when I spotted the tall blond woman with the large green eyes and the small gray gun.”

The next thing Jake Lassiter knows, the woman pumps three bullets into the man on the next barstool.

And Jake, the linebacker-turned-lawyer, has a new client.

She’s stunning model Chrissy Bernhardt, and the dead man is her wealthy father. The defense? Chrissy claims that she’s recently recovered repressed memories of having been sexually abused by her father. Jake wants to believe her but suspects that the memories were either implanted by a shady psychiatrist or fabricated by Chrissy herself. Complicating the situation, Jake falls for his client, clouding his judgment. Is she an anguished victim or a cold-blooded killer? And what about her brother, who stands to inherit a fortune if Chrissy goes to prison? Jake wades into a quagmire of dirty water deals, big money, and family corruption, all leading to an explosive finale.

Review:

I accepted this book as apart of a blog tour (that I failed miserably to meet) because the synopsis sounded pretty decent. I hadn't read any other book by Paul Levine and Flesh and Bones is the seventh book in a series. I'm not a huge crime/legal novel lover but I found Flesh and Bones to be very enjoyable! The beginning of the novel sets up the plot and goes through introductions which was a bit slow for my tastes. Jake is an ex-Miami Dolphin  football player who now spends his time defending the citizens of south Florida. He's sitting in a bar when a beautiful woman comes in, shoots her father, and then faints into Jake's arms. Sounds exciting but I wasn't as sucked in as I wanted to be...

Eventually I found myself immersed with the story as Jake's case goes to trial. I'm so glad I stuck with the story because I found I really liked Jake's character and I really liked the writing skill of the author. He had a very warm and caring personality that surprised me. I also loved the fact that Chrissy was obviously guilty for shooting her father and Jake had to find a way to keep her from a prison sentence. I admit I rolled my eyes when the two of them became romantically involved...but again Jake's character (and Chrissy's) surprised me and I quickly warmed up to the idea of them becoming an item. The court scenes were totally engrossing and I really appreciated all the twists in the plot. I had to keep guessing and I like that about a novel!

Flesh and Bones is number seven in the Jake Lassister series and although there were some references to some background information it can still be read as a comfortable stand alone novel. I'll be checking out the rest of the books in the series and I'm interested in reading Paul Levine's other books. I think a lot of legal thriller fans will like Flesh and Bones so I definitely recommend giving this one a go =)