Jake Lassiter Books in Order: How to read Paul Levine’s series?
Your pro-football-player-turned-lawyer of choice in Miami.
What is the Jake Lassiter series about?
Written by ex-reporter and Lawyer Paul Levine, this series centers on a lawyer doing his best to serve the interests of his clients in Miami, Florida.
More precisely, Jake Lassiter was a second-string linebacker for the Miami Dolphins before going to law school. Now, he is a lawyer, working with retired coroner Dr. Charlie Rigs, using an imaginative interpretation of the law to help his not-so-clean clientele.
Jake Lassiter frequently represents unpopular people as a defense lawyer, and he has difficulties in the courts as he fights for his clients’s rights. He gets involved in a variety of legal situations throughout the series, including murder trials, business conspiracies, political scandals, and more. He constantly finds himself in conflict with strong foes, dishonest authorities, and dangerous criminals.
How to read the Jake Lassiter Books in Order?
Every book in the Jake Lassiter series works as a standalone story, but the lives of the different characters evolve from one novel to the other.
- Last Chance Lassiter (2012, prequel)
- To Speak for the Dead (1990)
- Night Vision (1991)
- False Dawn (1993)
- Mortal Sin (1994)
- Riptide (1995)
- Fool Me Twice (1996)
- Flesh and Bones (1997)
- Lassiter (2011)
- State vs. Lassiter (2013)
- Bum Rap (2015, from the Lassiter, Solomon & Lord series)
- Bum Luck (2017, from the Lassiter, Solomon & Lord series)
- Bum Deal (2018, from the Lassiter, Solomon & Lord series)
- Cheater’s Game (2020)
- Early Grave (2022)
What is the plot of the Jake Lassiter novels?
For more information about the books in the Jake Lassiter series by Paul Levine, you’ll find below the official synopsis for all the books:
To Speak for the Dead – Defending a surgeon in a malpractice case, Jake Lassiter begins to suspect that his client is innocent of negligence…but guilty of murder. Add a sexy widow, a deadly drug, and a grave robbery to the stew, and you have Miami’s trial of the century.
Night Vision – The murder of one of the computer dating service Compu-Mate’s clients sends Miami trial lawyer Jake Lassiter and retired coroner Dr. Charlie Riggs on the trail of a killer that leads them to a London insane asylum.
False Dawn – Jake Lassiter doesn’t know much about art, but what he knows can get him killed. Jake’s used to clients who lie – but it’s usually to deny their guilt. When his old friend Francisco Crespo admits to brutally killing a fellow warehouse worker with a forklift truck, Jake is suspicious.
Mortal Sin – Jake Lassiter has a dangerous conflict of interest. He’s sleeping with Nicky Florio’s wife…and defending the mob-connected millionaire in court. Florio has hatched a scheme deep in the Florida Everglades that oozes corruption, blood, and money. One false move, and Jake will be gator bait.
Riptide – An angry Jake Lassiter goes on the trail of millions in negotiable bonds ripped off from his favorite client, octogenarian Sam Kazdoy. There’s a more sinister turn when Jake’s old buddy, Berto Zaldivar, a lawyer-turned-smuggler, ends up dead.
Fool Me Twice – The mystery leads Lassiter and his wisecracking delinquent nephew to an abandoned silver mine deep beneath the Aspen ski slopes. The evidence that can clear the lawyer — or bury him — is revealed in an explosive finale.
Flesh and Bones – The next thing Jake Lassiter knows, the woman pumps three bullets into the man on the next barstool. Lassiter has a new client. She’s a stunning South Beach model; the dead man is her wealthy father; and the murder case is a slam dunk for the prosecution. Or is it?
Lassiter – Amy Larkin is in town, looking for her sister Krista, who vanished without a trace almost two decades earlier. She seeks out Jake Lassiter because he’s the last person to have seen her alive. Lassiter volunteers to investigate, and his search for Krista’s fate will take him into the underworld of Miami’s pornography industry.
Last Chance Lassiter – In this prequel to the series, Jake Lassiter gets fired from his law firm, dumped by his girlfriend, and charged with ethical violations by the Florida Bar…as he fights for justice in his own hard-headed way.
State vs. Lassiter – It’s supposed to be a romantic weekend at the Fontainebleau for Jake and Pamela Baylins. Then they quarrel, and Pamela – who’s Jake’s banker as well as lover – accuses him of stealing from clients. Hours later, she’s found strangled. With all the evidence pointing to Jake, it will take an explosive murder trial to reveal the truth.
Bum Rap – Jake Lassiter wants to leave Miami and never look back-until he 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.
Bum Luck – Jake Lassiter believes that NFL superstar Thunder Thurston, murdered his wife. But the jury said “not guilty.” A lawyer is supposed to let it go. Not Lassiter, who vows to become a vigilante. His pals, squabbling law partners Steve Solomon and Victoria Lord, fear that all those concussions playing football caused the brain damage known as CTE. Can they stop Lassiter from becoming a murderer?
Bum Deal – Appointed to prosecute a high-profile murder case, Jake Lassiter vows to take down a prominent surgeon accused of killing his wife. Problem is…there’s not a scrap of forensic evidence, and the defense lawyers are the crafty team of Steve Solomon and Victoria Lord.
Cheater’s Game – Dr. Melissa Gold, Jake Lassiter’s fiancée, tries to keep the ailing lawyer strong enough for a grueling trial, even as his symptoms of brain damage grow worse. As a fiery showdown brings the courtroom to a fever pitch, Lassiter risks everything to fight for his nephew’s freedom.
What should you read if you like the Jake Lassiter novels?
If you like reading Paul Levine’s Jake Lassiter stories, you may be interested in the Eddie Flynn series, John Grisham’s novels, the Stone Barrington books, or The Lincoln Lawyer series.
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