Lion Plays Rough

by Lachlan Smith Narrated by R. C. Bray

Overview

Leo Maxwell thinks he's found a career-making case when a mysterious woman nearly runs him down, then appears at his office to hire him to defend her brother on a murder charge. One problem: Leo hasn't actually met the client when he sets out to investigate what seems like a hot tip on a burgeoning scandal in the Oakland Police Department. When he presents evidence of deep-set corruption in the Department to the District Attorney's office, he quickly learns that all is not as it seems, beginning with Leo's client and the alluring woman who hired him. Leo's “client,” as he learns to his humiliation, is actually represented by Nikki Matson, one of Oakland's most notorious gangland lawyers. What's more, the client knows nothing about Leo being hired to defend him and claims not even to have a sister.

Soon after Leo realizes that he's been set up by unknown persons to be the number one enemy of both the police and the gangs, he also discovers he's also being framed for Matson's murder. He knows he's a marked man unless he can bring those responsible to justice. Bodies pile up as Leo closes in on his tormenters, while at the same time, they are closing in on him.

Editorial Reviews

MARCH 2014 - AudioFile

R.C. Bray is the perfect narrator to bring Lachlan Smith's unusual legal thriller to audio. Leo Maxwell is not stupid by any stretch, but he lives in the shadow of his older brother and sister-in-law. But when his older brother is wounded and suffers a mental disability, Leo thinks it's his duty to take up the slack. His enthusiasm leads to some bad decisions and involvement with some evil people who are way smarter than he is. Bray has a youthful confidence in his voice. When he performs, he creates a whole world for the listener to sink into. And when the bullets start flying, listeners will grip their steering wheels hard, hold their breath, and pray for the hero's deliverance. M.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly - Audio

04/28/2014
Narrator Bray perfectly embodies rough-around-the-edges criminal lawyer Leo Maxwell and brings his world to life, in this entertaining audio edition. Set in Oakland, Calif.. Teddy Maxwell, a once-brilliant but now mentally disabled attorney, lives with his brother, Leo, after suffering a gunshot wound to the head. And while Leo may not be as brainy as his brother once was, he’s certainly stalwart, resourceful, and tenacious—qualities he’ll need when he finds himself dealing with a mystery replete with political corruption and murder. Bray brings a suitably gruff delivery to Leo’s first-person narration, lending a hard-boiled feel to the character and the prose. Leo isn’t some slick Ivy League corporate lawyer—and Bray draws out just the right amount of the character’s grit. Bray is equally adept in his portrayal of the secondary characters, but it’s Leo’s distinctive voice that drives the story and keeps listeners engaged. A Mysterious Press hardcover. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

11/04/2013
At the start of Smith’s tight second Leo Maxwell mystery (after 2013’s Bear Is Broken), the young Oakland, Calif., attorney receives a collect call from Santa Rita Jail. The man on the other end introduces himself as Jamil Robinson and, because he feels it unsafe to talk over the phone, sends his sister, Lavinia Martin, to speak with Leo in person. Lavinia claims that the Oakland police have framed Jamil. Despite his suspicions about the story, Leo goes to the DA with evidence that points to police corruption, only to discover he’s been set up—the real Jamil has not only never heard of Leo but does not have a living sister. As Leo continues to pursue the truth, he puts his life at risk and discovers a trail of crooked police activity that leads disturbingly close to home. This finely paced mystery is full of intelligent plot twists and should appeal to any fan of good writing. Agent: Gail Hochman, Brandt & Associates. (Feb.)

From the Publisher

Told in staccato prose, perfectly mirrored by R. C. Bray’s noir-tinged narration, Smith’s tautly twisted plot moves at a fast, cut-to-the-chase pace.”
—BookPage

“Brays punchy delivery is a good match for the story and the writing and will have wide appeal.”
—Sound Commentary

Sound Commentary

When [Bray] performs, he creates a whole world for the listener to sink into. And when the bullets start flying, listeners will grip their steering wheels hard, hold their breath, and pray for the hero’s deliverance.”
—AudioFile [Earphones Award Winner]

BookPage

Boasts . . . polish in its blend of ironic narration, classic noir overtones, and artfully drafted characters.”
—Booklist

Booklist

Boasts . . . polish in its blend of ironic narration, classic noir overtones, and artfully drafted characters.”
—Booklist

Kirkus Reviews

2014-01-09
Now that he's solved the shooting that left his brother Teddy seriously disabled (Bear Is Broken, 2013), Oakland attorney Leo Maxwell is ready to juggle a trio of cases that put him on the hot seat. Beware of women who knock you off your bicycle with their convertibles and then press you to take an iffy case. The woman in question is Lavinia Martin, who, instead of sending Leo a $200 check for his broken wheel, offers him $10,000 to protect her brother, who already violated his probation when Detective Eric Campbell found a gun in his car, from the charges that are sure to follow when the cops link that gun to a recent murder. The only trouble is that when Leo, who's already skirted the law by photographing a meeting between Campbell and suspicious-looking private security agent Damon Watson, maneuvers his way into a meeting with the imprisoned Jamil Robinson, his supposed client insists he never hired Leo—in fact, his only sister is dead. Clearly, Leo's been set up to take the heat off the police corruption case he thought he'd cracked, but by whom: Jamil's heavy-duty attorney, Nikki Matson? The vanished Lavinia Martin? Campbell himself? Before he can answer this question, Leo will have to defend Marty Scarsdale, a client accused of molesting a 13-year-old friend of his daughter's, and reopen the murder case of Jeremy Walker, who was shot to death last summer and whose mother now wants Teddy to marry her even more impaired daughter Tamara, who doesn't even remember that she was in a therapy group with Teddy. "We're lawyers, not private detectives," Leo's boss, Jeanie, Teddy's ex-wife, tells him. In his sophomore outing, though, Leo shines a lot more brightly as a private detective than as a lawyer.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170040797
Publisher:	HighBridge Company
Publication date:	01/28/2014
Edition description:	Unabridged

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