To Speak for the Dead

Miami defense attorney Jake Lassiter is representing a surgeon in a malpractice case involving a patient who died on the operating table. As he digs into the evidence, Lassiter begins to suspect that his client is telling the truth about the procedure but may have had reasons to want the patient dead. A grave robbery, a mysterious widow, and a lethal drug compound the investigation into something far beyond a standard malpractice defense. Paul Levine's debut introduces a series hero with a former linebacker's combination of physical confidence and stubborn moral instinct.

Luke Daniels brings his characteristic energy to Jake Lassiter's wisecracking Miami voice, giving the legal thriller its proper pace and the obligatory Florida atmosphere its rightful color. The courtroom scenes and the street-level investigation play to Daniels's strengths, and Lassiter's voice is distinctive enough to anchor a long series. At just over ten hours, this Los Angeles Times best mystery debut is an entertaining launch for the franchise.