Illegal

At the start of Levine’s entertaining if somewhat formulaic crime thriller, Jimmy “Royal” Payne, a Los Angeles trial lawyer whose marriage and career have collapsed since his 10-year-old son died in a car crash a year earlier, is looking for redemption as well as a change of scenery. Payne agrees to help an illegal immigrant, spunky 12-year-old Tino Perez, find his mom, from whom Tino got separated during a night crossing from Mexico. The search leads Payne into the dark world of human trafficking and sexual slavery in California’s vast farming region. Edgar-finalist Levine is hardly breaking new ground with Payne, a cynical, wisecracking softie who’s similar to the leads of the author’s Jake Lassiter series (Slashback , etc.) and Solomon vs. Lord novels (The Deep Blue Alibi , etc.). Still, Payne has a broad enough backstory and personal charm to head up a series of his own. (Mar.)