Lassiter

In Levine's engaging eighth legal thriller featuring Florida attorney Jake Lassiter (after Flesh and Bones), Lassiter is distressed to hear from insurance investigator Amy Larkin that he was the last person to see her younger sister, Krista, alive 18 years earlier. Lassiter, a former pro football player, is reluctant to tell Amy the whole truth of his encounter with Krista: she worked as a stripper at a birthday party that a teammate, Rusty MacLean, threw for him. The celebration turned violent after Rusty tried some rough stuff on the teenager and Lassiter rescued her, but left her with her pimp, Charlie. Feeling guilty about not having done more to help Krista, Lassiter volunteers to help her sister's investigation, which rapidly becomes dicey when "Charlie" turns out to be politically connected philanthropist Charles Ziegler. Levine does a standout job of presenting a morally compromised lead, but a melodramatic revelation in the midst of a murder trial leads to a stagy conclusion. (Sept.)