Fool Me Twice: A Jake Lassiter Novel

Linebacker-turned-lawyer Jake Lassiter is back (after Slashback) in a case that threatens to end his career, if not his life. Successfully defending con man Louis ""Blinky"" Baroso against fraud charges earns the Miami attorney 100 shares of Rocky Mountain Treasures Inc., a buried-treasure salvage company in Colorado. After his acquittal, Blinky disappears, having neglected to mention that he listed Lassiter as the company's secretary/treasurer and general counsel. Then the strangled body of one of Blinky's associates is found hanging from the lawyer's ceiling fan. A further tangle comes in the shape of Blinky's sister, Jo Jo, who is Lassiter's former lover and the current belle of Kit Carson Cimarron, who owns 70% of Rocky Mountain Treasures. When Jo Jo flees Miami for Aspen, Lassiter follows, hoping to find Blinky, clear himself of murder charges and perhaps rekindle romance with Jo Jo. A fight with Cimarron, involving a horsewhip and a nail gun, lands Lassiter in the hospital, where he's forced to question who are his enemies and friends. Although the narrating Lassiter's humor sometimes slips from cynical wit into campy vaudeville asides, Levine keeps pages turning as he blends legal elements into this mystery. (Jan.)