On sale January 10, 2023 is the touted final novel in Levine's Jake Lassiter legal thriller series, Early Grave. When his godson suffers a catastrophic injury in a high school football game, Lassiter sues to abolish the sport and becomes Public Enemy Number One.
Jake Lassiter debuted in 1990's To Speak for the Dead, his past as a Miami Dolphins linebacker giving him a larger-than-life quality. Many protagonists of Jake's vintage have such hooks that help them stand out in the crime fiction field, but these usually remain colorful bits of backstory, not the focus of the character's present. Compelled by a friend's death, since 2017's Bum Luck, Levine has afflicted Lassiter with all-too-real and frightening CTE, making the series' final arc relevant and poignant.
As a series continues, some readers yearn for progress, for adventures with real stakes, not simply more feathers in the protagonist's cap. Levine has never shied from hot-button issues, and his choice to make CTE a reality for Lassiter ensures Jake will be remembered.
As a series continues, some readers yearn for progress, for adventures with real stakes, not simply more feathers in the protagonist's cap. Levine has never shied from hot-button issues, and his choice to make CTE a reality for Lassiter ensures Jake will be remembered.
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