Jake Lassiter was plumbing the highs and lows of criminal defense practice in the courtroom thriller genre long before “Breaking Bad” and Albuquerque criminal lawyer Saul Goodman was brought to the attention of television viewers in 2008. Lassiter first appeared in TO SPEAK FOR THE DEAD in 1990 and has since been confounding prosecutors, judges and nearly everyone else in south Florida who has crossed his path.

The newly published EARLY GRAVE marks the 12th and final installment in the series and clearly demonstrates that Paul Levine is going out at the very top of his game. Anyone who has enjoyed Saul’s legal maneuvers will find much to love here.

"Those who have had the pleasure of reading his previous Jake Lassiter books...know that Paul Levine infuses his novels with a sense of realism tinged with sarcasm and occasional absurdity. Fans and newcomers alike will find those elements in equal measure here."

Lassiter’s resume is not limited to criminal defense legal practice. As he will hasten to tell you in his first-person narrative, Lassiter played football for Joe Paterno at Penn State and the Miami Dolphins under Don Shula. This has not been without a tragic cost. Lassiter’s last few outings have found him to be struggling with the symptom-imposed limitations of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a condition prevalent among former football players as the result of repeated and excessive helmet-to-helmet contact. These impairments include memory problems and concentration lapses. As a result, Lassiter has given up his practice and has been working with the Florida State Bar Association, evaluating complaints by clients against their attorneys and holding hearings about them in his own unique style.

However, Lassiter abruptly brings himself back into the courtroom fray when his godson sustains a catastrophic and potentially permanent injury during a high school football game. As he examines the policies of the coach and his conduct leading up to this horrific incident, Lassiter believes that he can make a case for “coaching malpractice” and files suit to shut down high school football in Florida until steps are taken to ensure that such an accident does not happen again. Lassiter knows that his proposal will cause a firestorm of controversy; in fact, he is counting on it. What he does not anticipate is that there are forces arrayed against him from far beyond the Sunshine State’s boundaries. They will bring the win-at-all-costs attitude to bear against him and his client’s family.

Meanwhile, Lassiter is still dealing with the unpredictable effects of his condition even as he is attacked on all sides. While he may experience a moment of self-doubt here and there, he continues to exude confidence, not to mention a willingness to bend some rules if doing so achieves justice, rough or otherwise. Couple that with Lassiter’s grim and occasionally inappropriate sense of humor, and one gets the sense that he almost has his opposition outnumbered. Still, his most dangerous opponent lurks within him. His encounter with his medical condition is one from which he may not walk away.

Levine practiced law for many years with one of the nation’s most powerful law firms. He knows not only the law but the many forces --- some obvious, some not so much --- that form and shape it on both sides of every issue. His keen observations are presented to readers through Lassiter’s internal dialogue, external discourse and courtroom arguments. The complex concepts that are occasionally involved are expressed in an understandable and entertaining manner, as one might expect when the author is a former adjunct lecturer at the University of Miami School of Law.

Those who have had the pleasure of reading his previous Jake Lassiter books, as well as his Solomon vs. Lord courtroom thrillers, know that Paul Levine infuses his novels with a sense of realism tinged with sarcasm and occasional absurdity. Fans and newcomers alike will find those elements in equal measure here. I cannot think of a more fitting way to bring this compelling series to a close.