• To Speak for the Dead

  • Jake Lassiter Legal Thrillers, Book 1
  • By: Paul Levine
  • Narrated by: Luke Daniels
  • Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (635 ratings)

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To Speak for the Dead  By  cover art

To Speak for the Dead

By: Paul Levine
Narrated by: Luke Daniels
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Publisher's summary

A doctor in love with his patient's wife...
A fatal mistake during surgery...
Accident? Malpractice? Or murder?

Defending a surgeon in a malpractice case, Jake Lassiter begins to suspect that his client is innocent of negligence...but guilty of murder. Add a sexy widow, a deadly drug, and a grave robbery to the stew, and you have Miami's trial of the century.

"Move over Scott Turow. To Speak for the Dead is courtroom drama at its very best." - Larry King, USA Today

©1990, 2013 Paul J. Levine. Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to use an excerpt from “The Lawyers Know Too Much” from Smoke and Steel by Carl Sandburg, © 1920 by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., and renewed 1948 by Carl Sandburg, reprinted by permission of the publisher. “It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me” by Billy Joel, © 1980 by Impulsive Music. All rights controlled and administered by EMI April Music Inc. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Used by permission. (P)2017 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

What listeners say about To Speak for the Dead

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Jake Lassiter is not your typical hero...

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

I thought this was a very interesting book in that the plot changes about 1/2 way through the book. It starts out as a medical malpractice and then changes. You have Jake the retired athlete with a sports injury turned lawyer, a daughter accusing her father's second wife of conspiring with his doctor/her sometimes lover to murder him, in the meantime there is a back up plan the good doctor is unaware of. Oh what a tangled web... If I say anything else you won't have to read the book.

What about Luke Daniels’s performance did you like?

He just did a really good job. He gets all the right inflections for the different characters.

Any additional comments?

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book, it's a very good courtroom thriller without too much time in the courtroom!
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25 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

First novel in the 12 book Jake Lassiter series,..

...but the 4th I have listened to. I have purchased three others. This is an outstanding novel about a civil suit which Lassiter wins for the doctor. It is followed by a murder trial with the same doctor charged.

For those not familiar with the Jake Lassiter series, Jake is a criminal defense lawyer in Miami. He is a former star college football player who played briefly as a pro for the Miami Dolphins before he realized he was not good enough, so he went to law school. With some exceptions the series tends to lighter and more fun than most legal thrillers. Luke Daniels narrates all seven audio novels that have been released except Books 8 and 11. .

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

3 Stars The Ending Was Deflating!!

I wasn't crazy about this book. As lawyer books go, it certainly isn't in the same class as the Mickey Haller or Andy Carpenter series. The central character wasn't all that compelling and while the peripheral characters had a lot of promise, they were never fully developed. The plot was OK, but I found the ending very disappointing and, to be honest, kind of bizarre. All in all, it was just OK for me. I wouldn't recommend it, but if you want to take a chance on it, you might enjoy it more than I did. I know my husband really liked the book and has continued with the series. Plus @ $7.34 the book did not use a credit.

Luke Daniels was excellent with the delivery of the story.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Another one saved by the narrator

I wouldn't have made it through if it wasn't for Luke Daniels.

This had good story potential , but it was filled with absurdities.

For instance, we're supposed believe a judge is up there presiding over a court case and reading the sports page?

How about a lawyer teaming up with a corner to do a little grave robbing. Tell me the reality in which that is possible?

There's other Ludicrous things in there that I don't have time to go into.

It's really too bad I have to get give this such a bad review - Because I think it had a pretty good idea in there somewhere

J

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Good Start to Series

Begins a little confusing but not long until the action pulls you in. Creepy characters and twists and turns make it hard to figure out who the bad guy or guys are. A manipulator and a
a god complex. Whose who. Enjoy.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

My new favorite lawyer.

This is my first Paul Levine novel. I realize I am very late in the game for this author, and I have quite a few novels to catch up.

Jake Lassiter is what I would consider a friendly lawyer. He isn't with a huge firm, doesn't come to the courthouse with an army of legal assistance to intimidate. Just a hard working lawyer who believes in his clients, and works hard for them.

This novel left me guessing up to the last few minutes. I was not sure how things would end, or if the story would continue. I'm moving on to the next in the series.

Highly recommend this to all.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

love Luke daniels

started this because I enjoy the narrator. book sounds like a Carl hiassan novel from the attorney side. go forth and enjoy the ridiculousness of Florida

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Joseph E

Great book enjoyed every minute of it. Narrator did a good job controling the plot and the theme. Highly recommend you read it

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great bool

this was a wonderful book with lots of twist. I was truly surprised by the last chapter I was expecting justice. well worth a credits

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Saved by the narrator

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

This book is for the person who believe in a reality where a mediocre lawyer can make a series of stupid decisions and still come out a winner in the end.

What was most disappointing about Paul Levine’s story?

Oh, where to begin....
First, there's Jake who think's it's a great idea to rob a grave with a retired coroner and then stash the bodies at his Grandmother's house.
Second, is a judge who reads the racing forms while presiding and alternating sustained/objectionable rulings
Third, Jake and another character meet up and sleep together twice and we are supposed to believe that there's some deep connection.
The book is disappointingly between Carl Hiaasen and Michael Connelly. This book reminded me a lot of Stuart Woods and I don't care for those either.

Have you listened to any of Luke Daniels’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Luke Daniels is a wonderful narrator and the complete saving grace for this book.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Complete disappointment. The basic plot is really interesting and there were some good twists but the characters were cliche and poorly developed. He has Jake doing so many inconceivable things that it made the whole story ridiculous.

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2 people found this helpful