Rate this book

Lion Plays Rough: A Leo Maxwell Mystery (2014)

by Lachlan Smith(Favorite Author)

3.44 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0802122167 (ISBN13: 9780802122162)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Mysterious Press

review 1: While I like the writing, and the suspense is good, I can't quite figure out the plot and the characters don't really make sense to me, aside from the crooks. Without spoiling anything, it's kind of hard to tell who is the antagonist and who is the protagonist, outside of the narrator being the main character. It's kind of like The Great Gatsby, you're getting the story but you're largely looking on from the outside. You know it's all going to turn out badly in the end, though; it may or may not in practice, but by then it's a little hard to sympathize with any of the characters. The book also suffers from the basic problem of a suspense novel: once you've read it, you know what's going to happen, and you realize there isn't much point to reading it again because that's al... morel there was. I call this the Sleuth syndrome, check out the movie and you'll see what I mean.
review 2: Although this second installment in the Leo Maxwell mystery series did not quite measure up to the amazing debut, I still thought it was an admirable effort in what I hope will be a promising series. With the first book by Lachlan Smith, "Bear Is Broken", I did not have any preconceived expectations, so I was pleasantly surprised. Unfortunately, that set a pretty high standard, but "Lion Plays Rough" is still a fast paced legal thriller with an interesting protagonist-investigator and a very believeable supporting cast. The plot does not pull any punches with the storyline of police corruption in Oakland, California and all the nasty business of being a defense attorney in a large city, where the rules are loose and all areas are grey. As the author fleshes out the characters I wonder, however, if he might be a little harsh on Leo's brain damaged brother, Teddy, who nearly died from a gunshot to the head in the first book. Teddy certainly is not made out to a sympathetic character and I wonder how would I cope if I had to be responsible for someone in a similar position. Lachlan Smith is really onto something here with this series set in the Bay Area underbelly of Oakland and San Francisco and I will be looking forward to book number three. less

Download links for: Lion Plays Rough: A Leo Maxwell Mystery

Advertising