Panther's Prey

Fans of Leo Maxwell will recognize R.C. Bray's voice as he returns to perform the fourth audiobook of the series. In this newest installment, Maxwell is working the other side of the courtroom as a public defender when his co-counsel and lover is brutally raped and murdered. The plot, intricately tied to the previous books, will entice series devotees but leave new listeners blindly navigating complex relationships. Bray's narration lacks a sense of flow that gives the narration a detached tone that may turn off some listeners. This is especially a problem with the voice of an Asian immigrant, who sounds one dimensional. Maxwell fans should pick this one up, but others may want to pass. J.F. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Starred review from February 15, 2016
Fans of Scott Turow will relish Smith’s outstanding fourth Russian nesting doll of a whodunit featuring San Francisco lawyer Leo Maxwell (after 2015’s Fox Is Framed). Leo, who has left private practice to take a job in the public defender’s office, is representing Randall Rodriguez, who “has spent his adult life on the street, in mental hospitals, or in jail.” He also has a record of confessing to crimes he didn’t commit. Despite Rodriguez’s confession of rape in the present case, Leo and his hardworking cocounsel, Jordan Walker, succeed in getting the jury to acquit after providing expert testimony as to why he would admit to something he didn’t do. Leo and Jordan sleep together after the triumph, but the relationship proves short-lived. One night in bed, Jordan receives a text message and kicks Leo out. Three days later, he finds her battered corpse in her apartment, with evidence implicating Rodriguez. The plotting is impeccable, and Smith adds even more layers to his complex lead, while creating a San Francisco as morally ambiguous as Turow’s Kindle County. Agent: Gail Hochman, Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents.