Panther's Prey by Lachlan Smith

Published by Mysterious Press on April 5, 2016

Panther’s Prey begins with the trial of a homeless, mentally ill man who, according to his public defenders, falsely confessed to a sexual assault. Rodriguez has a history of confessing to crimes he didn’t commit. When Rodriguez is acquitted and is later accused of committing another sexual assault (leading to a death), Leo Maxwell (his lead lawyer) doesn’t know whether he should feel guilty for winning his release or angry that the police are focusing on his former client rather than pursuing the real rapist.

It struck me as odd that the police and prosecution would immediately pursue Rodriguez for the new crime. True, some police and some prosecutors are lazy and many are vindictive, so wrongly accusing a guy who was acquitted after they wrongly accused him in an earlier case might satisfy those motives, but it helps to have some actual evidence of guilt that seemed nonexistent here. And whether a judge would allow the client to plead guilty to a new murder, when the guy has a history of pleading guilty to crimes he didn’t commit and when no significant evidence points to his guilt, struck me as unlikely. The novel’s shaky premise troubled me.

In any event, Leo recasts his role from lawyer to investigator and eventually to suspect as he tries to determine who committed the murder. The victim was his co-counsel in the Rodriguez trial, a woman who left a corporate firm to gain trial experience with the public defender’s office. The investigation causes Leo to delve into the motives that other people might have had for killing the former corporate lawyer. More deaths occur as Leo finds himself imperiled (or set up) by a conspiracy.

Plot threads from earlier novels are woven into this one. Series readers will recall that Leo’s father was released from prison after his innocence was established. Someone connected to Leo’s father is killed in Panther’s Prey with a murder weapon that is associated with Leo. Thus Leo is transported from one jail cell to another, accused of this crime and that, all the while trying to solve multiple murder mysteries.

Is the plot a bit much? Maybe, but it’s not so improbable that I couldn’t enjoy it. I was happy to see that the family drama that carried the first three novels was toned down in this one. My biggest complaint is my personal preference for courtroom drama in legal thrillers. After the Rodriguez trial, which occupies a small portion of the book, Panther’s Prey reads more like a detective story than a legal thriller. Lachlan Smith understands the drama inherent in criminal trials. I hope he milks that drama more in future installments. As an investigative/conspiracy novel, however, Panther’s Prey is a fun addition to the series.

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