Published by Waterside Press on 2019
Genres: Fiction, Thrillers, Legal
Pages: 312
Format: Hardcover
Source: ARC
MIKE PAPANTONIO PULLS BACK THE CURTAIN ON AMERICA'S DEADLY OPIOID EPIDEMIC IN THIS SPELLBINDING THRILLER ABOUT GREED, CORRUPTION AND THE POWER OF PERSONAL CONVICTION.
One week before his law school graduation, Jake Rutledge is shattered. His fraternal twin, Blake, has died of a drug overdose. When Jake returns to his hometown of Oakley, West Virginia, he discovers that his brother was not the only person hooked on opioid painkillers. The entire region has been ravaged by an epidemic insidiously planned and carried out by one of America's most powerful pharmaceutical companies.
Still wet behind the ears, Jake is determined to seek justice for all the victims of Big Pharma's greed. He soon learns that the drug companies' tentacles reach far and deep. His only hope is to get Nicholas "Deke" Deketomis to help. A partner at one of the country's most powerful law firms, Deke's "as tough as a two-dollar steak" and well-known for his winning tactics against corporate wrongdoers. With just enough persistence, Jake coaxes Deke to see Oakley's devastation firsthand. Overwhelmed, Deke agrees to join forces with Jake.
And that's when the real heat begins. Death threats, bribes, unlawful property seizure schemes - all are connected to the massive distribution of both legal and illegal drugs. Everyone is impacted, from the highest levels of corporate America to corrupt local officials to their lackeys and hapless victims. The complexity of the schemes is overwhelming.Working tirelessly, the lawyers begin to uncover the truth. Along the way, Jake falls in love with Anna Fowler, a former homecoming queen who has succumbed to the power of opioids. With his support, she weans herself off the drugs. Hope begins to bloom -- when suddenly, Jake disappears. As Deke undertakes a desperate search to find him, questions swirl. Has Jake abandoned Anna and his crusade? Can the case against the evildoers move forward without him? Will Oakley and its residents survive? Law and Addiction is real-life drama at its finest -- a book that clears away the darkness page by page, spotlighting a profound truth about our society through expert storytelling.
It took me a little bit longer to get into Law and Addiction, but as soon as Jake assembled his legal team this became a page-turner for me. I don’t read legal thrillers very often as I’ve found that the legalese can slow me down, especially if there are nursery rhymes or a shrieking toddler in my vicinity. Papantonio did a commendable job leading readers through the intricacies of this sort of litigation all while utilizing language that even a layman could understand.
I struggled with Jake’s character. His starry-eyed optimism and naivety regarding the wheels of justice was hard to relate to. I thoroughly enjoyed “Deke” though and his maturity and experience within the legal system made up for Jake’s lack thereof.
I didn’t feel particularly satisfied at the end but given the opioid epidemic is still a very relevant issue these days, I shouldn’t have expected it to be wrapped up with a bow. Perhaps most striking was Papantonio’s passion for justice, anti-corruption and compassion for the communities ravaged by the opioid epidemic. While this is a work of fiction, the same intensity we saw in the author’s note shines through in Papantonio’s collection of attorneys fighting Big Pharma.
I was sent a physical copy of Law and Addiction to voluntarily read and review, though I did end up purchasing the ebook so I could read it on the go when I didn’t want to put it down but still had to adult! I definitely recommend this book for readers that enjoy legal thrillers but also as an introduction to the opioid epidemic.
*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
About Mike Papantonio
Mike Papantonio is a truth-teller, a crusader who uses fiction to entertain and inform his readers about some of the most pressing issues of our time. In each of his thrillers, from Law And Disorder to Law And Vengeance, and now Law And Addiction, he lays bare the conspiracies and white-collar crimes that hurt ordinary Americans — and that are rarely covered by the national media.
A senior partner of Levin Papantonio, one of the country’s largest plaintiffs’ law firms, Papantonio uses his own cases as springboards for his novels. He has aggressively taken on Big Pharma, tobacco, weapon manufacturer, and the automobile industry, among other bastions of corporate greed.
One of the youngest inductees into the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame, Papantonio is also a well-known media presence as host of America’s Lawyer on the RT America television network and co-host of the syndicated radio show Ring of Fire. A skilled musician and athlete, he is based in Pensacola, Florida.
