Lachlan Smith's Blog, page 7

Booklist Reviews Fox is Framed

“Smith skillfully blends taut courtroom drama with investigative suspense as Leo Maxwell (Lion Plays Rough, 2014) finally confronts the haunting tragedy of his mother’s murder … the mystery is well played. Smith’s greatest success, however, is in his gripping telling of the story of Leo’s, Teddy’s, and Lawrence’s different struggles to find their own resolution to the tragedy that has haunted their lives.”

Booklist Review

“Smith skillfully blends taut courtroom drama with investigative suspense as Leo Maxwell (Lion Plays Rough, 2014) finally confronts the haunting tragedy of his mother’s murder … the mystery is well played. Smith’s greatest success, however, is in his gripping telling of the story of Leo’s, Teddy’s, and Lawrence’s different struggles to find their own resolution to the tragedy that has haunted their lives.”

–Booklist

Boxed, Starred Review from Publisher's Weekly for Fox is Framed

“The complex family dynamics that Smith explored in his earlier books only become more intriguing in his superlative third Leo Maxwell mystery (after 2014’s Lion Plays Rough). In 1983, when he was 10 years old, Leo found his mother’s battered corpse in their San Francisco home. His father, Lawrence, was convicted of her murder and has been behind bars for two decades. Leo’s older brother, Teddy, despite being impaired by a bullet to the brain, has succeeded in getting the conviction reversed for prosecutorial misconduct. The prosecutor intends to retry Lawrence, bolstering the old case with a newly discovered motive for the murder—jealousy—and a supposed confession Lawrence made to an ex-con he befriended in jail. As Leo tries to connect with the father he never really knew and assist in Lawrence’s defense against a new murder charge, he struggles with doubts about his father’s innocence. Smith is masterly in creating realistic courtroom scenes, including the subtleties of witness examination, and, even more impressively, enhances the trial with the human drama of the Smith family.”
http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8021-2350-3

Boxed, Starred Review from Publisher’s Weekly

“The complex family dynamics that Smith explored in his earlier books only become more intriguing in his superlative third Leo Maxwell mystery (after 2014’s Lion Plays Rough). In 1983, when he was 10 years old, Leo found his mother’s battered corpse in their San Francisco home. His father, Lawrence, was convicted of her murder and has been behind bars for two decades. Leo’s older brother, Teddy, despite being impaired by a bullet to the brain, has succeeded in getting the conviction reversed for prosecutorial misconduct. The prosecutor intends to retry Lawrence, bolstering the old case with a newly discovered motive for the murder—jealousy—and a supposed confession Lawrence made to an ex-con he befriended in jail. As Leo tries to connect with the father he never really knew and assist in Lawrence’s defense against a new murder charge, he struggles with doubts about his father’s innocence. Smith is masterly in creating realistic courtroom scenes, including the subtleties of witness examination, and, even more impressively, enhances the trial with the human drama of the Smith family.”

http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8021-2350-3

Kirkus Reviews Fox is Framed

“[S]ome of the sharpest courtroom cut-and-thrust since Presumed Innocent (1986)”
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/lachlan-smith/fox-is-framed/

Kirkus Reviews Fox Is Framed

“[S]ome of the sharpest courtroom cut-and-thrust since Presumed Innocent (1986)”

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/lachlan-smith/fox-is-framed/

Bear is Broken Wins 2014 Shamus Award for Best First Novel

The Shamus Awards Banquet was held on Friday, November 14 in Long Beach, California, during the annual Bouchercon World Mystery Convention. I’m pleased to announce that Bear is Broken won the Shamus award for Best First P.I. Novel. Other winners included Sue Grafton, who was presented the Hammer award for lifetime achievement, and Brad Parks, who won the best P.I. Novel award for The Good Cop. The full list of winners is available at the P.I. Writers of America website.

Bookreporter Reviews Lion Plays Rough

Bookreporter review of Lion Plays Rough:
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“No one is presently writing a series quite like this one, which moves into unexpected places in unpredictable ways. Smith is creating and following his own rules in LION PLAYS ROUGH, and the results are impressive.”

Bookreporter Review

Love this great review in Bookreporter:

“No one is presently writing a series quite like this one, which moves into unexpected places in unpredictable ways. Smith is creating and following his own rules in LION PLAYS ROUGH, and the results are impressive.”

Interview in the West Central Tribune

My hometown paper has a story about Lion Plays Rough.