Paul Levine Shares His Playlist for Bum Deal

The author of 21 novels, Paul Levine won the John D. MacDonald Fiction Award and was nominated 
for the Edgar, Macavity, International Thriller, Shamus, and James Thurber prizes.  He wrote 20 
episodes of the CBS military drama JAG and co-created the Supreme Court drama First Monday.  
"To Speak for the Dead," a Jake Lassiter legal thriller, was his debut novel. His most recent novel is 
the newly released “Bum Deal.”


If readers were listening to music as they enjoyed your book, what song would be playing with 
the opening scene? Why?

After a brief action sequence involving a surgeon who might have killed his wife, BUM DEAL opens 
with our protagonist, trial lawyer Jake Lassiter, sipping tequila and chilling out at the Red Fish Grill, 
an outdoor restaurant a few feet from the beach at Matheson Hammock in Miami.  Jimmy Buffet, the 
troubadour of the Florida Keys, comes to mind. Sure, there’s “Margaritaville” and “Cheeseburger in 
Paradise.” But I’m thinking of the more recent “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes.”




What song do you think best illustrates your protagonist’s emotional state during the first part of 
your book? Why?

Jake Lassiter has seen better days. His 50th birthday is behind him. He suffers from piercing headaches 
and memory loss and is even more irritable than usual. It’s possible he’s suffering from C.T.E. from 
repetitive concussions on the football field before he went to law school. Waylon Jennings’ “Lonesome,
 On’ry and Mean” would be appropriate:



There are often significant turning points in a story that advance the plot. This can coincide with 
an emotional shift for a character. Do you feel like there’s a song that illustrates a defining turning
 point for your character? If so, which one and why?

Appointed as a special assistant state attorney, Lassiter prosecutes a surgeon accused of killing his wife.
 It soon appears to Lassiter that the case is a loser, and the state attorney chose him as the fall guy. There
’s a strong sense of betrayal and anger as he wonders if he’s been duped. As The Main Ingredient sang, 
“Everybody Plays the Fool.”


Are there other songs that you imagine would be really fitting for specific scenes in your book? 
If so, feel free to share the songs and a little about why these songs would be fitting for your 
soundtrack.

Music plays a role in the story, too. Lassiter visits a strip club to find a witness – really, that’s the 
reason – and there’s a D.J. playing Journey’s “Lovin’ Touchin’ Squeezin’,” followed by  Def Leppard’s 
“Pour Some Sugar on Me,” and R. Kelly’s “Feelin’ on Yo Booty.”



Lassiter makes frequent reference to music in the story. He’s fond of the wild-west songs of Tom 
Russell:

That night at home, I listened to Tom Russell singing the red-dirt, Tex-Mex classic “Tonight We Ride” 
as my headache returned with the ferocity of stampeding stallions. The song tells the tale of US General 
John Pershing’s horseback soldiers chasing Pancho Villa over the border into Mexico. If the troops 
caught the bandido, they promised to skin him alive and make chaps out of his hide. I developed my 
respect for the justice system from such keen observations of law and order in the West.   




Lassiter’s cell phone’s ringtone resounds with the horns and drums of the Penn State football fight song,
 “Fight On State,” which might be particularly appropriate now that he’s a prosecutor. 




What song do you imagine playing at the climax of the story?

Chicago’s “What a Big Surprise” would be appropriate for the climax.  I like to think the song would be
 appropriate for every book in the “Jake Lassiter” and “Solomon vs. Lord” series.  I try to surprise reader
s, who in turn, trys to guess what twists and double-twists are headed their way.





Do you have any special events coming up? Where can people catch up with you in person or on 
a podcast?

I invite everyone to catch up with me on my blog at https://paul-levine.com/blog/ or my Amazon Author
 Page https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Levine/e/B000APPYKG.

Keep up with Paul and his latest news on social media via these links:
Twitter: @Jake_Lassiter 


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