Leo Maxwell always lived in the shadow of his older brother Teddy, one of San Francisco's most ruthless and effective criminal defense lawyers. Then a gunman shot Teddy in the head. Although Teddy survived the shooting, he has been left disabled and dependent on Leo, now a criminal defense attorney practicing in Oakland. The Maxwell brothers are living together in Oakland while Leo, chafing in his role as junior attorney in his former sister-in-law's small criminal defense firm, is on the lookout for the big case that will make his reputation. He thinks he's found that when a mysterious woman nearly runs him down, then appears at his office to hire him to defend her brother on a murder charge. One problem: Leo hasn't actually met the client when he sets out to investigate what seems like a hot tip on a burgeoning scandal in the Oakland Police Department. Leo takes a series of photographs that seem to blow the lid on deep-set corruption in the Department. However, when he brings these pictures to the attention of the District Attorney's office, he quickly learns that all is not as it seems, beginning with Leo's client and the alluring woman who hired him. Leo's "client" is actually represented by Nikki Matson, one of Oakland's most notorious gangland lawyers. What's more, the client doesn't know anything about Leo being hired to defend him, and claims not even to have a sister. Between Nikki's star client, who happens to be one of Oakland's most feared gang leaders, and certain elements within the Oakland police, Leo realizes that he has unwittingly made himself enemy number one within the criminal community as well as the police department. Both sides want him silenced before he uncovers the full extent of a scandal that is poised to engulf the city and ignite a firestorm of repercussions. Hounded by threats from all sides, Leo soon finds himself framed for murder and sent to jail with a price on his head. Even if Leo can survive, he's a marked man unless he can bring those responsible for the murders to justice. Bodies pile up as Leo closes in on his pursuers while at the same time, his pursuers close on him. Yet the truth is far more sinister, as Leo must confront the one person he never would have suspected... "[B]oasts ... polish in its blend of ironic narration, classic noir overtones, and artfully drafted characters." - Booklist " Leo shines ... as a private detective... " - Kirkus " Bear is Broken is a spectacular novel, managing to be both literary and suspenseful. Particularly admirable is Lachlan Smith's exploration of the relationship between Leo Maxwell and his tragically sidelined brother; never for a second does the twisting plot slacken. One of the best debuts I've read in years."--William Bernhardt, author of the bestselling Ben Kincaid series "Lachlan Smith has done the impossible--written a riveting debut novel that stands with the best legal thrillers on my bookshelf. In Bear is Broken , Smith establishes a commanding presence, a gift for complex plotting, and an ability to create richly drawn characters who draw the reader into the action from the opening scene."--Linda Fairstein, bestselling author of Night Watch "Smith doesn't write like a novice."-- New York Times Book Review "Smith's first novel offers a superior blend of amateur-detective mystery and belated-coming-of-age novel cunningly masked as a legal thriller . . . Smith combines a smart but clueless protagonist forced to drop his naïveté; a gathering of well-drawn, equally motivated suspects; and, yes, some plot-furthering sex and violence. San Francisco's gritty streets and neighboring redwood forests add to the appeal, and the addictive characters and the quirky, sideways look at the system close the deal on a terrific debut."-- Booklist (starred review) Lachlan Smith is the author of "Bear is Broken," the first Leo Maxwell mystery, which won the Shamus Award for best first P.I. novel. He was a Richard Scowcroft Fellow in the Stegner Program at Stanford, and received an MFA from Cornell. His fiction has appeared in the Best New American Voices series. In addition to writing novels, he is an attorney practicing in the area of civil rights and employment law. He lives in Tuscaloosa, AL. Lion Plays Rough A Leo Maxwell Mystery By Lachlan Smith Grove Atlantic, Inc. Copyright © 2014 Lachlan Smith All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-8021-2216-2 CHAPTER 1 It was Saturday. I'd just biked to the top of the Bolinas-Fairfax Road and was turning onto Ridgecrest when I heard a car round the bend behind me — too fast and too close. The car was there before I could react. The bumper clipped my heel and sent me off onto the shoulder. As I went over the handlebars I saw a blue Pontiac convertible flash past. I'd been pedaling uphill, so I hadn't been going fast; I rolled once and ended up sitting on my rear end in soft pine needles and dirt. As for the bike, the back wheel was bent and wouldn't turn. I was tw