About The Book

In the captivating new Leo Maxwell mystery, Panther’s Prey, tragedy once again strikes near the heart for lawyer-detective Leo Maxwell. Now a public defender in San Francisco, Leo has partnered with Jordan Walker, a promising young lawyer on loan from a well-heeled law firm. Together they are in the midst of a trial, defending Randall Rodriguez, a mentally ill homeless man who they contend falsely confessed to the rape of a San Francisco socialite. After their client is acquitted, Leo and Jordan fall into an intense relationship—until Jordan is found brutally raped and murdered in her apartment. Leo, the last person known to have seen her alive, is the natural suspect. But the story takes a shocking turn when Rodriguez walks into the police station and offers to confess to Jordan’s murder. Tasked by Jordan’s grieving father with looking further into her death, Leo soon finds himself on the trail of an adversary far more powerful than any foe he has met thus far.

Theorizing that he may be on the trail of a serial rapist and murderer, Leo instead uncovers a massive judicial fraud leading to the steps of the federal courthouse. In an explosive final confrontation, Leo will come face-to-face with an adversary far more powerful than any foe he has met thus far.

Praise

“Fans of Scott Turow will relish Smith’s outstanding fourth Russian nesting doll of a whodunit featuring San Francisco lawyer Leo Maxwell . . . The plotting is impeccable, and Smith adds even more layers to his complex lead, while creating a San Francisco as morally ambiguous as Turow’s Kindle County.” —Publishers Weekly (boxed & starred review)

“[An] estimable series . . . Newcomers are advised to hang on for one wild ride.” —Kirkus Reviews

“The best installment in the series, even surpassing Bear Is Broken, the award-winning opening volume . . . laser-focused.” —Bookreporter

“Smith’s prose is smart and stylish. The central mystery is breathtakingly complex; feints, twists, double crosses, and red herrings abound . . . Leo transitions from courtroom gladiator to down-on-his-luck gumshoe without breaking stride . . . An intricately plotted, adrenaline-fueled tale that intrigues from page one, and ends with an epilogue that will leave fans hungering for Leo’s next misadventure.” —Katrina Niidas Holm, Mystery Scene

Excerpt

I rushed around the screen and grabbed for the gun holstered beneath her attacker’s arm. If it’d been loose in the holster I would’ve had it, but it was fastened down.

In an instant his hand was locked around my wrist, his eyes inches from mine, filled with outrage and surprise. I tightened my hand around the gun and with a tremendous heave used the shoulder holster to lift him and shove him backward over the rim of the hot tub. He held on to me as he fell, sending us both over into the water. I had to keep my hand around the gun—and the gun in its holster—or I was a dead man.

The water was cold. He was beneath me, but the tub was deep and for a moment my hand slipped and I thought I was going to lose him. Then I lunged and closed my hand over the gun again, finding my feet.