Friday, May 12, 2017

Drinks With Reads: Tennessee Mule and BUM LUCK by Paul Levine


Paul Levine is making Tennessee Mules to celebrate his new book, Bum Luck. Read on to find out why.  


Thirty seconds after the jury announced its verdict, I decided to kill my client.

That’s the opening line of Bum Luck, and yes, Jake Lassiter needs a drink. The Miami defense lawyer has just WON a murder trial for a client he believes killed his wife. Lassiter didn’t expect win. Didn’t want to win. But the jury said “not guilty,” and NFL superstar Thunder Thurston went free.

Fed up, Lassiter vows to seek justice. Rough justice. Vigilante justice. His friend, Victoria Lord, is stunned when Lassiter tells her his plan.

“Thunder killed a woman,” I said. “He deserves to die.”

Victoria’s brow furrowed into little worry lines. “Jake, you’re just speaking theoretically, aren’t you?  You’re simply philosophically inclined toward retribution.”

“I’m philosophically inclined toward a nine-millimeter Beretta.”

Victoria and her boyfriend Steve Solomon fear that Lassiter’s bizarre behavior stems from all those concussions he suffered playing linebacker in the NFL before going to law school. Does he have C.T.E., the fatal brain disease linked to repetitive head injuries? Will he kill Thunder Thurston or be killed? Is this the end of Lassiter’s career...and his life?

The questions make me – and Lassiter – thirsty.

That evening, on the back porch at home, I celebrated my friend Jack’s birthday. Jack Daniels, that is. The smoky Tennessee whiskey just turned one hundred fifty...an even century older than me. 

As I sipped, I savored. 

As I savored, I planned.

I would follow Solomon and Lord’s advice. I would get dirt on Thurston and take it to the state attorney. Tomorrow. 

Tonight, I would drink the liquid gold.



Sometimes, Lassiter drinks his Jack Daniels neat. Sometimes on the rocks. And once in a while, he enjoys the gingery snap of the Tennessee mule cocktail. His recipe:

1. Muddle a few fresh mint leaves with two slices of lime in the bottom of a copper mug.

2. Drop a couple oversize ice cubes in the mug, and add two ounces of Jack Daniels.

3. Pour five ounces of Fever Tree ginger beer into the mug to give the drink that mule kick.

5. Garnish with a couple mint leaves, a slice of lime, stir...and drink! 

It will make you forget about all the ills of the “so-called justice system” that plague our hero.  As he laments in Bum Luck:

Justice is the North Star, the burning bush, the holy virgin. It cannot be bought, sold, or mass produced. Justice is intangible and invisible, but if you are to spend your life in its pursuit, it is best to believe that it exists. When you fail, fight for the next best thing. Rough justice is better than none at all.

I might add that a Tennessee Mule might take the edge off all that angst. 

Paul Levine
@Jake_Lassiter




1 comment:

  1. I am loving your books ! Just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying them. Thanks !

    ReplyDelete