Leo Maxwell grew up in the shadow of his older brother, Teddy, a successful yet reviled criminal defence attorney, who racked up enemies as fast as he racked up acquittals. The two are at lunch when Teddy is shot, the gunman escaping through a crowd. As Teddy lies in a coma, Leo realises that the search for his brother's shooter falls upon him, as Teddy's enemies are not just among his criminal clients but embedded within the police department as well... Leo must navigate the seedy underbelly of San Francisco, but the deeper he digs into his brother's life, the more questions arise: about Teddy and his estranged ex-wife, about the ethics of Teddy's career, and about the murder that tore their family apart decades ago. And somewhere, the person who shot Leo's brother is still on the loose, and there are many who would happily kill Leo in order to keep it that way.
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, best-selling author of Night Watch