Law and Addiction

By: Mike Papantonio

Narrated by: Gary Elliot

One week before Jake Rutledge is scheduled to graduate from law school, he receives the devastating news of the death of his fraternal twin, Blake. What makes this death even more terrible for Jake is that his brother died of a drug overdose. Until hearing of his death, Jake had no idea his brother was even using drugs.

When Jake returns home to Oakley, West Virginia, he takes a hard look at the circumstances of his brother's death. In the five years Jake has been away for his schooling, his hometown has drastically changed. Because of the opioid epidemic and the blight it has brought, many now call Oakley "Zombieland". Jake can see how his town's demise parallels his brother's.

Undeterred, the newly minted lawyer takes on the entrenched powers by filing two lawsuits. Jake quickly learns what happens when you upset a hornet's nest. The young attorney might be wet behind the ears, but he is sure there is no lawyer that could help him more than Nick "Deke" Deketomis and his law firm of Bergman/Deketomis. Deke is a legendary lawyer. When he was Jake's age he was making his name fighting Big Tobacco. Against all odds, Jake gets Nick and his firm to sign on to his case before it's too late.

©2019 Mike Papantonio (P)2019 Waterside Productions, Inc.

Very interesting

This storyline is one that moves quickly and has blends of many issues to keep it interesting!!

A must listen for anyone affected by opiates.

If you are from any small town that has been destroyed by addiction to opiates, you should listen. You will find that the entire thing was contrived and carried out by the very people who make the pills and who make the laws.

In addition to that, you will be entertained by a story that is both lovely and heart breaking. Most of all, it shows West Virginia in a truthful manner - the good, the bad, the ugly... and the beautiful.

Loved It

I loved this book - the characters - the story. The story around the opioid crisis cannot be told enough!

More tolerable than addictive.

A little cliche, a little predictable, a little awkward, a little slow, but a serviceable legal novel.

L Garza

NPR recently broadcast “was it reasonable to ship “81 million “opioid pills on this small WV town?”.
Looking forward to government settlement with these companies.
As to the actions of these companies “ Unbelievable” or not! $$$$$$$$$

Good listen, a little predictable

Story was ok, parts were a little predictable / unbelievable by the end. The predictable part was centered around (likely) facts of history, and the unbelievable parts were the 9-hours of filler for the 15-minute story. Still, a good time-killer.

best law thriller in a long time

Loved this! The last time I read one as good was this legal thriller as the in the 90s with The Firm. In addition, the narrator was good. Typical speech pattern of a Southerner (from another Southerner). Easy to speed up the cadence if it was not to your liking. All around, it was a fantastic audio book !

too monotone.

I was going back to this book in between others. The story wasn't that bad but it was hard to get excited about much because the narrator was so slow and monotone and I kept falling asleep. I might buy the actual book and read it myself sometime.

Good book

The story was slow, but I finished it so it must have been ok. I do not give 1 or 2 stars very often, since I can not usually finish books that deserve only 2 stars.

Liked the story, not the narrator

It was hard to stay interested because the narrator was so monotone, but the story is compelling.