The Middleman - by Mike Papantonio (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

The Middleman is an epic drama of whistleblowers, murder, thrills, and legal combat--torn out of today's headlines.

Nicholas "Deke" Deketomis and his law firm take on America's Big Pharma when Deke's college pal, Matt Redmond, presents him with a case of possible fraud involving EirePharma, the Redmond family business and a powerful Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM). PBMs serve as the "middlemen" between drug manufacturers and insurance companies, working in cryptic ways to determine not only the cost of drugs but also placing them on insurers' preferred formularies. EirePharma was recently taken over by the charismatic CEO, Connor Devlin, who has a Rasputin-like influence over Matt's cousin, Amy, the company's current president. Devlin may be utilizing racketeering practices--and perhaps murder--to raise the prices of insulin and other drugs for his own profit and to the detriment of consumers.

Amy, who at first was in love with Devlin, decides--at great peril--to become her company's whistleblower and provide evidence to Deke and his team. When key witnesses and even Redmond family members meet mysterious and violent deaths, Amy finds herself a pawn caught in the center of a frightening and deadly game of wills between a formidable gangster, who in the eyes of the public is a respected businessman, and a law firm that is determined to investigate and uncover the Middleman's crimes.

In the tradition of Suspicious Activity and Inhuman Trafficking, Mike Papantonio takes Deke and his cohorts on a new and different kind of legal gamble in The Middleman, which is chock full of the action and thrills for which he is known.

Review Quotes

"It's clear that Papantonio's latest legal thriller is inspired by real-life crimes committed by pharmacy benefit managers, and this gives this story added appeal and cultural relevance. It's a suspenseful and often gripping tale... it's a well-paced read. A timely and often intense page-turner."--Kirkus Reviews

"Papantonio's latest legal thriller crackles with the realism that only a topnotch trial lawyer can provide." --JOSEPH REID, bestselling author of the Seth Walker series

"A propulsive legal thriller, The Middleman reveals the seamy side of the pharmaceutical industry, exposing how murder and intimidation are used to secure monopoly power and drive up prices of lifesaving drugs." --LESLIE ALAN HORVITZ, author of The Dying and Synbio

"In The Middleman, Mike Papantonio has crafted his most compelling legal thriller to date. With sharp prose, familiar, richly drawn characters, and a briskly paced intricate plot ripped from the headlines involving the crisis of Big Pharma's price fixing, Papantonio weaves a riveting tale of corporate greed, murder, missteps, and pure evil." --ROBERTA GATELY, author of Lipstick in Afghanistan, IRC nurse and humanitarian aid worker

"The Middleman by Mike Papantonio is a suspenseful thriller and window into the machinations of Big Pharma and the insider corruption that lies at the heart of the industry." --BEN CRUMP, nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury trial lawyer

About the Author

Mike Papantonio is a senior partner of Levin Papantonio, one of the country's largest plaintiffs' law firms, and was one of the youngest inductees into the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame. He has aggressively taken on Big Pharma, tobacco, weapon manufacturers, and the automobile industry, among other bastions of corporate greed, and uses his own cases as springboards for his novels. Papantonio is also a well-known media presence as host of America's Lawyer and co-host of the syndicated radio show Ring of Fire. He is based in Pensacola, Florida.