Thank you to NetGalley, Lew Paper, and Level Best Books for the eARC. This historical thriller masterfully weaves together political intrigue and mobster drama, delivering a gripping narrative that will keep you turning pages late into the night. Fast-paced and truly thrilling, it’s a compelling read from start to finish.

Thank you to Level Best books via Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Sam silver is a former FBI agent turned Private Investigator he is asked to follow and report back the movements of Jimmy Hoffa. When Jimmy Hoffa goes missing Sam reports to his contact and is told don’t worry go home. Months later Sam dies in a boating accident. 10 years later his son Max gets a letter from Sam that was given to a lawyer for safe keeping explaining his involvement in following Jimmy Hoffa. Max decides to investigate on his own with some not so good consequences from the Mafia who not only don’t want him snooping around, but are looking for Sam’s info he had taken that day.

The book is a mixture of fiction and historical fact it has moments of being slow mostly during the fact portion as it can be a little too much going on that you kind of just want to get back to Max and Sam’s storylines. It almost doesn’t blend well into one whole story. Overall, I liked the book and had been wanting to read it since I saw the description and am glad I did.

If you love History and Mafia content plus a fiction reader this is definitely the book for you.

This historical mystery, based around the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, captured me from the beginning. At times, I thought there was perhaps little too much background information, and that it interrupted the flow of the story, but in the end, it all just fleshed out the entire narrative and helped put all the pieces together. If you are into Mafia stories, you will surely enjoy this novel. I had a hard time putting it down.

"Legacy of Lies" by Lew Paper is a compelling historical narrative that artfully weaves together multiple timelines to unveil the intricate tapestry of the mafia and deception. This gripping novel takes readers on a thrilling journey through time, unraveling secrets that have the power to change history.

Lew Paper’s meticulous research shines through in his vivid depiction of key historical events and figures. His ability to transport readers to different eras while maintaining a cohesive storyline is truly commendable. The characters are well-developed and the transitions between timelines are seamless, keeping the reader engaged throughout.

One of the standout elements of "Legacy of Lies" is its ability to maintain suspense across various timelines. The plot twists are cleverly executed, providing an unexpected but satisfying conclusion. The multi-layered narrative invites readers to piece together clues, making it an interactive reading experience.

It's hard to believe that someone as prominent a figure as Jimmy Hoffa could disappear and 50 years later, his story is still incomplete. Lew Paper’s Legacy of Lies is a fictional dual-timeline historical suspense, building on facts, clues and rumors to give readers an excellent story. Paper packs alot of information into the book, but the story he tells would be a great read even if it was entirely fictional. I'm just sayin'.

Told in multi POV and multi timelines, the story could have been confusing, but Paper introduces us to Sam Silver and his son Max, and the rest is history. Sam Silver is an ex-FBI agent who was good at his job, but loved his son. So he quit the FBI and started his own PI company. It's 1975 and he's been hired to follow Jimmy Hoffa. He sees Hoffa get into a vehicle with some people he recognizes, but he also recognizes that if he comes forward with information on Hoffa's disappearance, he'll be killed as collateral damage. One year later, Silver dies in an explosion. Hmmmmm.
10 years later, Max receives a letter from his father's lawyer. His father left him information to be given to him after 10 years. Hmmmmm x2

At this point, the story takes off, the tension ratchets up and readers are left trying to figure out Max's next move. Don't forget that Paper used facts, clues and rumors to build this book. It's up to readers to figure out which he's using when Max follows his father's trail. 5 easy stars and I definitely want to read more of this author's work.

Lew Paper's captivating new novel Legacy of Lies, is about a young lawyer named Max and his search for the motive of his father's untimely death on the Chesapeake Bay. Clues imply his Dad (a former FBI agent turned private investigator) was the last person to witness Jimmy Hoffa before his demise. However, after an FBI agent is murdered and threats to Max and his girlfriend escalate, the reader will not be able to stop reading.

This is a well-researched historical fiction novel with thriller-like aspects. "What If" type books intrigue me so I was already interested in this book just from reading the description. I found the book's premise so interesting, and I gladly journeyed down the rabbit hole of "what-ifs" right along with the author. There was enough research to make alternate scenarios thought-provoking and believable. Very entertaining.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

I had a hard time getting into this book. I think there were some pacing issues. I really enjoyed the true life elements that were woven into this work of fiction. I thought that was done really well. Ultimately, I am not sure that this was a great fit for him. I think if you like a slower paced historical thriller you will enjoy this.
Thank you to NetGally and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Interesting idea and well executed. Excellent use of multiple POVs. Grabbed me from the start. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Another take on the mystery of Jimmy Hoffa which sees Max, in the 1980s, trying to find the truth about the death of his father Sam in the 1970s. Sam, an FBI agent turned PI, saw the kidnapping of Hoffa and out of fear of retribution did not speak up but then he died anyway-was he murdered? Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is a bit muddled but fans of historical mysteries might want to give it a try.

I really wanted to like this book, but I struggled to get into it. The mystery surrounding Jimmy Hoffa initially drew me in, as it's such a fascinating historical event. However, I found it difficult to connect with the writing style and the way the story unfolded. The pacing felt slow at times, making it hard to stay engaged. While the details about Hoffa’s disappearance were intriguing, the narrative didn’t hold my attention the way I had hoped. I kept waiting for a moment that would fully pull me in, but it never quite happened. Ultimately, it just wasn’t the right fit for me.

I really enjoy historical fiction novels and this one even had some thriller elements. The author took a lot of time researching and it gave a lot of background knowledge, which added to the storyline. I did feel like there was a lot of fluff and it dragged on, which made it feel hard to get through at times.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for giving me an ARC in return for my honest review!

i am a fan of true crime so as soon as i heard of this book, I knew I had to read it. i want to know what happened to Jimmy Hoffa and this was a fun fiction story to explain what happened. We will probably never know the truth but this was fun to read and imagine if it was true.

Intrigue and Mafia stories go hand in hand. And this does not disappoint!

Lawyer, Max Silver's father, Sam, passed away in a boating accident not long after Max left for college. Sam was a retired FBI agent turned PI, who was tasked to follow the ever-notorious Jimmy Hoffa in the time shortly before and until his disappearance. And it turns out that he was one of the last people to have seen Hoffa alive.

Ten years after Sam's passing, his lawyer reaches out to Max to deliver a letter per his dad's instructions. All it does is create more questions for Max, and makes him wonder if his dad's boating accident was actually foul play and perhaps mafia related. Max just can't leave it alone, but what will peeling this particular onion cost him?

Dual time-lines are well done, though this book starts with SO many characters and mafia-type terminology. I think a print copy would be helpful if only for the legend of sorts in the first pages. These events predate me, and it was super interesting to read even though it was fiction. I did have one of the "bad guys" figured out before the end, but not much before. Definitely no absence of twists and turns, and I was mostly kept guessing!



Thanks to NetGalley, Level Best Books and Lew Paper for the eARC.

Pub Date Mar 18 2025
#LegacyofLies #NetGalley

I love Historical Fiction, Mysteries, and Thrillers, and this was billed as a "Historical Thriller" and was about a part of history I lived through but was too young to pay attention to, so my curiosity was piqued. It has a dual timeline going back and forth between the early 70's (with a few dips into earlier history) and and the mid-80's. A young man (Max) is trying to figure out how his father died. The father (Sam) was a former FBI agent who opened his own investigative agency after leaving the Bureau. Sam had been asked to follow Jimmy Hoffa and was one of the last people to see him alive on the day he disappeared.
This was slow to get going and remained slow in the middle. There was a lot of "telling" vs. "showing" and some clunky dialogue. Max comes across as unbelievably naive. In the final 1/4 of the book, the pacing finally picks up, but I would not call this a thriller. Historical mystery would be a more apt description. That said, I did find it interesting once I set my expectations aside.

I loved the concept, love the historical point. I did find it hard to read. I had a hard time getting into and staying with the story. .

Max Silver has a lot going on with the 10 year anniversary of his father's death when he receives a letter left by his father. Max seeks answers to his father's death and stirs up quite the hornets nest. Follow Max as he untangles a few long ago mysteries and disappearances.
It took me a bit to get into the characters and storyline but once I was engaged, I didn't want to put it down.

Had a hard time trying to read this book and connect to it, had to re read several pages trying to understand what I had just read. I do not recommend this book to anyone, and will not be reading anything from this author again.

This was an interesting read, but honestly difficult to follow. It felt somewhat all over the place, and I had a difficult time keeping track, but it could’ve also been the grammar used. I found myself trying to reread several parts, and/or searching names to try and keep up with it all. Overall though, it wasn’t a bad read at all, it could just use a little adjusting is all.

I was intrigued by the concept here unfortunately the execution left a little to be desired... It idn't help that my digital file contained several lines of run-on text with no spaces every couple of pages, which made the somewhat dry and convoluted story even more difficult to read.