Mike Papantonio Unveils Explosive New Legal Thriller "The Middleman"

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA [MARCH 4, 2025] –Renowned trial lawyer and best-selling author Mike Papantonio is pulling back the curtain on one of the pharmaceutical industry’s most shadowy players with the release of his latest legal thriller, The Middleman. The novel delivers a high-stakes drama of whistleblowers, murder, and legal warfare—ripped straight from today’s headlines.

The Middleman is available now at major bookstores and online retailers, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

In The Middleman, readers follow Nicholas Deketomis, a powerhouse attorney taking on Connor Devlin, the ruthless CEO of a pharmaceutical empire. Devlin, a composite of executives Papantonio has encountered in his decades of courtroom battles, is modeled after a different kind of mobster—the kind wearing designer suits and Ivy League credentials.

Papantonio, a Hall of Fame trial lawyer, has made a career out of exposing corporate corruption. He and his firm, Levin Papantonio, have gone head-to-head with nearly every major drug company, securing victories in landmark cases from Fen-Phen to opioids. Now, his legal sights are set on one of Big Pharma’s most insidious players: pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs)—the middlemen of the drug industry.

"The concept of Pharmacy Benefit Managers, or PBMs, is not something most people are familiar with," says Papantonio. "They hear the term but have no idea how much it's interfering with healthcare in America."

PBMs, which determine drug pricing and access, have been widely criticized for skyrocketing prescription costs—particularly for life-saving medications like insulin.

PBMs act as middlemen between drug manufacturers, pharmacies, and insurance companies—controlling which medications are covered and how much they cost. According to Papantonio, PBMs operate like corporate extortionists, taking kickbacks from pharmaceutical companies in exchange for placing their drugs on approved insurance lists. This system artificially inflates drug prices, limiting access to cheaper, equally effective alternatives.

“The PBM is getting paid to set the price and to say to that manufacturer, ‘If you don’t play ball with me, you’re not going to end up on the list,’” Papantonio explains. “It’s basically extortion.”

By manipulating the market for profit, PBMs don’t just drive up prescription costs—they also force independent pharmacies out of business.

"Insulin, which costs pharmaceutical companies $2 to produce, is being sold for $270," Papantonio says. "There are cases where they mark up pharmaceuticals by 5,000%, and people are left making impossible choices—take insulin or buy groceries?"

The Middleman takes this real-world crisis and transforms it into a gripping, action-packed novel that underscores a stark reality: Corporate greed in the pharmaceutical industry isn’t far removed from organized crime.

"I've been handling pharmaceutical cases for 40 years, and every time I walk away from one, I ask myself: What’s the difference here?" Papantonio says. "Why is a company able to sell opioids the same way mobsters sell cocaine—but the drug dealer on the street goes to prison, while the CEO gets rich?"

With The Middleman, Papantonio once again delivers a powerful, fast-paced legal thriller that doesn’t just entertain—it exposes.

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, 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.

Hardcover copies and Kindle versions of The Middleman can be ordered online or purchased in major bookstores across the country. 

Individuals who attend Mass Torts Made Perfect, LP's semi-annual legal conference for mass tort attorneys, can stop by the Levin Papantonio booth to meet the author and get a signed copy of the book, as well as other previously published legal thrillers Papantonio has written. 

Mike Papantonio, a renowned author, is celebrated for his compelling narratives that blend legal expertise with riveting storytelling. Inspired by a prolific career spanning decades as a senior partner at the Levin Papantonio law firm, Papantonio has penned numerous popular legal thrillers, captivating readers with his insightful exploration of legal thrillers and social justice issues:

Besides his growing work of legal thrillers, Papantonio has also penned non-fiction books, particularly those exploring legal and political issues. Some of his notable works include In Search of Atticus Finch: A Motivational Book for Lawyers (1996); Clarence Darrow, the Journeyman (1997); and Resurrecting Aesop: Fables Lawyers Should Remember (2000). These books offer insights into the legal profession and are treated as required reading in some law schools.

Papantonio is also widely known as the founder, former host, and legal commentator of the nationally syndicated radio show "Ring of Fire" (ROF). He is the host of “America’s Lawyer,” a program on ROF’s YouTube channel, which has over 1 million subscribers. On “America’s Lawyer,” Papantonio provides in-depth investigations into major corporate and government corruption.