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hayleybeale's review against another edition
3.0
When I first moved to San Francisco from the UK and didnt have a job, I spent a lot of time reading mysteries and thrillers set in San Francisco. One of my favorite authors was John Lestroat as his police/legal thrillers had such an authentic feel of place. 20 years after I drifted out of this phase, I found one of Mr Lescroart’s newer novels in a holiday home and buried my nose in it. It was a satisfying, if undemanding, read and still retains a nice sense of San Francisco - I’m not sure why but I always get quite a thrill to be able to picture exactly a location that’s referred to in a book.
The book features Lescroart’s long time protagonists, Abe Glitsky (cop) and Dismas Hardy (lawyer) and revolves around a double murder and arson in a fancy Alamo Square house. The plot is solid if a bit slow with the requisite number of twists and red herrings.
This was ideal for a holiday read and, though about halfway through I did find myself thinking that I could have spent my reading time more wisely, I plugged on to the end for the simple desire to know what happens.
The book features Lescroart’s long time protagonists, Abe Glitsky (cop) and Dismas Hardy (lawyer) and revolves around a double murder and arson in a fancy Alamo Square house. The plot is solid if a bit slow with the requisite number of twists and red herrings.
This was ideal for a holiday read and, though about halfway through I did find myself thinking that I could have spent my reading time more wisely, I plugged on to the end for the simple desire to know what happens.
monicamjw's review against another edition
4.0
Another good Hardy/Glitsky pairing against the great backdrop of my hometown.
whaney's review against another edition
4.0
enjoyable. Always love the Dismas hardy books. This one I figured out what was going on well before the characters, but still kept it interesting.
iniye's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
asteroidbuckle's review against another edition
2.0
I have read every Dismas Hardy/Abe Glitsky book of Lescroart's and love them, but sometimes even the heroes should NOT come out on top.
I enjoyed much of this book, but was very disappointed with a lot of it. Of course, the poor defendant is completely innocent, right? Of course, the detective who has a grudge against the heroes completely f**ks up the case and is proven to be the inept cop that Hardy & Glitsky want him to be. Of course, one of the victims isn't really who they're supposed to be and of course, Glitsky gets to the truth.
I think the biggest problem I had is that there is just too much going on. Did I mention that the defendant was Hardy's first love? That Glitsky's wife has a baby who is born with a hole in his heart? That the "bad cop" detective who's "out to get" the "good guys" has borderline ADD and hits on the defendant, which is then of course used against him at the trial? Oh, and don't forget that there's someone from the Witness Protection Program and a far-fetched story involving Islamic terrorist cells in Algeria...
All in all, a decent read, but Lescroart has written much better.
I enjoyed much of this book, but was very disappointed with a lot of it. Of course, the poor defendant is completely innocent, right? Of course, the detective who has a grudge against the heroes completely f**ks up the case and is proven to be the inept cop that Hardy & Glitsky want him to be. Of course, one of the victims isn't really who they're supposed to be and of course, Glitsky gets to the truth.
I think the biggest problem I had is that there is just too much going on. Did I mention that the defendant was Hardy's first love? That Glitsky's wife has a baby who is born with a hole in his heart? That the "bad cop" detective who's "out to get" the "good guys" has borderline ADD and hits on the defendant, which is then of course used against him at the trial? Oh, and don't forget that there's someone from the Witness Protection Program and a far-fetched story involving Islamic terrorist cells in Algeria...
All in all, a decent read, but Lescroart has written much better.
martyfried's review against another edition
4.0
4 1/2 stars.
This series by John Lescroart is one of my favorites of this type of book. A lot going on, situations that look hopeless and then get worse, but lots of humor that I like, especially between Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky. I think it gets better after reading other books in the series, as some of the jokes or pranks are sort of inside jokes.
In this one, Hardy's client (his high school girlfriend) has been in jail for a double murder with special circumstances for close to a year, and it's not looking good. The victims were shot, then burned beyond recognition, but are positively identified as the owner of the house, a rich lawyer, and his fiance.
The investigators are against her, and therefore they can influence witnesses - after all, if she was arrested, she must be guilty, right? The neighbors, with a little prodding, identify her as the woman they saw leaving the house right before the fire, and gasoline was found in her trunk matching the signature of the gas used to start the fire. Not looking good, and getting worse.
In fact, the investigators are coming down on Hardy, Glitsky, and their friend the mayor, too, and are still looking into a conspiracy from an earlier book where the good guys actually did have a shootout with the police (bad ones) who were threatening them. Nobody really knows what happened, but Hardy and Glitsky do not want anyone opening up that case.
Throughout the story, one of the victims is unusual in that nothing is known about her. She was going to marry the other victim, and of course his ex-wife and kids are all worried that he is going to give all his money to her, not them, so they all have motives, and a few don't have good alibis.
The client may have an alibi, but she lied about where she was because she didn't want her kids to know she was looking into an affair her husband seemed to be having. So, since she lied, it looks bad for her.
This series by John Lescroart is one of my favorites of this type of book. A lot going on, situations that look hopeless and then get worse, but lots of humor that I like, especially between Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky. I think it gets better after reading other books in the series, as some of the jokes or pranks are sort of inside jokes.
In this one, Hardy's client (his high school girlfriend) has been in jail for a double murder with special circumstances for close to a year, and it's not looking good. The victims were shot, then burned beyond recognition, but are positively identified as the owner of the house, a rich lawyer, and his fiance.
The investigators are against her, and therefore they can influence witnesses - after all, if she was arrested, she must be guilty, right? The neighbors, with a little prodding, identify her as the woman they saw leaving the house right before the fire, and gasoline was found in her trunk matching the signature of the gas used to start the fire. Not looking good, and getting worse.
In fact, the investigators are coming down on Hardy, Glitsky, and their friend the mayor, too, and are still looking into a conspiracy from an earlier book where the good guys actually did have a shootout with the police (bad ones) who were threatening them. Nobody really knows what happened, but Hardy and Glitsky do not want anyone opening up that case.
Throughout the story, one of the victims is unusual in that nothing is known about her. She was going to marry the other victim, and of course his ex-wife and kids are all worried that he is going to give all his money to her, not them, so they all have motives, and a few don't have good alibis.
The client may have an alibi, but she lied about where she was because she didn't want her kids to know she was looking into an affair her husband seemed to be having. So, since she lied, it looks bad for her.
lseufer's review against another edition
Not a too sophisticated plot, but the human interaction between the characters makes it a good read.
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