Crime

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.

( )

Another Dismas Hardy - Abe Glitsky legal thriller. Or legal mystery, more like. Hardy is the lawyer, Glitsky the police detective - now assistant to the chief or something like that. The case that engages them begins as an apparent murder-suicide, to which neither is called.

Prominent lawyer Paul Hanover and presumably his fiance are found, burned beyond recognition in Hanover's house in San Francisco. Each has a bullet wound in the head, with the placement suggesting that Hanover did his fiance and then himself.

Glitsky is called to the mayor's office, where she specifically requests that he involve himself in solving the case. The lead detective, Cuneo, is unfortunately a detective with a grudge against the Hardy-Glitsky duo and suspicions of conspiracy between them, based on a previous incident. Cuneo is thus not particularly cooperative with Glitsky. Meanwhile, when his investigation begins to focus on Catherine Hanover, daughter-in-law of Paul, Catherine calls in Hardy. Turns out she and Hardy had a past.

Glitsky continues to investigate even after Cuneo has zeroed in on Catherine, but he does so with some difficulty: he does not wish to antagonize the detective and he finds it difficult to justify his actions at this point. It is only later that he starts to look further into persons who were neglected initially. Both he and Hardy find it hard to believe that Catherine is guilty, and yet their feelings don't exactly constitute any kind of evidence. More, neither really knows her that well at this stage of her life. She could be guilty.

This tale takes quite a meandering path to its eventual conclusion. And the motive is far afield from any originally considered. ( )

14 hrs and 38 mins

This is a great mystery story. Although there are enough hints to anticipate the big surprise, it didn't detract from wanting to find out who and why! Readers new to the series are likely to get bored with all the details of the Hardy and Glitsky families, but if, as I do, I find their relationships and histories interesting and realistic, you won't mind. Further, the characters age and change, so it is best to read most of this series in sequence.
Colacci does his usual excellent work as narrator. Highly recommended. ( )

I did not realize this was Book 11 in a series. And after reading it, I still couldn't really tell. Just vague hints of the past and the future.

I guess if you like murder thrillers with large dashes of legality thrown in, this is for you.

I just read it because I needed a dtb for when my ereader was down. Outside of my genre to boot. Not a waste of time, but will not be seeking out more by the author. ( )