THE MISSING PIECE

4 stars out of 5

I came to the Dismas Hardy party late, reading my first book in the now 19-book series in 2018. Since then, I haven't missed a one - and like the others, this one was thoroughly enjoyable and once again made me eager to read more.

As this one opens, Wes Farrell, former San Francisco District Attorney who now on the defense side at Hardy's firm, is thinking about quitting - he's tired, he says, of defending people he thinks are guilty. One of those he helped put in jail as a prosecutor, Paul Riley, has just been released from jail after being found guilty of murder - one of many cases taken up by a group called the Exoneration Initiative. The group works to find legal snafus that indicate their clients were wrongfully convicted.

Riley, though, doesn't waste much time trying to keep his nose clean; perhaps as a result, not long after his release, somebody shoots him dead. The culprit, the investigating officers are certain after hearing from a witness to the crime, is the father of the girl Riley was convicted of raping and killing - a man who many times threatened to kill Riley if he ever got the chance. Back at the law office, Farrell agrees to defend the father, Doug Rush, whom he thinks did, in fact, do the deed. Not long thereafter, Rush skips bail and runs - and Farrell asks Abe Glitsky, Hardy's former police partner who's now a private detective mostly working for Hardy's firm, to track him down.

From that point on, the trail becomes a winding road with several turnoffs, at least one of which becomes a dead end (pun intended). Throw in a timely issue like police brutality, and you've got another well-written book in this entertaining series. My only complaint? The series namesake is noticeably absent throughout most of this story, so I'm hoping he gets to play a bigger role next time out. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

The Missing Piece by John Lescroart (Atria Books, November 2021); 304 pp.

THE RULE OF LAW

4 stars out of 5

In the years I've been posting book reviews online, I've read just two of the author's 18 books featuring attorney Dismas Hardy: "Poison" last year, and "Fatal" in 2017 - and loved them both. This one's very good as well, but I have to say I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the other two. I suspect it's because, as the author notes in the acknowledgements, his intent was to "tie up" loose ends from past books rather than conjure up new plots. And while I had no problem following what was happening even though some of those ends didn't ring any familiarity bells for me (another way of saying this book stands alone well), the parts related to years-earlier events just didn't seem quite as interesting to me than the current goings-on.

On the other hand, the whole gang is back together (well, except for a couple who bit the dust in previous happenings) and Dismas is trying to put the old law firm back together again. On the other side of the fence is new District Attorney, one who clearly has a beef with Dismas and his crew. Noteworthy to me, by the way, is that readers learn early on who the bad guys and gals are and what they've done - then they get to follow along as the Hardy boys and girls figure out what's going on. 

At the beginning, the firm's longtime, ultra-loyal secretary, Phyllis McGowan, suddenly takes off work for several days with no explanation. When she returns, she remains tight-lipped - until, out of the blue, the police rush through the door with a warrant for her arrest in connection with the murder of a man who had made a nice living smuggling women into the United States. Needless to say, Dismas becomes her attorney of record, and he quickly learns there's much more to his secretary (and her just-out-of-prison brother) than he ever thought possible.

Making an example out of Dismas's secretary, though, is only the tip of the iceberg for the new D.A., who is determined to dig up dirt on that years-earlier case that will take down Dismas and his law partners once and for all. The ending didn't come as a total surprise to me, but it did wrap things up and clear the decks for a whole new chapter to begin next time around.

And to be sure, I'm eager to read it. Meantime, many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this one. Good job!

The Rule of Law by John Lescroart (Atria Books, January 2019); 337 pp.

POISON

5 stars out of 5

Getting shot ain't a walk in the park; and the last time it happened to defense attorney Dismas Hardy, two bullets nearly cost him his life. So now - a year later - he's still recovering and seriously contemplating at least a partial retirement. But everyone knows what happens to best-laid plans - and hopefully for better, not worse, he finds himself trying to defend former client Abby Jarvis. Turns out she's been charged with the murder of her boss, a highly successful owner of a closely held family business. Abby was the man's bookkeeper, hired not long after she got out of jail (a shorter-than-expected stint thanks to Dismas' defense). This time, it's claimed that she was embezzling substantial funds from the company; in part because of her prior record, the police believe her boss caught her in the act and she retaliated by putting a deadly poison in his ever-present tea.

The company will continue under the leadership of the "G Team" - owner Grant Wagner's children, whose names all begin with that letter. But as the investigation proceeds, aided by Dismas' loyal private investigator, Wyatt Hunt, it comes to light that relationships among the dead guy's kids may be less than harmonious. In fact, it can be argued that each of them has reason to get rid of daddy dearest. But the question is, did one of them do the deed? And can Dismas and Wyatt get to the truth before someone else gets hurt (perhaps even Dismas or his grown son, Vincent, who has ties to at least a couple of the suspects)?

I do love this character - this is his 17th appearance - what's not to like about a guy who, when it comes to technology calls himself an "old fart?" That he reads books by another of my favorite authors, C.J. Box, endears him to me even more. And while he may be trying to wind down, he's still "got it" in my book - with the action constant from beginning to end. I won't say that the whodunit came as a big surprise - in fact, I guessed it fairly early on - but that didn't diminish my enjoyment a whit. It's a terrific book, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Poison by John Lescroart (Atria Books, February 2018); 304 pp.