The 13th Juror

Lescroart is one of the best popular writers out there -- certainly equal to if not better than my those in my short pantheon of writing wizards: Michael Connelly, Crais, Griffen, and a few others. Not only is this a gripping legal procedural, it gives sharp insight into the mind of domestic abusers and abusees. His courtroom dialogs especially are unsurpassed and reek of realism. Lescroart's plots are usually fairly predictible -- he always pulls something out of his sleeve at the end of the story -- and this is no exception. But that does not take away one iota from the enjoyment and excitement of his work. This is one of his best, and I've read them all.

Just started reading the Dismas Hardy character books. I have a hard time putting these books down. They keep you on the edge of your seat, but with a little home/personal life issues involved with Dismas and his family. I plan to read them all.

The 13th Juror was my introduction to John Lescroart and I was pleasantly surprised. The character development was superb and the suspense of whether Jennifer actually committed the crimes left me wondering right up to the end. I can honestly say, I had a hard time putting this book down. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a suspenseful thriller!

Lescroart writes and plots with amazing precision and clarity. Others have gone into detail about content, so let me just say that once I finished reading The 13th Juror I jumped right into A Certain Justice (don't start that one before going to bed) and now The Hearing. I'll be reading everything John Lescroart has written or will write. Although there are multiple threads in each book, Lescroart does not ever leave the reader at loose ends. The settings are described in enough detail to bring them alive, but without excess. Characters are strong -- maybe not "larger than life," but some of them about as large as life gets. And he carefully researches the details.Enough. Buy his books. Read them. If you like legal/crime/suspense you will be pleased.

My boss was reading this book and I picked it up one day out of curiosity (she had been talking about how good it was). I read the first page, then the second, and the next thing I knew I had read the entire prologue. Very compelling and chilling - in those few pages, Lescroart delves into the mind of a battered woman and gives real insight into her psyche. Here and throughout the book, he answers the often-asked naive question "Why doesn't she just leave him?" I then bought my own copy of the book (my boss had passed her copy on to her husband). Lescroart takes his time and carefully constructs his characters; the drama builds steadily as the murder trial looms and Hardy tries to convince his client to help herself. When the trial begins, the story starts to race as new evidence comes to light and the plot takes some wild turns (the analogy of a roller coaster comes to mind - trite, but true). This is more than a simple courtroom drama or whodunit - Lescroart really gets into what makes his characters who they are and why they do what they do. I actually found myself forgetting to try to figure out who the killer really was (although until the climax of the book there remains a shadow of a doubt as to whether the wife really did it or not - she's not exactly a warm, lovable gal and she certainly had plenty of reasons to off the guy). This is an intricate, multi-layered story that goes way beyond the basics - there's a lot more to it than the central theme of justice prevailing over injustice. Lescroart explores the grey areas of ethics and morality as his characters interact and their own stories intertwine. This is a fascinating and engrossing book.