The Hearing (Dismas Hardy)

Dismas Hardy is back with his ideals intact, his marriage strong, his defense practice going well, and he is a thoroughly likable main character in a series of good legal thrillers. Also back is Abe Glitsky, the tough cop who is Dismas' best friend. In "The Hearing" Abe has a problem and Dismas has to help solve the case as he defends a drug addict with few redeaming qualties who has supposedly killed Elaine Wager. Elaine was perceived to have been a leading member of the black legal community with a good reputation. One of her secrets was that Abe Glitsky was her father. Abe had learned the truth before Elaine's murder, but had not confronted her with it, and after she was killed, he went after the first suspect with a vengence. He refused to allow the suspect medical attention as he was going through herion withdrawl and gave the go ahead for a strenuous interrogation resulting in a "confession." The suspect, Cole Burgess, looks like a promising candidate especially since he was found near the body and had her money and jewelry on his person. Cole's mother is the only one who really cares any longer about what happens to him.Dismas Hardy is the reluctant defense attorney brought in by Cole's mother. As the story continues, a web of political corruption unfolds within the DA's office and the police department. Elaine Wager's own life was not what it had seemed to be, but as she began to investigate some of the corruption she found, she was trying to made amends when she was murdered. Elaine's personal assistant, Treya Ghent, is an interesting new character in this series who adds another dimension to the life of Abe Glitsky. This author has successfully brought his characters through his books as they have become old friends and acquaintances to those of us who read everything Lescroart writes.

I've read every one of John Lescroart's novels and he has never disppointed me. His characters are vivid and real and he is a master plotter. Why he is not an automatic best-seller author is beyond me, he is so much better than some of the authors who are always on the list. "The Hearing" is complex, satisfyingly long and very well plotted, typically Lescroart. Dismas Hardy, Abe Glitzky and all the usual characters are finely drawn and you feel you would recognize them if you met them on the street. This author is one of my very favorites, and I always look forward to a new book by Lescroart.

High-ranking police officers often receive calls to come to a crime scene in the middle of the night as just happened to San Francisco's Lieutenant Abraham Glitsky. Someone killed attorney Elaine Wager, a candidate for a judgeship, but this trip is personal as Elaine is Abraham's illegitimate daughter, a fact she never knew. He informs his staff that he expects them to "sweat" a confession from Cole Burgess, a two-bit junkie. They succeed and book Cole for first-degree murder. Cole's sister hires Dismas Hardy to at least obtain drug treatment so he does not linger in a cell going cold turkey. He agrees to handle that, but nothing more until the ambitious DA decides to use Cole to further her political ambitions by seeking the death penalty. Dismas takes on the role of defense attorney because he begins to have doubts that Cole is the killer. THE HEARING is one of the year's best legal thrillers as it entertains and shocks in a believable manner. John Lescroart masterly creates characters that are hard on the outside, but contain a soft spot inside their gut. The well-designed story line uses the motivations of the cast to propel the action forward, especially the humorous duels between Dismas and Glitsky. A great storyteller tells quite a story.Harriet Klausner

In this latest of the Dismas Hardy novels, John Lescroart shows that he is more than up to the challenge of continuing series. He brings back Hardy and Glitsky and a wealth of other characters. In past books he has tended to focus on Hardy or Glitsky as the main charater, but in this outing he gives them equal billing which provides for a nice balance. All of the secondary characters are eqully well developed and Lescroart keeps enough twists and turns going in the plot to keep this book from becoming predictable. Lescroart is by far my favorite author of this genre and with this book out does himself. While many authors would turn to formula and coast through a story this far into a series, Lescroart never lets down. We find out more about Hardy and Glitsk's kids and once again David Freeman is back with a solid contribution. On top of the characterizations there is a very well developed legal story here. Once again Lescroart goes outside the norm and has the bulk of the legal story take place during the preliminary hearing, another neat trick. An excellant extension of the Hardy saga and well recommended.

Fast-paced, with interesting and well-developed characters, The Hearing works on every level. The pace and flow of the buildup is deftly handled - we're along for a measured and suspenseful ride. A little thing which I liked a lot was Lescroart's choices of his character's names. By choosing uncommon, slightly quirky names or names with unusual spellings - Sharron Pratt, Dismas Hardy, Abe Glitsky, Dash Logan are examples - we're able to more easily keep track of the rich cast of characters. The Hearing is worth a look.