The Oath (Dismas Hardy)

For those who are faithful readers of John Lescroart and have developed a "reader relationship" with his two primary characters, Abe Glitsky and Dismas Hardy, THE OATH is a stunner!As usual, Lescroart's plotting, characterization, and dialogue are excellent. However, what sets this book apart from his previous work, is the emotional reactions it creates. Reading THE OATH is very similar to watching two best friends fight and not being able to do anything about it. Glitsky, San Francisco Chief of Homocide, and Hardy, ex-District Attorney turned brilliant defense counsel, are at odds over the guilt or innocence of Dr. Eric Kensing, the prime suspect in the murder of the CEO of a high profile but financially troubled physicians' medical group.Throughout the book, the reader can only passively stand by while Glitsky and Hardy present their points of view and reveal their own personality traits and unique perspectives. Lescroart masterfully introduces and develops several suspects and motives in this complex, multi-layered legal puzzle. However, the concern for both Hardy and Glitsky is never far away. As the suspense and interest build toward the story's climax I was stunned and begging for answers in the final pages. Thankfully Lescroart provided satisfaction, but you'll have to read this highly recommended thriller to find out how.

THE OATH By John LescroartTo the readers who know his work this may be as good as a writer gets. For John Lescroart, that is five stars and superior. His family of characters led by Dismas Hardy, the very human attorney, with characters that include everyone that we have met in his previous books and a lot of new characters good and bad. This takes on a subject that interests all of us, insurance and medical care with a several murders being investigated by Dismas Hardy and Detective Abe Glitsky and team topping it of to keep it interesting. I cannot remember anyone else writing so knowingly about the health circle; HMO Insurance, medical service personal and subcontractors, hospital, and drugs (medicine) both brand name and generic. It's a vicious circle. John Lescroart's research work must have been a tremendous job for this book.He keeps a very large variety of very human characters, by first and last names, police detectives, doctors, managers or directors, nurses, attorney, district attorneys and their office personnel busy--all with the normal frailties of humans. Investigating directors who were negotiating for money and medicine, and controlling a busy group doctors and nurses keeps the book moving at a fast pace. After reading this book you will understand a lot better egotistic doctors, (who were only interested in saving lives, and believed that people should this) when they have time from their rough schedules to stop and answer police's question.Roger Lee

John Lescroart's "The Oath," is the latest in a series of books featuring the San Francisco criminal defense attorney Dismas Hardy. Dis, as he is known to his friends, takes the case of Eric Kensing, a doctor who is suspected in the death of Tim Markham, the head of San Francisco's largest HMO, Parnassus. Kensing had the motive, means and opportunity to kill Markham, who was having an affair with Kensing's wife, and who disagreed with Kensing on how an HMO should be run. Hardy and his best friend, Abe Glitsky, chief of homicide, are soon at loggerheads over the case, and their friendship is strained to the breaking point. The fallout from the Markham case is wide-ranging. The HMO that Markham ran is bleeding cash and is teetering towards bankruptcy. Have the administrators at Parnassus been involved in fiscal mismanagement? If so, could Parnassus's financial woes have some bearing on Markham's death?The case becomes more complex as the investigation proceeds, and Hardy, a happily married man with two kids, strains his family's patience as he spends more and more time investigating on his own. Before the case is solved, Hardy risks his professional reputation and his personal relationships with his wife and with his best friend in his effort to get at the truth.Lescroat does a fine job of balancing many disparate elements in "The Oath." He juggles a host of plot lines, including a series of unexplained deaths in Portola Hospital, where most of the medical action takes place, and the initiation of two rookie cops, who learn that police work is not an easy way to make a living. "The Oath" has a very large cast of characters, and Lescroart develops them well. We get to know a Salvadoran immigrant who watches her child die because of medical mismanagement as well as a greedy administrator who finds a way to make money at the expense of needy patients. As always, Dismas Hardy is a engaging protagonist. He is a model of integrity and a loving husband and father; yet he is willing to risk everything that he has to make sure that justice is served. "The Oath" will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers, since it is a legal, medical and crime thriller all wrapped up in one exciting and entertaining novel.

John Lescroart gets better and better with each book and so do his two main characters, Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky. I could probably read a book about Abe and Dismas mopping a kitchen floor and be entertained, but Lescroart always gives his readers so much more. In this latest installment, we find Dismas, the defense attorney, and Abe, the homicide cop, butting heads as they try to solve the mystery of who killed Parnassus Healthcare CEO, Tim Markham. Unlike other reviewers, I wasn't certain who the killer was until the end of the novel. There were several crimes in the novel, ranging from hit and run to lethal injection to the murder of an entire family. Are these crimes connected? Were these crimes committed by the same person? Following the characters as they try to answer these questions pulls the reader into the action. One of my favorite lines in the book was spoken by hospital administrator, Mike Andreotti, as he explained to Dismas and Abe "that even the lowliest GP has a self-image just a notch below God's". This book addresses ego, greed, and the good and bad sides of healthcare in the United States. Like Clarence Jackman's fortune cookie stated, "Don't get sick", if you can help it.If you've not read the previous nine books in the series, you won't have any trouble following along. If you aren't new to the series, you'll be glad to see old favorites like Pico Morales, David Freeman, Jeff Elliot, and good old Wes Farrell, who I'd worried I might never see again. It was also nice to meet some new folks, like Bracco and Fisk. Lescroart always manages to take a hot topic, like managed health care, and paint an exciting mystery around it, while still presenting characters his readers can enjoy getting to know along the way.

I love legal fiction. This one started slow; I tend to prefer the "hit the ground running" thrillers like those written by a Norm Harris, or a Nelson DeMille, or even some of Grisham's books. But "The Oath" did end strong. So I was eventually satisfied.The opening scene is seen through the eyes of Mrs. Lopez, the worried mother of a sick child. Here John Lescroart makes a strong statement as we see a concerned mother manhandled by a less than caring HMO system. I have long held the opinion that the term "health care" has become an oxymoron.In the next scene a man is killed by a hit and run driver. Enter Lescroart's protagonists Dismas Hardy and his best friend, homicide cop Abe Glitsky.In this story we know whodunit early on. One of the early reviews of this book pointed this out, saying that knowing who the killer is "...cuts down the suspense." It was my understanding that when we know who the antagonist is from the onset of the story, that the story is a thriller. When we do not know who did the deed until the end of the story, then it is a mystery. This is a thriller, so I had no problem with knowing whodunit early on.John Lescroart is a master of characterization and dialogue. From the book: (Luz tried to smile. She couldn't help but worry. Ramiro was no better. In fact, she knew that he was worse. Despite her resolve, a tear broke and rolled over her cheek. She quickly, angrily, wiped it away, but the doctor had seen it. "Are you really so worried?") That's great stuff. If you love legal thrillers, as I do, then you will love this book. Highly recommended. Cammy Diaz, lawyer