Lest you burn out before the next three posts, I must warn you that I've been catching up on my Lescroart reading. Yes, three in a row. Perhaps that makes me a card-holding member of the fan club?A Plague of Secrets invites us back into the office of Dismas Hardy, criminal attorney, who is retained to defend a rather prominent woman in the community. A woman with ties to high ranking San Francisco city officials and, of course, a woman who is married into $$$. Needless to say, our suspect is surrounded by righteous suspicion, resulting in the ever-present conflict between Hardy and his best friend and chief homicide inspector, Abe Glitsky. Our suspect, of course, is her own worst enemy ... as they tend to be.I may now have exhausted all of Lescroart's publications and will venture outside of his wonderfully crafted world to explore other works. I leave you for now, however, with reviews of three recently devoured novels and encourage you to slip into your sweats, curl up with your favorite beverage, and escape the grind of everyday routine with a group of San Franciscans who will not disappoint.
Another foray back to my comfort zone. The Hunter features another of Lescroart's characters, Wyatt Hunt, private investigator, who also (of course) got his start in the Dismas Hardy novels. I believe the first novel to feature Wyatt as the main character is The Hunt Club - another great read - so this wasn't a new adventure, per se.Lescroart does not disappoint. I'm two novels deep into the Wyatt Hunt spin-off and one into the Abe Glitsky spin-off, and both of these characters have been so well-developed that they can carry their own series. I haven't seen that of many authors, including the infamous Patricia Cornwell, who for many years was my absolute favorite writer.Clearly, I've found time to read again, which is pleasure enough in and of itself. Returning to Lescroart is simply icing on the cake.
Ah, the comforts of returning to one's favorite author! I've been reading Lescroart for years, and am completely and totally hooked on his lead character, defense attorney Dismas Hardy. This, however, is the first book I've read that featured chief homicide inspector Abe Glitsky (Hardy's best friend) front and center.I loved it.Glitsky is a tough, no-nonsense, hard-as-nails C-O-P. He does his job, and he does the right thing, every time, because it's the honorable thing to do. This book reveals a personal struggle when Glitsky's young son falls victim to a hit-and-run, amidst the usual angst of navigating a high-profile, difficult homicide investigation. Someone needs to pick up the rights to Lescroart's writings. These are characters I'd love to see on the big screen. That said, of course, I know I'd be highly disappointed with the typical film adaptation of such wonderfully written books with such lively and well developed characters. If you haven't flipped the pages (or e-screens) of a Lescroart novel, you are sorely behind and missing out on some of the best crime-thriller fiction on the market.
The Perfect Woman was my debut foray into the world of e-readers, having received a Kindle Wi-Fi for Christmas last year. I'm ashamed to report that I'm only now (it is June, is it not?) reporting on the book.A rather interesting story, in which a socially awkward man, who still lives at home with his ailing mother, is in search of the perfect woman. Perfection is defined as a specific height, weight, coloring, etc., which fit his "scientific experiment." The woman must have scientific value in order to become entangled in the twisted web woven by our sociopathic main character.Overall, it was an interesting and well-written novel, if not a bit on the predictable side. Would I read it again? Yes. Will it win a Pulitzer? Most likely not.As for the e-reader, I reluctantly admit that it has a place in my literary world. Make no mistake: it is not a book. I can't smell the ink or turn the individual page. I can't dog-ear a specific passage for easy location later (yes, I can "e"-bookmark passages). What I can do is compact an entire library of reading material into a very small space. Books tend to be less expensive in e-form, but not all reading material is yet available in this format. No doubt, it's only a matter of time. The biggest limitation, in my opinion, is that I have to wait until I'm at 10,000 feet or above to turn the reader on in an airplane, which seems to be the only time I find to read these days. Thus, I find myself carrying a traditional book with me when traveling to maximize the time I can escape between the pages.
I am so ashamed to admit that I started this books weeks ago, on vacation, in fact, reading a page or two in the wee morning hours, only to be distracted with a few remodel jobs upon our return home. I finally picked it up again and have flown through the remaining pages.
Mickey Haller is a colorful guy. Twice-divorced, with an ex-wife prosecutor and an ex-wife receptionist/legal assistant/girl-Friday, his personal life is no less interesting than his professional one. As a defense attorney, he's seen his share of scumbag clients. The Lincoln Lawyer chronicles his defense of a high-rolling real estate broker accused of attempted murder of a prostitute. It also brings him face-to-face with his greatest fear: an innocent client - though these two issues may or may not be one and the same.
Connelly has penned one of the most intriguing novels I've read in a long time. Many thrillers out today are relatively predictable; I did not, however, see all the twists and turns coming in the pages of The Lincoln Lawyer. Pick it up today and enjoy the ride.
Cheaters beware! Anne is on the loose. Having accidently walked in on her father and another woman, young Anne found herself abandoned along the side of the road in the middle of a snowstorm (yes, it's that far-fetched). She was found clinging to a fencepost, severely frostbitten, a few days later. No one ever responded to the media reports to claim this lost little girl.
To say Anne grew up with "issues" is an understatement. It's clear where Anne's issues stem from, but she is very good at hiding her hatred for men from those around her. In fact, she is well versed in the art of luring men away from their wives for illicit rendezvous in order to wreak her revenge on the cheaters of the world.
Overall, The Cheater was easy enough to read. The main characters were strong enough, but the supporting cast were a bit underdeveloped. It's worth checking out from the library, but not necessarily worth paying full price for at the book store.
Then again, perhaps Anne can give you a tip or two on taking out the trash . . .
Thanks to AJ and Dave for introducing me to Michael Connelly. Last week I had the pleasure of meeting defense attorney Mickey Haller as he returned from a post-rehab 1-year sabbatical. His plans of returning to defense work a little at a time were shattered by the discovery that collegue Jerry Vincent had died - been murdered, actually, leaving his 31 open cases to Haller.
The big case is that of Walter Elliott, who is accused of shooting down his wife and her German lover. The trial is set for 2 weeks out, and Elliott is adamant that there will be no continuance. In order to keep the case, Haller, his case manager Lorna (also his ex-wife), and his investigator Cisco, take the plunge and prepare for trial. Little did they know that this case would lead them into the world of jury tampering, a corrupt judge, and an ongoing FBI investigation.
Did I mention that Haller owns a fleet of Lincoln Town Cars and works out of the backseat? Gotta hand it to him - the guy's got character. If you're into legal thrillers, you should check this one out.
Have I told ya lately how much I adore Lescroart and his famous character, Dismas Hardy? I haven't read any of Lescroart's works in +/- a year, so this book was, in many ways, like coming home. That said, this novel varied from the author's typical structure.
Evan Scholler is an Army driver assigned to Kuwait. He and his men, however, get rerouted during transport and end up serving civilian Ron Nolan, who works for Allstrong Security. Nolan is all about the untraceable cash payments and will do any job to earn them, including assassinations. Eventually a bad situation goes worse, with Nolan's bad judgment bringing heavy fire down upon Evan and his men, with Evan ending up at Walter Reed with a very serious head injury. Being our hero, however, he does eventually make a full (and somewhat miraculous) recovery.
Every great book has to have a romantic interest, and Tara Wheatley is Evan's. And Ron's. This, in addition to all the hostility brewing between the men from their time in Iraq, eventually culminates in a vicious attack which leaves one man dead, the other on trial for his life. Enter defense attorney Dismas Hardy.
Absolutely worth reading, though true Lescroart fans will miss their beloved Dismas throughout a hefty portion of the novel.
S
andra Brown has talent. She can craft a legal thriller with a strong romantic subplot that remains central to the overall story without crossing into the forefront. Standoff, however, was a little different. The entire novel read more like something from the teen genre than a true legal thriller.
Reporter Tiel McCoy ends up a hostage in a small town convenience store robbery. The perpetrators are a runaway, pregnant teenage couple. Naturally, the girl goes into labor in the middle of the heist, and the young father finds himself stressed out with events beyond his control. Conveniently, another of the hostages happens to be a former oncologist.
Both local authorities and the FBI become involved in the hostage negotiation and, of course, McCoy's news station maneuvers its way into the exclusive play-by-play. I won't spoil the ending except to say that a second love story develops among the hostages.
Brown writes very well, which happens to be this book's saving grace. The story itself becomes entirely too predictable and unrealistic. This is Brown's first attempt at real time writing, meaning that the entire course of events takes place during the length of time taken to write the book. In this case, that's about 8 to 10 hours, which could account for the lack of depth and development required to make it an absolute page-turner.
I hate to say this about a Sandra Brown novel, but overall, this is another take-it-or-leave-it book.
This is second Patterson book I've read, the first being 4th of July. It is the story of a former FBI agent who left the field for a quieter life in private practice as a psychologist. He is now being pursued by two psychotics, one of which is a former federal agent as well, and someone that Detective Alex Cross helped put away. It was a steady read, but I felt it never reached any true crescendo of suspense. Even the twists and turns didn't keep me from setting the book aside to do laundry or play with the dog.
Ultimately, the book isn't a complete disappointment, but the characters lacked the depth and definition required to snare my full attention.
I haven't read much of Grisham's work in the past few years. While he is a very talented writer with a smooth command of the English language, my original intent was to cast a negative spin on this blog entry. In retrospect, I felt that wasn't fair or objective. Taking a step back in time (the memory is a dangerous thing!), I remembered the thrill of reading his early novel, A Time to Kill. I devoured that book as if I would never read again, and followed it with several more of his works. And I'm pretty sure I enjoyed every single one, until I reached The Rainmaker. For whatever reason, I lost interest at that novel. Ironically, I have read several since then and enjoyed them as well.
To be fair, Grisham is a master story teller, and I have to give the man his due. His books are easy to read, if not somewhat predictable. A Grisham novel is certainly an easy way to while away a rainy afternoon.
Verdict: Comfortable reading, but a bit on the "cookie-cutter" path for my tastes. On a positive note, there are plenty of Grisham books to choose from. And, who knows, maybe he'll lead you to my favorites, Cornwell and Lescroart, as well.
Lest you burn out before the next three posts, I must warn you that I've been catching up on my Lescroart reading. Yes, three in a row. Perhaps that makes me a card-holding member of the fan club?
