The Suspect

I really enjoyed this one. It was not his Lescroart's usual in that it did not focus on attorney Dismiss Hardy but on one of his associates. A refreshing change. The plot was tight and original and the story clipped along nicely. I enjoyed it to the end.

I liked this book, and had a hard time putting it down. I haven't read much by this author, but I plan to read a few more.

There were a few frustrating things about the story, but maybe that's just me. I kept wanting to tell them what to do about certain aspects of the case, but I'm just a reader, not a lawyer or detective, so maybe there were reasons other than plot that they didn't do certain things that seemed obvious. For example, an eye witness testimony about seeing the suspect's car (a dark SUV) at night, which was key evidence, and nobody tried checking to see how clearly you could determine that it was more than just a similar car that had the garage door opener.

I was a little disappointed that some of the opposition show more (prosecution, etc) were not heard from after the case was solved. Some of them were out of line in working on little more than assumptions, going over the top about assuming guilt. But that's probably just everyday occurrences in our so-called justice system. show less

I'm glad to see Lescroart return to basics. Rather than escalating violence done to his main protagonists (Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky), he tells the story of a colleague of Hardy's who married the head of his law firm, David Freeman, only to have her husband gunned down. Gina Roake needs a long time to recover. She is a good lawyer, but she has never defended a murder suspect. On the advice of her ex-lover and politician, Jedd Conley, she takes the case of a outdoors writer accused of killing his wealthy and ambitious doctor wife. There are plenty of suspects and great insights into the workings of the criminal justice system, especially the mindsets of the police and prosecution once a suspect is arrested. This is a good book for show more lovers of San Francisco and of seeing justice triumph. show less

The author: a pretty reliable genre writer, legal thrillers set in San Francisco from the pov, usually of the defense attorney, sometimes a cop. In recent years he's moved away from his first main character, Dismas Hardy, into Hardy's circle of friends and colleagues. And he's written sooo many in this series. It's readable.
In this one defense attorney Gina Roake takes the case of writer accused of killing his doctor wife after she dumps him. Roake is the only one who thinks he's innocent, blah blah. Unless you're really into SF and legal thrillers like I am, you can skip it safely. Heck, even if you are.

Lescroart's 'normal' lawyer is Dismiss Hardy. Although he has a bit part, the main charter is Gina Roake, former fiance of Dismiss' partner, David.

Yet again, we don't actually go to trial; instead, everything is settled at a preliminary hearing. Lescroart is recycling a tired plot.

good about man has to prove innocence — set up — almost

When Dr. Caryn Dryden is found floating dead in her hot tub, homicide inspector Devin Juhle targets a suspect close to home: her husband, Stuart Gorman. After all, Stuart was recently asked for a divorce . . . and he stands to gain millions in insurance. His alibi — that he was at his cabin on Tamarack Lake that weekend — doesn't keep him out of hot water. But maybe a shrewd attorney will.

I did not enjoy this book; it seemed pedantic,; there was no tension; frankly I missed Dismas and Abe!