The 13th Juror [Paperback]

John T. Lescroart (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Fine; First Edition, edition (1993)
• ASIN: B000GLUJEK
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very compelling book, May 8, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The 13th Juror (Dismas Hardy) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The defense finally wakes up, March 25, 2005

By 

J. Grattan "Ideas can move the world" (Lawrenceville, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The 13th Juror (Dismas Hardy) (Mass Market Paperback)

It is stretching it a bit to call this book a legal "thriller." The dual murders occur before page one. Most of the book involves the legal wranglings of an over-eager assistant DA, who just happens to be running for political office; a flamboyant, high-profile defense attorney, who has taken on ex cop and prosecutor Dismas Hardy as his assistant; and a helmet-haired, no-nonsense female judge. First one, then the other side, seems to have the upper hand in the evidence, testimony, and gamesmanship. And there is the constant speculation as to whether the accused, Jennifer Witt, did or could have killed her abusive husband along with her only son with Hardy doing most of the wondering while balancing a faltering home situation.

Beyond the trial, Dismas works on the "other dude" theory: someone else did it. The list of suspects is hardly compelling: Jennifer's abusive family members, a family who blames Jennifer's husband for a botched abortion, and those involved in a sleazy financial deal involving the husband's medical facility. The end is not necessarily predictable, but one may rightly feel that the last minute realization could have come much earlier and easier. At times the book becomes a bit laborious, but overall it is okay - not quite four stars.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars They Call It a Page Turner and They're Right, March 28, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The 13th Juror: A Novel (Dismas Hardy) (Hardcover)

I bought this three-year-old legal thriller while on vacation in Uruguay because it was the least objectionable book in English I could find. I'm glad I discovered it--even at $11 for a paperback. The book is not as slick as Grisham and probably longer than should be but it's an easy read and quite engrossing. It's a nice look inside the legal system, a story about a cop-turned-attorney and his first murder trial. The lawyer is likeable, the client not so much, which makes it all the more fun. I hate to even hint at the ending because I get angry at reviews that do. I'll just say, I wasn't disappointed