The First Law: An Abe Glitsky/Dismas Hardy Mystery [Hardcover]

John Lescroart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 27, 2003

John Lescroart -- author of the New York Times bestseller The Oath and a "master" of the modern thriller (People)-- returns with a spellbinding novel about events that force defense attorney Dismas Hardy and Lieutenant Abe Glitsky outside the law and into a fight for their lives.

Prodded by his father, Glitsky asks the new homicide lieutenant about the case, but the brass tells him in no uncertain terms to stay out of it. Guided by the Patrol Special -- a private police force supervised by the SFPD that is a holdover from San Francisco's vigilante past-the police have already targeted their prime suspect: John Holiday, proprietor of a run-down local bar, and a friend and client of Dismas Hardy.

While Dismas Hardy has built a solid legal practice and a happy family, John Holiday has not followed the same path. Despite this, Hardy has remained Holiday's attorney and confidant, and with Glitsky's help, Hardy finds ample reason to question Holiday's guilt. Hardy's case falls on hostile ears, however, and to avoid arrest, Holiday turns fugitive. The police now believe three things: that Hardy is a liar protecting Holiday, that Holiday is a cold-blooded killer, and that Glitsky is a bad cop on the wrong side of the law.

As the suspense reaches fever pitch, Hardy, Glitsky, and even their families are caught in the crossfire and directly threatened. The police won't protect them. The justice system won't defend them. Shunned within the corridors of power, and increasingly isolated at every turn, Hardy and Glitsky face their darkest hour. For when the law forsakes them, they must look to another, more primal law in order to survive.

A brilliant and emotionally powerful thrill-ride through the twisting streets of San Francisco, The First Law is John Lescroart's most immediate and electrifying novel to date.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

One of mystery fiction's most enduring and affecting male buddy teams--San Francisco defense attorney Dismas Hardy and police lieutenant Abe Glitsky--are back in Lescroart's newest thriller. Glitsky's been kicked upstairs (or sideways) to a desk job and warned off his usual homicide beat even though it's his father's best friend who's been murdered in a robbery-slaying, and it's Hardy's pal and client, John Holiday, who's been targeted as the killer. When two more killings follow, no one in the department believes that Hardy's client was set up. They don't believe Abe, either--the harder he tries to get at the truth, the more his ex-colleagues are convinced that he's a rogue cop who wants his old job back and will stoop to anything to get it. They got that idea from the well-bribed police brass who are protecting the real killers from prosecution and putting Abe and Dismas's nearest and dearest in their cross-hairs, too. But that's not quite enough to call our heroes off the case, even though the talented author manages to maintain the tension and ratchet up the suspense long enough to make the reader wonder. --Jane Adams

From Publishers Weekly

Abe Glitsky, the gruff, hard-nosed homicide cop from San Francisco who typically plays a supporting role in Lescroart's line of legal thrillers (Hard Evidence; The Hearing; etc.), takes center stage in the series's 11th entry. After convalescing for 13 months from a gunshot wound suffered in last year's The Oath, Glitsky finally returns to the force, only to discover that his beloved homicide detail is now under the command of someone else. Glitsky is assigned to head the payroll department. Embittered about his new job and itching to return to real police work, Glitsky starts poking around when one of his father's friends, a pawnshop owner, is shot to death. His superiors warn him to stop trying to horn his way back into homicide, but it soon becomes apparent to Glitsky-and the series's usual star, defense attorney Dismas Hardy-that the case is far more significant than a simple robbery gone bad; it's part of a string of murders that appear to be connected to a private security company that provides protection for much of the city's business community. Worse, somebody on the police force is trying to cover up the murder spree and frame one of Hardy's clients for it. With his latest, Lescroart again lands in the top tier of crime fiction. On display are his usual strengths-a grasp of current social and legal issues, an insider's knowledge of San Francisco and an ability to draw characters with sensitive, nuanced strokes. Even when his plots grow a little far-fetched-as this one does toward the end-Lescroart's storytelling skills conceal the blemishes.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult (January 27, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525947051
• ISBN-13: 978-0525947059
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #954,417 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Murder and mayhem in San Francisco., April 24, 2003

By 

E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The First Law: An Abe Glitsky/Dismas Hardy Mystery (Hardcover)

In John Lescroart's new thriller, "The First Law," San Francisco resembles the Wild West. A corrupt and malicious individual named Wade Panos wields tremendous political power. Panos and his gang rob and murder whomever they please with impunity, and the police either cannot or will not stop them.

Abe Glitsky, a veteran detective, has been moved out of homicide and into the payroll department of the police force, much to his chagrin. However, when Sam Silverman, an elderly friend of Abe's father, is robbed and murdered, Abe takes a look at the case. Much to his surprise, Abe is stymied in his inquiries at every turn; it soon becomes clear that his colleagues on the force do not want Abe interfering in their investigation. To make matters worse, Abe's good friend, Dismas Hardy, represents a man who is being framed for killing Sam. As Abe and Dismas continue to challenge Wade Panos, dead bodies begin piling up and it becomes clear that if Dismas and Abe do not back off, they may be risking their lives.

I love the characters of Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky. They are macho and sensitive as well as intelligent and compassionate. I admit that the plot of "The First Law" is a bit far-fetched. It is difficult to believe that such lawlessness would prevail in a city as cosmopolitan as San Francisco. However, Lescroart makes the point that evil people with no conscience do exist. If normally law-abiding citizens are to fight such individuals, they sometimes have to act in unorthodox ways in order to survive.

At four hundred pages, "The First Law" is a bit too long. However, the plot and the dialogue are lively and compelling and the characters are nicely drawn. Lescroart maintains a high level of suspense and excitement until "The First Law" reaches its dramatic and action-packed conclusion.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Weak addition to series, January 11, 2007

By 

JoeV "Reader" (Arlington Hts, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The First Law (Dismas Hardy) (Mass Market Paperback)

This series tracking Dismas Hardy, (attorney), and his good friend Abe Glitsky, (San Francisco Homicide Detective), has gone through some changes, both in the characters' lives as well as the narrative perspective, i.e. Dismas vs. Abe. But on the whole it has been solid - usually with our two protagonists facing an impossible situation, (heavy-handed politics, seemingly insurmountable evidence stacked against an innocent client, etc.), but who prevail at the end against all odds. The plot is no different here - Abe and Dismas find themselves battling police corruption/incompetence while dealing with personal threats to both family and friends - with a crooked and evil, (and of course wealthy), businessman at the center of this web. What is bizarre is that the solution to this crusade is given away in the first two pages of this not so small book - with the rest being a chronicle of how bad these bad guys can be, (they even shoot Bambi from a helicopter), while poor Abe and Dismas "pursue" all available options until they are simply "forced" to act on their own. Excitement, tension, subtlety are all absent in this one and if there was a point - I missed it. Pass on this one.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A welcome first exposure to Lescroart, September 29, 2004

By 

Timothy J. Kindler (Rochester, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The First Law (Dismas Hardy) (Mass Market Paperback)

I picked up a copy The First Law in an airport bookstore when faced with an unexpected flight delay. I had not read any of Lescroart's other works and did not know what to expect. The storyline was intriguing, effectively bouncing back between the present and the past while building to the final scenes in the book. Character development was solid, although I suspect that the book would have been better is I was more familiar with some of the characters that clearly had been part of Lescroart's previous works. The First Law was not spectacular but it was definitely good enough that I will be back to sample more of Lescroart's works.