Guilt [Large Print] [Hardcover]

John T. Lescroart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1997

Mark Dooher is a prosperous San Francisco attorney and a prominent Catholic, the last person anyone would suspect of a brutal crime. But Dooher, a paragon of success and a master of all he touches, is about to be indicted for murder. Charged with savagely killing his own wife, Dooher is fighting for his reputation and his life in a high-profile case that is drawing dozens of lives into its wake – from former spouses to former friends, from a beautiful, naïve young attorney to a defense lawyer whose own salvation depends on getting his client off. Now, as the trial builds to a crescendo, as evidence is sifted and witnesses discredited, as a good cop tries to pick up the pieces of his shattered life and a D.A. risks her career, the truth about Mark Dooher is about to explode. For in a trial that will change the lives of everyone it touches, there is one thing that no one knows – until it is much too late…

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Even though the excellent thrillers by John Lescroart--The 13th Juror, A Certain Justice, Dead Irish, and Hard Evidence are out in paperback--usually feature stirring courtroom scenes, where they really shine is out in the real world. His latest is no exception, as Mark Dooher, a high-profile attorney with links to the Catholic hierarchy of San Francisco, is charged with the brutal murder of the wife he had come to hate. Did Dooher do her? Lt. Abe Glitsky, whose own beloved wife is dying of cancer, is sure of it, but defense attorneys Wes Farrell and Christina Carrera--for different but equally hidden reasons--are certain he's being framed. You'll enjoy the tension and appreciate the intricate plotting. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Mark Dooher has a successful legal career, a long-lasting marriage, charm, good looks, and money; but when he meets young, beautiful law student Christina Carrera, he wants her, too. The author of A Certain Justice (LJ 7/95) has Mark manage, through a series of devious manipulations, to rid Christina of her fiance, get her a job at his firm, and make her fall in love with him. But there is the troublesome matter of his wife, whom he cannot divorce because of his important professional relationship with the city's archbishop. Then his wife turns up conveniently murdered, and the resulting trial could turn out to be Mark's greatest challenge yet. This original, well-crafted page-turner is blockbuster material. Highly recommended.
-?Melissa Kuzma Rokicki, NYPL
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 672 pages
• Publisher: Wheeler Publishing (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568954778
• ISBN-13: 978-1568954776
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,218,727 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great legal thriller!, December 14, 2001

By 

Robert Knetsch "Wanna-be theologian" (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guilt (Abe Glitsky) (Mass Market Paperback)

It has been a while since I have been able to sit down and just enjoy some good 'ol legal fiction - nothing heavy, nothing outrageous, just a good story. It was a pleasure to spend long hours reading this book and trying to figure out at first who really was guilty, who really did commit these murders.

The book builds up rather nicely to a somewhat predictable though still suspenseful (can this both be true?) climax that puts the book at a level that often surpasses that of John Grisham types. There is a depth to the characters that makes you root for them and want to keep on reading. I am impressed with Lescroart's ability to present a believable court case - especially since he is not a lawyer.

The actual facts are not entirely believable however. Dooher is so nice, so caring and yet the dark side that eventually comes out is a bit too jolting to seem believable. Perhaps that is the point, to make you think ANYONE could be a murderer. Still, I felt slightly cheated.

This is a good book to curl up with, however, and to want to finish right to the end.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars not a who done it..but how and why he done it., May 17, 1999

By 

Mike Bush (Carmel, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guilt (Abe Glitsky) (Mass Market Paperback)

Maybe I should not have read one of your readers reviews of this book before I read it myself, but I thought it might be good. Some your readers deadpaned the book through the first 300 pages. Most people assume who the killer is, but it is not enntirely certain until the last few chapters. I feel that GUILT is dealing with the loyalty of friendships and the trust broken...even by long time friends. Guilt is an excellent adventure into human relationships and how some people will use those relationships for their own selfishnefss. I love any type of courtroom novels, and there were some good ones here, but it was the mystery and well developed characters that kept me reading and turning the pages. This is one of the best "legal novels" written by a non lawyer. This is a must read for any serious legal, thrill reader!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I hate to be the party pooper but..., November 26, 2006

By 

DWD "DWD's Reviews" (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Guilt (Mass Market Paperback)

Despite good experience with Lescroart in the past, despite the rave reviews on this site and despite the rave reviews on the back cover and a dozen rave reviews inside the front cover, I found myself only caring about what happened to Abe Glitsky. The slow-moving, plodding plotline only reinforced the fact that I did not care what happened to the Mark Dooher. Did he kill his wife? I don't know - it's mentioned in the first sentence in the plot synopsis on the back cover and 200 pages into the book she's still alive and I'm getting irritated at reading about Dooher's connivings to sleep with one of his young employees.

So, anyway, I read exactly 200 pages of this book. It was not easy. I was forcing myself to continue on, much like I would do with a college textbook. Then I came across the new Tony Hillerman book and I gladly dropped this one into the box of books that I'm dropping off at the Goodwill. Thank goodness I am now "Guilt" free!

I give this one a grade of F.