Customer Reviews

Hard Evidence

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Dismas Hardy series doesn't seem to attract much critical acclaim. Still, I read it every so often for what it does so very well -- taking the reader into that special world that is San Francisco. Lescroart does a great job with the little details that are lots of fun for those of us who know the city well - the bars of the Sunset, the rich cultural mix, and the crazy city politics.

In this story, a severed hand is found in the belly of a shark when Dismas is watching. A bit of sleuthing determines that the hand belongs to the dead body of a computer millionaire. Dismas is working at the D.A.'s office - the prosecution begins. However, all is not as it seems as Dismas, Abe Glitzky and reporter Jeff find lots of contradictory evidence and even more potential suspects.

A solid read for fans of the Grisham/Turow category and a special treat for fans of San Francisco. Dismas continues to grown into a character of intriguing complexity.

Ive been reading Lescroarts series featuring attorney Dismas Hardy all out of order; fortunately, Hard Evidence stands up well on its own. The author provides a brief update regarding what must be several novels worth of tumultuous events in the lives of Hardy and his wife while quickly moving on to the mystery at the core of the novel. Hardy has rejoined the San Francisco DAs office and, while toiling away at the sort of low-level crimes addressed by junior staff, finds himself investigating the murder of a wealthy and prominent businessman. With the help of his buddy, prickly police detective Abe Glitzky, Hardy searches for the murderer while striving to maintain the stability of his marriage and resolve his own doubts about his chosen career. Its not too hard to figure out who was the murderer, and the plot twist that puts Hardy on the side of the defense is so heavily foreshadowed (and practically given away altogether on the back cover of the book) that I spent the whole first half of the book wondering when it would finally arrive. However, Hard Evidence strikes a good balance between plot-driven and character-driven elements  the recurring characters are central to the story and are given plenty to do even as readers get to visit with old friends.

I'm working my way back through Lescroart novels. In Hard Evidence, Dismas Hardy has recovered from his son's death and his long "drop out" period of running the bar with his brother-in-law. He has married Frannie, adopted her first child and they are expecting a baby of their own. He has gone back to work in the DA's office and as the new guy is stuck with the more mundane criminal cases that are usually pleaded out. He is waiting for a murder case to prosecute.

Along comes a hand recovered from the belly of a shark. The first challenge is to identify the victim and to determine whether the hand belonged to a hapless swimmer or a murder victim. The suspense builds when a body washes up on the shore with bullet holes in the crotch and the head of a very dead male.

What makes this book hard to put down is the rapid succession from one suspect to another without any "hard evidence." Lescroart explores the politics and ambitions of the people involved in the justice system revealing how much more personal it all becomes rather than a true search for justice.

A large part of Hard Evidence is about Dismas Hardy and his return to the practice of trial law. He is a renegade within the system who just cannot accept the easy answer on the surface. His personal tempations and insecurities are a little tiring but add to the development of his hard working and driven quest for the truth.

Hard Evidence was published in 1993. I only just "discovered" John Lescroart several years ago and decided to go back to some of his older work. This book kept me on pins and needles for most of it. Lescroart's understanding of the subtleties of trial law and the legal world fascinated me, given that he's not a lawyer. Sometimes I felt he was too good at it, drawing out some of the legal manuvering a little too long in places (thus, 4 stars, instead of 5). Still, it's a superbly entertaining read. I recommend it to mystery and suspense fans, and certainly to fans of legal thrillers.

Hard Evidence, by John Lescroart, is the 3rd entry in the excellent series featuring defense attorney Dismas Hardy and his longtime friend San Francisco Police Department Homicide Investigator Abe Glitsky. This is the lynchpin book in the series, where Hardy jumps sides from the Prosecution to the Defense where he will spend his career. When a billionaire is murdered, and his hand is found in the stomach of a shark, a great mystery unfolds that will be unraveled in the course of a tense courtroom battle. Politics and mystery, this is a top notch legal thriller that thrusts the series to the forefront of the legal thriller genre.

This is enjoyable reading and well-worth a 5 star rating.
For those new to this outstanding series, the order of books is as follows:

Dead Irish
The Vig
Hard Evidence
The 13th Juror
The Mercy Rule
Nothing but the truth
The Hearing
The Oath
The First Law
The Second Chair
The Motive
Betrayal
& A Plague of Secrets [scheduled for release in July 2009]

I personally recommend reading them in order for the best experience. The characters evolve and are fully realized.

This book really has me torn in that it was an interesting story with a good plot that kept pace (although I did figure out the ending), yet I am just not sure if I connect with the main character, Dismas Hardy. This is the third Hardy book I've read and I have pretty much felt the same after each one. I feel that the story sort of goes on around him and then he occassionally enters in the picture to drink a beer and throw darts. Don't get me wrong - his character is in the book throughout - he is just not very charasmatic. I plan to try again and read the next one -maybe then I'll have a more concrete opinion.

This is the first book that has gripped me in such a way that I could not put it down. The charachters were very colorful and carefully introduced. It took me three sittings to read this book, and I could not stop thinking about it inbetween readings. This is the first book of Lescroart's I have read, but he has proven to me that he knows how keep the reader interested, and keep the story alive. I acctually felt sorry for certain charachters during the story. They were so lifelike. His descriptive story telling skill is that of a master. I could picture everything around Dismas and the rest of the cast. The story was fantastic, the plot was great, and the characters well thought. I will definatly read more of John's works. I wish I could rank this book higher than 5 stars, cause it deserves TEN STARS!!!

I discovered John Lescroart's Dismas Hardy series a few years ago and read them all avidly. But it appears I missed this one - what a treat when I realized there was one I hadn't read! I read it all in the past couple of days in a two marathon sessions because it's so darned good! This may be my favorite book in the series.

Everything I love about this series is here in this book - in spades. You've got Dismas and Frannie and Abe, Dismas's ex-wife and former father-in-law, and a whole cast of supporting characters who are richly fleshed out, each of whom in turn plays a key part in the plot.

The reason the Dismas Hardy series is so gripping is that - at their best - these books are equal parts personal stories about Dismas's life, equal parts mysteries, and equal parts courtroom dramas. Some of the books in the series seem like they don't deliver 100% but I think this one really hits the trifecta.

I'm giving the book five stars, but - without spoilers - I'll say that I was crushingly disappointed by the last two pages. The ending was a conscious choice by John Lescroart, I have to respect that, but I really REALLY wish he had made a different choice. Or rather, I wish Dismas had made a different choice. And I could make a pretty strong argument for why he should have - and perhaps why it would have been more in character for this ex-cop/ex-prosecutor.

I think I've read them all, love them all, but this one puts the pressure on. Most important to me--the writing. Two lines in the flashback to the crime are the most gripping dialogue I can think of, ending with "Not yet, Daddy." Wow! And I still wish I could sit down with Hardy & Glitsky!

Since I read my first Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky book six months ago, I've read a good six or eight of them. This is one of the best for plot development, believability, etc.