Customer Reviews

The Mercy Rule (Dismas Hardy Series)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The good thing about a Lescroart mystery is not so much the mystery as the characters who intersect the mystery. Murder's the name but the players are the game. Here Lescroart touches on an emotionally charged issue, euthanasia or mercy killing. There's a nice analogy with the game of baseball, perhaps unintentional, which is that in the early levels of the game the adolescent players learn 'the slaughter rule,' allowing a team which has no chance of winning having fallen behind an insurmountable lead, to exit with some self respect intact.

Hence we have Sal Russo, years ago a bright guy married to his sweetheart, knowing all along she is from a different life, years later preparing to die alone, the target of an agonizing tumor complicated by the onset of alzeimers. He is reunited by his oldest son, Graham, who tried his own (and his father's) dream of playing in the big game, only to fall short. Sal dies under mysterious circumstances with a DNR (do not revive) warning in plain view.

That Graham is arrested, then released, then indicted for murder, reflects the indecision the politicians, their constituents and the police have on this painful topic. Do the terminally ill have control over the time that they cross the river, or do we let events rob them of their remaining dignity?

Dismas Hardy is again the reluctant guardian at the gate, not wanting murder as a crime he defends, all the while knowing it's where his true strength . . . and definition lies.

If there is an irritant, it is the tedious relationship he has with his wife, Frannie. So many alter egos of the novelist's heroes love their partner for what they do, yet make life difficult for them because they do it. Kudos as an aside to Lucy Chenier, Elvis Pike's lover, who got up and left.

But with that one comment, a multi-latered book for the reader who wants social issues, murder most foul, great complicated characters and unexpected twists. Not a fast read but a very good job.

This review has more to do with the series than specifically with The Mercy Rule. Working my way through the Dismas Hardy novels. Unlike many current detective writers, Lescroart eschews the charismatic psychotic serial killer and his/her elaborate, shocking crimes - burned, hanged, flayed, dismembered, et al. - and offers rather average folks - cops, secretaries, lawyers, etc. - caught up in difficult and unusual circumstances but trying to deal with the challenges of everyday life - work, family, friends.

His characters' reflections on these challenges are simple, poignant, thoughtful evocations of the issues that we all face, and Lescroart does a superb job of coalescing the vapors, giving voice to our ruminations and fears.

His work reminds me of the writing of James Gould Cozzens who won a Pulitzer Prize and was considered for the Nobel Prize. Writing during the middle decades of the 20th century, Cozzens was attacked by critics for being hopelessly out of date. His heroes are quite ordinary men, living quite ordinary lives and find themselves in the midst of a crisis that tests their moral and ethical beliefs. Like Cozzens' characters, Lescroart's heroes stand near us, offering the opportunity to reflect on our own lives.

The plots have the requisite twists and turns and tensions to keep them moving briskly, but it is the thoughts and feelings of the characters that lift these books well above the general run of detective/thriller/mystery novels. The layers build as the series progresses so stay the course and enjoy the books - it's definitely worth it.

Lescroat has that ability to make his primary characters believeable and earthy. In the "Dismas" books one feels like they are returning to old friends who have encountered some problems along the way. The only problem is that Dismas always seems to get involved in MURDER! And when that happens you can rest assured that Dismas looks under every stone until he finds the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

"The Mercy Rule" was a great 'who dunnit' with quite a few possibilities on the list of suspects but the author holds us in suspense until the enth degree - as we rule out each suspect and turn the pages faster and faster to learn the identity of the true killer.

Even with murder, mystery and mayhem, Lescroat instills a sense of duty, family loyalty and love in his novels and he shows no exception with The Mercy Rule. A great read.

Lescroart is not an author I recommend to people seeking an easy,lightweight and disposable read.His San Francisco set legal tales tend to be quite complex,and multi-layered with an emphasis on issues and characterization as well as plot.
The Mercy Rule is no exception to the pattern.Its centre piece is the trial of Graham Russo,lawyer turned wanna be baseball player,who is accused of killing Salvatore ,his father and stealing his money and vintage baseball card collection.Salvatore was terminally ill with an inoperable brain tumour as well as in the grip of Alzheimer's.Some -including liberal SF District Attorney,Sharon Pratt,see it as a mercy killing-assissted suicide-and refuse to proseecute.The State of Califirnia takes a different view and put Graham on trial.
His defence is entrusted to Lescroart regular character,Dismas Hardy.The trial ,crisply and dranatically presented,is compelling reading but occupies only around 30%of the book and the verdict is delivered with around 60 pages of the book left.The coda sees Hardy digging into events leading up to Salvatore,s death
The build up to the trial is fascinating with the whole issue of assisted suicide and the conflicting views it gives rise to dealy with fairly and impartially.The investigation is complicated by the developinhg relationship between Graham and the homicide detective Sarah Lee who has been assigned to the case and we identify with Dismas Hardy in his desire to be a defence attorney when the main source of income is in borin but financially rewarding corporate law issues

The downside to the Lescroart method is a certain leisureliness of pace and the book ,nearer 500 than 400 pages,does have its longeurs but overall its rewarding and full of inside information on legal processes and political wheeling and dealing,something which seems to be an inevitable part of the legal process in America

As a fan of John Lescroart's previous works I read The Mercy Rule with great anticipation. This book had great potential--an interesting and intruiging story line, engagable characters, and a great geographical setting--however, it disappoints almost from the beginning. I kept reading hoping it would get better but unfortunately it did not. This book lacked the energy and spirit of Lescroart's previous works. I kept reading the book ever hopeful that the writing of the real Lescroart would surface--unfortunately it did not.

I did not want to read this book. I read in a review that it was about Alzheimer's, among other things. I know that death with dignity is an important concept, perhaps more of a goal than an actual fact. But I have seen what Alzheimer's does to people and their families and did not want to read a book with this theme. While it is a worthy social issue, I wanted entertainment.

I forgot that it was a Dismas Hardy book by John Lescroart. And thus by definition it was going to be a good book. A young athlete is arrested for murdering his father. Graham Russo stubbornly sticks to pleading "not guilty," although he could get much sympathy for his role in a compassionate assisted suicide. But he is also a lawyer and knows that if he is found guilty he will be disbarred. He starts off badly by telling the police, and then his lawyer, Hardy, a passel of lies.

Another thing about the Dismas Hardy books is that they take place in San Francisco and the Bay area. This is very appealing geography. The characters are mainly appealing too, but not cloyingly so. In fact it is their faults, or their rough edges, that makes them interesting. This story has its signposts, if you will, like the black frying pan Dismas has owned for a long time and still occasionally prepares meals with, and the elephant figurines on the mantle that he rearranges like pawns as he is faced with nagging guilt on the home front or a conundrum.

There is humour, some of it low-level but always engaging, such as a knock-knock joke. Some of the humour, like Russo's clever likening of lawyer David Freeman to the Star Wars character, Yoda, is a little edgy, since it is done to his face. But Freeman has a healthy--nay, colossal--ego and is not perturbed.

Some story lines are far-fetched, but not impossible although there will be dues to be paid later by some characters--such as homicide inspector Sarah Evans. Mostly the story is a satisfying one. Sometimes it is disturbing, like when potentially interesting characters are dispensed with peremptorily--case in point, the wife of Hardy's former beat partner Abe Glitsky. While she is not a central character or an evil one like Professor Moriarity, what if Lescroart wanted to pursue that vein later? Door closed. Never mind, we know Lescroart can open others in future if he likes, and will not let us down.

Overall these Hardy stories which I am reading (and sometimes re-reading) in order, are improving with each novel. In this context, The Mercy Rule is my favourite so far.

This is the second Dismas Hardy novel I've read and I will be reading the rest of the series. The characters are wonderful - flawed and human. I read too many books where all of the characters are almost superhuman - the men were at the top of their classes and the women aren't real. Dismas Hardy is real - loves his family but seems to love his career more. He has deep friendships, and sometimes he pushes them to the limits.

The book touches on assisted suicide, hence the title, but in the end stays noncommital, as it should. The book, at its heart, is a legal thriller, and one that was hard to put down.

As a fan of Lescroart, I would say he has lived up to his usual exceedingly high standard. Graham Russo, a former baseball star, has been charged with the murder of his ailing father, Sal. Graham proclaims his innocence, but it seems like an open and shut case. Sal had Alzheimers, as well as $50000 and some valuable baseball cards, hidden in his home. The prosecution contends that Graham, a paramedic, incapacitated Sal and gave him a fatal injection of morphine, which led to his death. The money and cards are the motive. Meanwhile, the whole of San Francisco believes that Sal was in great pain, and that his dutiful son helped him die out of mercy. As the media decends upon the trial, it is up to Dismas Hardy to get his client a fair trial. Full of surprising twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Although some elements of the story are hard to believe, (such as the Defendant's affair with a hot cop), Lescroart's brilliantly detailed imagery makes it all come alive. Every piece of the puzzle is intricately layed out as Lescroart weaves his tale, leading to a magnificently stunning conclusion

I enjoy John Lescroart and especially his depiction of SF. The book was well-written and had characters all over the place. And it fit well with maybe this person is responsible or maybe not and it reflected the real life chaos that people encounter everyday. Decision making, lost opportunities. So I was startled to read a book that depicted all of the swirling emotions that are conflicting. John did a great job!

The Mercy Rule, by John Lescroart, is the 5th entry [website is wrong in stating it is the 7th] in the excellent series featuring defense attorney Dismas Hardy and his longtime friend San Francisco Police Department Homicide Investigator Abe Glitsky. This a more a character study than a great mystery. I think it is the mark a of truly gifted author to take a reader that has zero interest in a topic and make the read enjoyable. I read this one because I love the series, and don't want to miss out on any character development, but I am not at all interested in reading about assisted suicide. But Lescroart, one of the best mystery/legal thriller writers on the market proves worthy of the challenge here, penning another enjoyable book that left me glued to the pages.

This is enjoyable reading, and falls into the 3 to 3.5 star area. Enjoy, I sure did.

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.