Customer Reviews

The Oath (Dismas Hardy Series)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Best-selling author of the fantastic The Thirteenth Juror & The Guilt, John Lescroart enters the Robin Cook territory of doctors & medical mysteries in his new thriller.

Last year Phillip Margolin, an acclaimed practitioner of the legal thriller genre, took to the medico-legal mystery genre with "The Associate", & close on its heels comes this new thriller from John Lescroart. The Oath can at best be described as a medico-legal mystery, the author having mixed in right proportion the medical stuff & the legalese to bring up a top-notch thriller.

Tim Markham the head of San Francisco's largest HMO dies seemingly of injuries suffered in a hit-&-run accident. At first, it is classified as an accidental death, but the autopsy reveals that Markham died due to potassium overdose.

All evidence points to Markham's attending physician Eric Kensing. It seems that Kensing had every reason to kill Markham - for one thing, Markham was sleeping with Kensing's wife & for another, Markham had threatened to cut off funding to Kensing's patients, thus putting the life of the patients at risk.

Kensing approaches attorney Dismas Hardy, (the hero of many Lescroart works) & Hardy attempts to clear the good doctor of murder, & bring home the guilt on the real culprits.

Pitted against him is Homicide Cop Abe Glitsky who believes that Kensing is guilty & is trying hard for a conviction. What follows is top-notch action with Hardy discovering unpleasant truths in the running of HMO, & slowly discovering why & how Kensing was made a pawn in someone's bigger plans.

The Oath is definitely not a whodunit - but it is a great whydunit. The suspense is riveting & the action is thick & steady throughout. Good medico-legal thrillers have been rare, save for a Fourth Procedure by Stanley Pottinger or Autopsy by John R. Feegel, & The Oath clearly satisfies the reader who is fond of this sub-genre.

I enjoyed it, & for a good evening's read - it is highly recommended.

For those who are faithful readers of John Lescroart and have developed a "reader relationship" with his two primary characters, Abe Glitsky and Dismas Hardy, THE OATH is a stunner!

As usual, Lescroart's plotting, characterization, and dialogue are excellent. However, what sets this book apart from his previous work, is the emotional reactions it creates. Reading THE OATH is very similar to watching two best friends fight and not being able to do anything about it. Glitsky, San Francisco Chief of Homocide, and Hardy, ex-District Attorney turned brilliant defense counsel, are at odds over the guilt or innocence of Dr. Eric Kensing, the prime suspect in the murder of the CEO of a high profile but financially troubled physicians' medical group.

Throughout the book, the reader can only passively stand by while Glitsky and Hardy present their points of view and reveal their own personality traits and unique perspectives. Lescroart masterfully introduces and develops several suspects and motives in this complex, multi-layered legal puzzle. However, the concern for both Hardy and Glitsky is never far away. As the suspense and interest build toward the story's climax I was stunned and begging for answers in the final pages. Thankfully Lescroart provided satisfaction, but you'll have to read this highly recommended thriller to find out how.

John Lescroart has to be one of the most inconsistent writers around. You get such brilliant novels like A Certain Justice, Guilt, Hard Evidence, The Vig, and then it's followed up by The Hearing, and worse yet, this novel The Oath, or his earlier work, The Mercy Rule. I think it's the poor reader that needs the Mercy here.

First off, the subject matter of The Oath in of itself is old hat and boring. It's been done and overdone a hundred times over in TV dramas and full feature length movies. But I can certainly accept the fact that Lescroart wants to give us his own rendition. Yet the rendition adds nothing new and the characters are totally unconvincing. Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky seem to be frozen in time, never growing, never changing, something that does not happen with real like characters. And the players in this particular story seem to be forcibly drawn together into a story that lacks substance or interest. The only character that I can remotely sympathise with is Dr. Kensing, who due to his unfortunate past and rigid principles becomes ensnared in a drama that is outside his control.

This hopeless melange is such a contrast to the beautifully written and cast Hard Evidence. A novel that to this day I go back and re-read when I find nothing else on the store shelf to interest me.

Added to this is Lescroart's sloppiness. In The Hearing a character that was killed and buried in very beginning of the novel suddenly reappears near the end of the novel. This was not supposed to a surprise element, as some readers thought when they read my review of that novel, just plain old sloppy writing.

In The Oath, Dismas Hardy is clearly in John Strout's office visiting the coroner, when suddenly we are informed by John Lescroart that "Strout closed the stiletto again, then stood up and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling bookshelf that lined Hardy's left hand wall". Hardly's ? I though he was in John Strout's office, where did we get Hardy's left hand wall ? And this type of sloppy writing appears right throughout the book.

This in of itself would not be such a big deal other than a clear indication that when Lescroart is bored with his story he gets sloppy. I think we can all understand that. Which obviously begs the question why are we the poor readers being foisted with a book that the author seems to have little use for ?

I love legal fiction. This one started slow; I tend to prefer the "hit the ground running" thrillers like those written by a Norm Harris, or a Nelson DeMille, or even some of Grisham's books. But "The Oath" did end strong. So I was eventually satisfied.

The opening scene is seen through the eyes of Mrs. Lopez, the worried mother of a sick child. Here John Lescroart makes a strong statement as we see a concerned mother manhandled by a less than caring HMO system. I have long held the opinion that the term "health care" has become an oxymoron.

In the next scene a man is killed by a hit and run driver. Enter Lescroart's protagonists Dismas Hardy and his best friend, homicide cop Abe Glitsky.

In this story we know whodunit early on. One of the early reviews of this book pointed this out, saying that knowing who the killer is "...cuts down the suspense." It was my understanding that when we know who the antagonist is from the onset of the story, that the story is a thriller. When we do not know who did the deed until the end of the story, then it is a mystery. This is a thriller, so I had no problem with knowing whodunit early on.

John Lescroart is a master of characterization and dialogue. From the book: (Luz tried to smile. She couldn't help but worry. Ramiro was no better. In fact, she knew that he was worse. Despite her resolve, a tear broke and rolled over her cheek. She quickly, angrily, wiped it away, but the doctor had seen it. "Are you really so worried?") That's great stuff.

If you love legal thrillers, as I do, then you will love this book. Highly recommended. Cammy Diaz, lawyer

The head of San Fransisco's largest HMO dies under suspicious circumstances in his own hospital. The prime suspect has hired attorney Dismas Hardy to represent him - placing Hardy at odds with his good friend, homicide lieutenant Abe Glitzky, and taxing Hardy's marriage as well. The investigation points to a broader pattern of corruption and murder as Hardy joins forces with the authorities to attempt to clear his client's name. Sounds familiar, but that's OK - part of the enjoyment of reading mystery/thriller series is the comfort of the familiar and getting caught up-to-date on the latest developments in the characters' lives. Compared to the previous book in the series (The Hearing), The Oath features a better plot and crisper writing that avoids getting bogged down in the relationships among the many characters. While not exactly unpredictable, there are a few good twists at the end.

John Lescroart gets better and better with each book and so do his two main characters, Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky. I could probably read a book about Abe and Dismas mopping a kitchen floor and be entertained, but Lescroart always gives his readers so much more.

In this latest installment, we find Dismas, the defense attorney, and Abe, the homicide cop, butting heads as they try to solve the mystery of who killed Parnassus Healthcare CEO, Tim Markham. Unlike other reviewers, I wasn't certain who the killer was until the end of the novel. There were several crimes in the novel, ranging from hit and run to lethal injection to the murder of an entire family. Are these crimes connected? Were these crimes committed by the same person? Following the characters as they try to answer these questions pulls the reader into the action.

One of my favorite lines in the book was spoken by hospital administrator, Mike Andreotti, as he explained to Dismas and Abe "that even the lowliest GP has a self-image just a notch below God's". This book addresses ego, greed, and the good and bad sides of healthcare in the United States. Like Clarence Jackman's fortune cookie stated, "Don't get sick", if you can help it.

If you've not read the previous nine books in the series, you won't have any trouble following along. If you aren't new to the series, you'll be glad to see old favorites like Pico Morales, David Freeman, Jeff Elliot, and good old Wes Farrell, who I'd worried I might never see again. It was also nice to meet some new folks, like Bracco and Fisk.

Lescroart always manages to take a hot topic, like managed health care, and paint an exciting mystery around it, while still presenting characters his readers can enjoy getting to know along the way.

THE OATH is a murder mystery involving the apparently accidental death of Tim Markham, the well known head of San Francisco's largest HMO in his own hospital as the result of the injuries sustained in a hit and run incident during his early morning jog. However,an autopsy reveals that his demise was aided by an overdose of potassium administered in his own hospital and the Homicide Chief, Lieutenant Abe Glitsky, suddenly is investigating a case with manifold political implications. Meanwhile, Dr. Eric Kensing, who was on duty in the ER when Markham was admitted and who has hired Dismas Hardy as his lawyer, soon becomes the prime suspect.(Understandably so, since he has had several professional controversies at the HMO regarding the standard of care being afforded patients as financial pressures interfere with physician decision making. Furthermore, Kensing is separated from his wife due to her long running affair with Markham.) Soon other murders occur; in addition, it appears that several severely ill patients at the hospital have died recently under suspicious circumstances.

Thus, Hardy and Glitsky soon square off and their friendship that has been chronicled through several previous books by Lescroart becomes severely strained. For previous readers of the author , one of the most enjoyable elements of this book will be the further evolution of the lives and relationships of the several of the other characters that have appeared over the years in this series. This is a police and legal procedural, as well as a commentary on medical ethics, politics and greed. Lescroart's plotting is good, but the attempts at misdirection are not as clever as in several of his earlier works. In most instances, it soon becomes obvious in what direction the facts are leading.

This is a fast paced, easy and fun read; it was great not only to catch up with Glitsky and Hardy again as they eventually teamed up to solve another case, but also have another mystery which involved revisiting old familiar friends including David Freeman,Jeff Elliot,Clarence Jackman, Treya Glitsky, and ,of course, Diz's wife Frannie, and their two great kids Rebecca, and Vincent Hardy.

As usual, Lescroart's plotting is believable and his phraseology is enjoyable, I particularly chuckled over the "no-humans-involved" cases, where everyone already has a substantial criminal record and which are the diametric opposite of this white collar, high rent district crime. What made this novel less compelling than some of the earlier Diz and Abe books were two factors, First,,while the multiple threads of the story were all woven together very well and in the end and all details were explained, they also in some ways made the outcome less surprising. Second, this was not a well edited book; there were some incorrect facts and several small errors which were not caught and while they were of no real consequence they were nevertheless annoying.In the end, I decided that these factors were not enough to lower the rating to three stars but definitely kept it from being on the five star level despite my enjoyment.

With a villain everybody loves to hate - the HMO - John Lescroart's ninth novel featuring San Francisco Defense attorney Dismas Hardy and his best friend and oft-times rival, homicide detective Abe Glitzky, finds plenty to engage the reader. When the HMO's CEO, Tim Markham, dies after a hit-and-run accident and the autopsy determines it was a medical injection that killed him, his doctor, Eric Kensing, is the obvious suspect. Not only did Kensing vociferously protest the HMO's cost-cutting restrictions, the victim had also been having an affair with Kensing's wife. When the dead man's family is massacred and Kensing is placed at the scene, only Hardy continues to believe in his innocence.

Glitzky's determination to nail Hardy's client causes a rift between the friends, only partially healed when Hardy's fishing turns up a pattern of suspicious deaths at the hospital, which cannot all be laid at Kensing's feet. Lescroart's thorough research and skill in explaining the complex tensions between HMO, hospital and patient keeps the story humming even as Hardy's increasingly cozy relationship with the mayor, prosecutor and police strains credibility. Though not one of his best, Lescroart's well-drawn characters - particularly the strong relationship between Glitzky and Hardy - and solid writing make this a fine read.

As a health care professional, I hate HMO's but love HMO-thrillers. Well, "The Oath" is low on my list. In fact, after a while, I just skimmed it. The writing was poor and I, for one, wasn't drawn in the the "old favorite characters" who I felt detracted from the plot action. Don't waste your time.

John Lescroart's "The Oath," is the latest in a series of books featuring the San Francisco criminal defense attorney Dismas Hardy. Dis, as he is known to his friends, takes the case of Eric Kensing, a doctor who is suspected in the death of Tim Markham, the head of San Francisco's largest HMO, Parnassus.

Kensing had the motive, means and opportunity to kill Markham, who was having an affair with Kensing's wife, and who disagreed with Kensing on how an HMO should be run. Hardy and his best friend, Abe Glitsky, chief of homicide, are soon at loggerheads over the case, and their friendship is strained to the breaking point. The fallout from the Markham case is wide-ranging. The HMO that Markham ran is bleeding cash and is teetering towards bankruptcy. Have the administrators at Parnassus been involved in fiscal mismanagement? If so, could Parnassus's financial woes have some bearing on Markham's death?

The case becomes more complex as the investigation proceeds, and Hardy, a happily married man with two kids, strains his family's patience as he spends more and more time investigating on his own. Before the case is solved, Hardy risks his professional reputation and his personal relationships with his wife and with his best friend in his effort to get at the truth.

Lescroat does a fine job of balancing many disparate elements in "The Oath." He juggles a host of plot lines, including a series of unexplained deaths in Portola Hospital, where most of the medical action takes place, and the initiation of two rookie cops, who learn that police work is not an easy way to make a living. "The Oath" has a very large cast of characters, and Lescroart develops them well. We get to know a Salvadoran immigrant who watches her child die because of medical mismanagement as well as a greedy administrator who finds a way to make money at the expense of needy patients.

As always, Dismas Hardy is a engaging protagonist. He is a model of integrity and a loving husband and father; yet he is willing to risk everything that he has to make sure that justice is served. "The Oath" will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers, since it is a legal, medical and crime thriller all wrapped up in one exciting and entertaining novel.