A Plague of Secrets (Dismas Hardy Series) [Audiobook, CD, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

John Lescroart (Author), David Colacci (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2009 | Series: Dismas Hardy Series (Book 13)

In a multiple murder case plagued by lies and deception, there is one terrible secret that defense attorney Dismas Hardy is duty-bound to protect. Even if the price is his client's life. When Dylan Vogler, the charming manager of the popular Bay Beans West coffee shop in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, is gunned down near the store, inspectors are shocked to discover that his knapsack is overflowing with high-grade marijuana. It soon becomes clear that San Francisco's A-list flocked to Bay Beans West for more than a pricy caffeine fix. Maya Townshend is the absentee owner of the shop—and the beautiful and extremely wealthy socialite niece of the city's mayor. When she becomes Dismas Hardy's client, he thinks it will be a simple hand-holding exercise until the police identify a suspect. But then another of Maya's past acquaintances turns up murdered, and the newspapers begin to reveal the names of the coffee shop's celebrity, political, and even law-enforcement clientele. Hardy begins to question how much his client knew about what was actually going on inside her business—and whether she was also Vogler's lover. All the while Hardy's best friend, homicide lieutenant Abe Glitsky, sick with worry over his severely injured youngest child, barely functions at his job. Without his supervision, his inspectors are prey to the machinations of the many power brokers with interests in the case. Ambitious prosecutors close in on Maya, and as her trial gets under way, Hardy discovers that his client harbors an explosive secret. A secret that Dismas Hardy is privilege-bound to protect. Perceptive, fast-paced, and masterfully plotted, A Plague of Secrets represents John Lescroart working at the absolute top of his game.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Exclusive: Steve Berry Reviews A Plague of Secrets

Steve Berry is the New York Times bestselling author of international suspense thrillers, The Venetian Betrayal, The Alexandria Link, The Amber Room, The Templar Legacy, The Romanov Prophecy and The Third Secret. His latest novel is The Charlemagne Pursuit.

John Lescroart is a master at building worlds. Over the course of his many novels, he’s created a supple, elegant theater of San Francisco, populating it with an entourage of fascinating people.

At the top of that list is former-policeman, now defense lawyer, Dismas Hardy. Next is Hardy’s close friend, Abe Glitsky, of the San Francisco Police Department. A few books back in the series (The Hunt Club) we met Wyatt Hunt, a local private detective.

A Plague of Secrets brings these three personalities together again when Dylan Vogler, the manager of a coffee shop in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district, is found dead cradling a knapsack full of marijuana. When Hardy learns that Vogler is actually supplying dope to many of San Francisco’s business and political elite, the tension and turmoil ratchet up into high-stakes suspense. Add in a murder charge that Hardy is called upon to defend, and Lescroart’s feisty, devil-may-care hero is once again thrust into the epicenter of a raging legal hurricane. The book’s title says it all. There is indeed a plague of secrets, one in particular that Hardy becomes legally bound to protect.

Through tight prose, surgical plotting, and relentless pacing, Lescroart offers more of his unadorned reality, expertly exploring the seamier side of law, politics, ethics, and morality.

A Plague of Secrets is lush and lusty, fascinating and smart, told in a wry, appealing voice. I’m often asked if I will ever write a legal thriller. Maybe. Who knows? But if I ever do I hope it’s half as good as one of John Lescroart’s. He’s in the top echelon of thriller masters. I’ve been a fan for a long time (don’t tell him, okay?). Guilt is one of my all time favorite books. A Plague of Secrets is a prize to be savored—another of John Lescroart’s beguiling and entertaining romps.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

A brisk pace, sharp dialogue and believable characters propel bestseller Lescroart's 13th thriller to feature San Francisco defense attorney Dismas Hardy (after Betrayal). When someone shoots Dylan Volger in an alley near the coffee shop he managed, Bay Beans West, the cops discover a load of marijuana in the victim's backpack, a crop of weed growing in his attic and a customer list that includes a judge and several local officials. Suspicion centers on Hardy's client and Bay Beans West's owner, Maya Townshend, who's the sister of a city supervisor and the mayor's niece. That Maya was paying Volger an unusually high salary of $90,000 suggests he was blackmailing her. An arrogant U.S. attorney decides to turn the trial into a career-making moment, invoking a little-known law to prosecute Maya. Lescroart skillfully juggles myriad plot threads, including one involving homicide detective Abe Glitsky, a series regular, whose young son is in a coma after a car accident. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio on CD Unabridged Lib Ed; Library edition (June 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423339789
• ISBN-13: 978-1423339786
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Shocking Secret!, July 4, 2009

By 

Linda Holman "L A Jewel" (Chatsworth, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Plague of Secrets (Dismas Hardy) (Hardcover)

Get ready to stay up all night! John Lescroart's newest entry into the Dismas Hardy series is full of plot twists, political ambition and heart pounding courtroom scenes.

The book opens with Harlen Fisk, a reoccuring character who is a county supervisor, asking Dismas if he would take a call from his sister, Maya Townshend. It seems that the manager of her coffee house was murdered, and Maya might be in the sights of the police. Another murder later, and Maya is arrested. Dismas once again has to defend a complicated murder trial, in which the defendant is facing life in prison, without the possibility of parole.

The courtroom scenes are realistic, and the portrayal of a pro prosecution judge made my blood pressure rise! Throw in a ladder climbing Federal Prosecutor, and it's enough to give anyone a headache.

Abe Glitsky, Dismas' long time friend and lieutenant in the police dept, is dealing with his own heartbreaking personal problems, when his young son is in a tragic accident. Without Glitsky's supervision, two cops under his command are a little too eager to rush to judgement about Maya, and the drama that unfolds kept my heart pounding, right until the shocking climax of the story.

I personally think this is one of Lescroart's best entries into the series, and I can't wait for the next one!

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Plague of Secrets leaves unanswered questions, July 6, 2009

By 

E. R. Whyte (Oakley, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Plague of Secrets (Dismas Hardy) (Hardcover)

Let me begin by stating that I'm a big John Lescroart fan. I am a native of the San Francisco Bay Area and really enjoy Lescroart's work because they are based here. The characters of Abe Glitsky, Dismas Hardy, Gina, Will and others are well developed and it's been a joy the progression of the kids growing up, etc.

I'm not a big fan of this particular book in the Dismas series. I don't want to delve into the plot but suffice it to say; I agree with another reviewer that suggests pieces of the plot appear to be missing. The secret that Harlen Fisk held was never revealed. It almost feels as though there were many tennacles to the plot and this one fell through the crack.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "There's a piece missing somewhere.", July 3, 2009

By 

E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Plague of Secrets (Dismas Hardy) (Hardcover)

In John Lescroart's "A Plague of Secrets," San Francisco-based criminal defense attorney Dismas Hardy once again takes center stage, along with his close friend, Abe Glitsky, the head of San Francisco's Homicide Department, and Hardy's investigator, Wyatt Hunt. Hardy's latest client, thirty-two year old Maya Townshend, is a wealthy woman whose husband makes millions in the real estate business. She also owns Bay Beans West, a popular coffee shop. When the shop's manager, Dylan Vogler, who sidelines as a marijuana dealer, is found shot to death in an alley behind Bay Beans, suspicion falls on Maya. An aggressive homicide inspector, Debra Schiff, contends that Maya had a strong motive to want Vogler dead and a flimsy alibi to account for her whereabouts during the shooting.

Schiff is concerned because Maya's brother is Harlen Fisk, a former cop and member of San Francisco's Board of Supervisors, and Maya's aunt is Mayor Kathy West. With connections like these, it will be difficult to nail her. However, Debra is willing to go the extra mile to insure that Townshend is arrested, even if it means widening the probe with the help of federal attorney Jerry Glass. Because of a serious personal issue that is preoccupying Abe Glitsky, he gives Schiff more leeway than he normally would in such a high profile matter. Fearing that his sister is being railroaded, Fisk asks Dismas to be Maya's criminal defense attorney; she will need Hardy's considerable skills and courtroom savvy to get out of this mess. When another body turns up, the stakes are instantly raised. Although there is only a small amount of physical evidence pointing to Maya, the circumstantial evidence is damning.

Unsurprisingly, political shenanigans, underhanded tactics, and jockeying for favorable media attention all interfere with the dispensation of justice. Hardy fears that "the entire courtroom drama could unfold as a large multi-tentacled conspiracy fueled by drugs and moral turpitude in high places." On the plus side, Hardy is an old pro who has rarely lost a case, and he is not easily intimidated. In addition, he knows how to navigate the difficult terrain of a criminal trial with the best of them. The most absorbing scenes are those that take place in the courtroom. Diz and his opponent, assistant DA, Paul Stier, both try to score points with the jury and attempt to stay on the "good" side of the ill-tempered and sardonic Superior Court judge, Marian Braun. If Maya is innocent, then it is reasonable to assume that she was framed by a clever perpetrator. This is the famous SODDI (Some Other Dude Did It) defense. While Hardy and his team search for the "other dude," the only clear thing about this murky case is that a number of witnesses are lying, including Maya herself.

This is not one of Lescroart's best works. The complex plot generates few sparks and most readers will not be sufficiently invested in the lifeless Maya to care very much about her fate. Rather slow moving at times, "A Plague of Secrets" lacks the freshness, character development, and thought-provoking themes that have made Lescroart so popular in recent years. Although red herrings abound to keep readers guessing, this novel lacks the electricity and originality that we have come to expect from the talented John Lescroart.