The Hearing

Rating:
Summary: Good story, great characters
Review: "The Hearing" brings back police lieutenant Abe Glitsky and defense attorney Dismas Hardy as they attempt to find out who killed Elaine Wagner - a prominent lawyer whose secret was that she was Abe's daughter from a relationship ended long ago. As more facts about the case are uncovered, both Abe and Dismas begin to doubt that Hardy's client, a junkie arrested at the scene of the crime, was the killer. Glitsky and Hardy are both flawed but good men who maintain a friendship despite their divergent work and personal lives, and they were appealing companions during the couple of days it took to read this generally fast-paced book.

This is the first of Lescroart's Dismas Hardy books I have read. Although it is part of a long-running series, "The Hearing" stands fairly well on its own - though some scenes seem to be included just to allow recurring characters a chance to make an appearance. If this book is typical of Lescroart, then it is clearly the characters, and not the storylines, that keep readers coming back. I found it hard to believe that Hardy's legal strategy really would have worked, and the central villain's actions didn't quite add up. I also found it strange that Elaine's tendency to have problematic relationships with older men is at least partially attributed to the secrecy about her paternity, yet Abe's blossoming relationship with a woman his daughter's age is presented as an unambiguously positive development. Maybe this will play out further in the next book? Lescroart has me interested enough to want to read it and find out.

Rating:
Summary: Good story, great characters
Review: "The Hearing" brings back police lieutenant Abe Glitsky and defense attorney Dismas Hardy as they attempt to find out who killed Elaine Wagner - a prominent lawyer whose secret was that she was Abe's daughter from a relationship ended long ago. As more facts about the case are uncovered, both Abe and Dismas begin to doubt that Hardy's client, a junkie arrested at the scene of the crime, was the killer. Glitsky and Hardy are both flawed but good men who maintain a friendship despite their divergent work and personal lives, and they were appealing companions during the couple of days it took to read this generally fast-paced book.

This is the first of Lescroart's Dismas Hardy books I have read. Although it is part of a long-running series, "The Hearing" stands fairly well on its own - though some scenes seem to be included just to allow recurring characters a chance to make an appearance. If this book is typical of Lescroart, then it is clearly the characters, and not the storylines, that keep readers coming back. I found it hard to believe that Hardy's legal strategy really would have worked, and the central villain's actions didn't quite add up. I also found it strange that Elaine's tendency to have problematic relationships with older men is at least partially attributed to the secrecy about her paternity, yet Abe's blossoming relationship with a woman his daughter's age is presented as an unambiguously positive development. Maybe this will play out further in the next book? Lescroart has me interested enough to want to read it and find out.

Rating:
Summary: Overly Long But Satisfying
Review: Abe Glitsky, the homocide detective who is a close friend with Dismas Hardy, discovers that the victim of what appears to be a senseless murder is his daughter. Abe has kept his paternity a secret and has watched Elaine Wager develop into a talented attorney. Heroin addict Cole Burgess is charged with the crime and what at first seems to be a simple case of robbery/murder develops into a complex maze of power and corruption. Hardy is hired to defend Burgess and Glitsky fights his own battles in this overly long but entertaining story. There are several characters to keep track of and by remembering each character's personality and behavior, the story has more depth than the typical legal fiction. Lescroart's skill is apparant as you read how each character struggles with the personal conflicts that define them. He interweaves all the subplots and clues into a coherant whole that brings reader satisfaction by the last page.

Rating:
Summary: Vintage Dismas Hardy!
Review: Another good Invstigative Courtroom Drama by Lescroart. I found it a bit unbelievable in places (Why try the case at initial hearing?) but Dismas and Glitsky delivered the goods again. For people who are new to Lescroart's characters you might want to start with The 13th Juror or A certain Justice.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: As a rule, I usually enjoy kicking back and reading a Lescroart book. they are often interesting, and keep you wondering what will happen next. In addition, it is always good to see what Glitsky is up to next and what is happening with him. He is a good character, almost a kind of anti-hero that is rare in this genre of literature.

With that said, in this case, I was happy to see more of Glitsky, not to mention Hardy, the enigmatic Freeman and the rest of the gang, but found the plot to be a bit too convoluted and contrived to really be believable. In the end, we aren't really shocked by who the killer is, and has happened in Lescroart's other mysteries. Sure, we wonder about the details, but I don't want to read over 400 pages just for that.

I would say to read most of Lescroart's other books to get a taste of what he can do rather than read this one. He can do much better.

Rating:
Summary: Not much literary meat
Review: As a rule, I usually enjoy kicking back and reading a Lescroart book. they are often interesting, and keep you wondering what will happen next. In addition, it is always good to see what Glitsky is up to next and what is happening with him. He is a good character, almost a kind of anti-hero that is rare in this genre of literature.

With that said, in this case, I was happy to see more of Glitsky, not to mention Hardy, the enigmatic Freeman and the rest of the gang, but found the plot to be a bit too convoluted and contrived to really be believable. In the end, we aren't really shocked by who the killer is, and has happened in Lescroart's other mysteries. Sure, we wonder about the details, but I don't want to read over 400 pages just for that.

I would say to read most of Lescroart's other books to get a taste of what he can do rather than read this one. He can do much better.

Rating:
Summary: Notes From A Reluctant Fan
Review: Bear with me here, for I find myself eternally frustrated by Lescroart's efforts. He always gets it almost right. Almost. And yet I keep reading him.

I think that the main reason I keep coming back, book after book, is the characters. Dismas Hardy, for example, is a good man, flawed like the rest of us but good in his intent. There's also his friendship with SFPD lieutenant Abe Glitsky, of course, as well as his marriage to Franny, the widowed sister of his business partner (and Vietnam buddy) at The Shamrock (a bar whose prototype -- no longer there, by the way -- I remember well). These central characters, and their ongoing developments, keep me coming back, despite the often cardboard situations Lescroart plunges them into.

And, yet again, there's too much cardboard at the central premise of "The Hearing." A young female attorney is found brutally murdered. She's the unacknowledged daughter of Abe Glitsky (the result of a college liaison), and there's a suspect apprehended at the scene who, at first blush -- but first blush only -- appears to be a "slam dunk" for the crime.

So far, so good. But here's where Lescroart begins to go astray.

It's by no means unheard of (let alone unrealistic) for a homicide investigator to have a personal interest in a crime; but -- and here's a big one -- in such situations, an experienced investigator invariably makes damn sure he "goes by the book," that he "dots all the i's, crosses all the t's," that he gets it completely right, in other words. Yet Glitsky, despite his avowed experience, gets it completely wrong from the very first. The book is thrown out the window, and the railroad steams ahead full-force.

Wrong!

Add to this mix a politically-motivated D.A. (not in itself an anomaly) who somehow inexplicably -- despite her interests in the outcome -- fails to do her homework, and you have the recipe for a totally fabricated scenario.

Lescroart additionally betrays his own ignorance of procedure, most obviously here, when he notes that Hardy's client is "allowed" to "dress out" (i.e., wear a suit and tie as opposed to his jail clothing) for his court appearance at the preliminary hearing; in actuality, this is not a question of 'allowance'; even the pottiest defense attorney (whether publicly appointed or otherwise) would make sure his client wore something to court other than his/her "jumpsuit," particularly in a capital case.

So the plot's cardboard, and the motivations and procedures diverge from allowable reality; what makes this book (and Lescroart's others) worth reading?

Once again, it's the central characters and the way they develop. By this time, of course, Abe is a widower and still struggling with that. Things are about to happen to him. Good things, things he deserves. Will they work out? What's going on with Dismas and Franny, and how are the kids turning out? And what about the business at the saloon (long -- undeservedly -- gone, but still here in the Hardy series of books)?

Lescroart excels at keeping us caring about his people. Now if he could only get the rest of it reasonably right!

Rating:
Summary: Lescroart's Best Yet
Review: Dismas Hardy is back with his ideals intact, his marriage strong, his defense practice going well, and he is a thoroughly likable main character in a series of good legal thrillers. Also back is Abe Glitsky, the tough cop who is Dismas' best friend. In "The Hearing" Abe has a problem and Dismas has to help solve the case as he defends a drug addict with few redeaming qualties who has supposedly killed Elaine Wager. Elaine was perceived to have been a leading member of the black legal community with a good reputation. One of her secrets was that Abe Glitsky was her father. Abe had learned the truth before Elaine's murder, but had not confronted her with it, and after she was killed, he went after the first suspect with a vengence. He refused to allow the suspect medical attention as he was going through herion withdrawl and gave the go ahead for a strenuous interrogation resulting in a "confession." The suspect, Cole Burgess, looks like a promising candidate especially since he was found near the body and had her money and jewelry on his person. Cole's mother is the only one who really cares any longer about what happens to him.

Dismas Hardy is the reluctant defense attorney brought in by Cole's mother. As the story continues, a web of political corruption unfolds within the DA's office and the police department. Elaine Wager's own life was not what it had seemed to be, but as she began to investigate some of the corruption she found, she was trying to made amends when she was murdered.

Elaine's personal assistant, Treya Ghent, is an interesting new character in this series who adds another dimension to the life of Abe Glitsky. This author has successfully brought his characters through his books as they have become old friends and acquaintances to those of us who read everything Lescroart writes.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect for summer!!
Review: Dismas Hardy is not going to get drawn into representing the accused killer of Elaine Wager (Cole Burgess). Well, only because his sister asks, he will make sure that the man who was found standing over the dead body of Ms. Wagner with the murder weapon in his hand and her jewelry in his pockets, gets proper tratment in the lockup as he deals with his drug addiction. But that's all.

As he looks into the matter he discovers his good friend, Police Lt. Abe Glitsky taking unusually questionable contitutional liberties with Mr. Burgess's interrogation and incarceration. Then the San Francisco District Attorney, Sharon Pratt, who's administration has been known for it's inability to get convictions (all the good prosecutors resigned) and it's "humane" treatment of criminals it considers to be victims of society decides to ask for the death penalty. Of course, it is an election year and Ms. Pratt's re-election chances are tenuous at best.

We learn early on that the murder victim is in fact, Abe Glitsky's daughter (her mother married another man while pregant by Glitsky). The helps explain his uncharacteristic behavior.

After viewing a "confession" that the police sweat out of Cole, Glitsky starts to wonder if they have the real killer and from that concern, the story unwinds toward "The Hearing". Hardy signs on for the duration and picks up considerable help along the way. Lescroart is at his best during the trial scenes and the reader somewhat impatiently waits for the story to unravel, which it surely does in a most satisfying way when court is in session. Lecroart has never failed to please his readers.

Rating:
Summary: Great Characterizations
Review: Fast-paced, with interesting and well-developed characters, The Hearing works on every level. The pace and flow of the buildup is deftly handled - we're along for a measured and suspenseful ride. A little thing which I liked a lot was Lescroart's choices of his character's names. By choosing uncommon, slightly quirky names or names with unusual spellings - Sharron Pratt, Dismas Hardy, Abe Glitsky, Dash Logan are examples - we're able to more easily keep track of the rich cast of characters. The Hearing is worth a look.