POISON by John Lescroart
It is always good news when you see author John Lescroart’s name on a book jacket. It is even better news when the book is announced as a Dismas Hardy novel. That means you are in for an efficient and effective crime drama by one of that genre’s best writers. POISON is the title of Lescroart’s new work and it is a well written mystery that is stripped down to the bare essentials without a wasted word in sight.
Attorney Dismas Hardy is flirting with retirement when this book opens. He is still going to work each day at his San Francisco law offices but he is taking things slower. The fact he is recovering from two bullet wounds makes him appreciate the simple things in life more. One thing he is most sure of is that he will no longer take on any murder trials. They possibly put him and his family in too much jeopardy.
Then he gets a call from Abby Jarvis, a former client of his. Abby is in jail, having been arrested and indicted for the murder of her boss Grant Wagner. The case against Abby seems tight even though Grant’s children think she couldn’t possibly have done it. The first medical decision on the case was that death was caused by a heart attack. Grant\’s daughter Gloria asked for them to take another look and it was then determined he had been poisoned.
Dismas thinks Abby is innocent and he can not stand the idea of someone else representing her and not giving her the best defense. Even though his wife Frannie is vehemently opposed to the idea of his taking the case Dismas agrees to represent her in the early stages of her trial.
Lescroart has written multiple novels with Hardy as the lead character. POISON is number seventeen. So for true Lescroart followers Dismas Hardy is an old friend. Still POISON is a book that can stand on its own two feet without the requirement to have read all the previous stories in the series. Even without that background readers will find a delicious story spread over a mere three hundred and four pages. The book is so good it almost reads itself.
Lescroart occasionally slips in some humor as part of the dialogue between his characters, but he also does it in his writing style. On page 256 of this novel Lescroart writes “Around the periphery a plethora of potted plants proliferated.” Any man who can alliterate in that fashion has a keen sense of humor.
So celebrate John Lescroart’s talent by buying POISON. You will not be disappointed.
POISON is published by Atria. It contains 304 pages and sells for $26.99.
Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com
