Barb's Book Reviews: Review of "The Second Chair: A Dismas Hardy Mystery" by John Lescroart

Monday, June 25, 2018

Review of "The Second Chair: A Dismas Hardy Mystery" by John Lescroart

In this 10th book in the 'Dismas Hardy' lawyer series, the attorney helps an associate in his firm defend a boy accused of murder. The book works well as a standalone.

*****

High school student Laura Wright and her drama teacher Mr. Mooney are rehearsing for the school play in his apartment when both are shot dead.

The prime suspect is Laura's on/off boyfriend, 17-year-old Andy Bartlett, reputed to be jealous of Laura's crush on the teacher.

Defense attorney Amy Wu, an associate in Dismas Hardy's law firm, gets the case. However Amy's dad died recently and she's been drinking and partying too much and using good judgment too little. Thus, without Andy's agreement, Amy makes a deal for the boy to "admit" to the crimes.

This is supposed to guarantee that Andy will be incarcerated in the juvenile system for 8 years rather than being tried as an adult and risking life in prison without parole. When Andy refuses to "admit" to the shootings, this "misunderstanding" leads to the wrath of the prosecutor and judge, who think Amy tried to pull a fast one.

To help Amy out of the hole she dug herself Hardy says he'll act as second chair (co-attorney) during Andy's subsequent court hearings. Once involved in the case Hardy launches his own investigation, questioning witnesses and examining evidence in the author's usual satisfying style.

Meanwhile, Hardy's cop friend Abe Glitsky, now San Francisco's Deputy Chief of Investigations, is dealing with a bizarre string of serial murders around town.

I thought the early part of the book - dealing with Andy's admitting or not admitting - was too slow and drawn out. Past that part, though, the action picked up, the story got more intricate, and the intermingling of Hardy's and Glitsky's cases was deftly handled. Overall a very good mystery book, recommended to fans of the genre.

Rating: 4 stars

2 comments:

Jacqui Murray--Writer-TeacherJune 26, 2018 at 11:52 AM
I do like this series though this wasn't the best. A bit too slow, not enough legal drama, and too much personal. Other than that, 4/5.
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Barb SafferJune 26, 2018 at 10:40 PM
I agree it's a good series Jacqui. :)
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Barb's Book Reviews

Monday, June 25, 2018

Review of "The Second Chair: A Dismas Hardy Mystery" by John Lescroart

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