Sat 13 Sep 2014
JOHN LESCROART – Dead Irish. Donald Fine, hardcover, 1989; Island Books, paperback, 1991. Signet, paperback, 2005.
— The Vig. Donald Fine, hardcover, 1990; Dell, paperback, 1992. Signet, paperback, 2006.
— Hard Evidence. Donald Fine, hardcover, 1993; Ivy, paperback, 1994. Signet, paperback, 2002.
These came highly recommended by my local mystery book store for their local color (San Francisco), and superior plotting and characterization. I didn’t find the local color very effective (and this is something I do appreciate when it’s well done), but I enjoyed the first two books for their portrait of Dismas Hardy, former cop, former lawyer, present bartender who finds his interest in life reviving after the death of his child and subsequent divorce as he’s drawn into investigations that the police want to close the books on but that he stubbornly insists on pursuing.
My favorite character in the two books is not Dismas (who’s not unappealing) but his homicide detective friend, Abe Glitsky, who has his own crisis in The Vig and sets the wheels in motion for a transfer to L A.
I note that the L. A. Times also thinks the books are “replete with convincing details of contemporary life in the bay area.” From that, I can only conclude that life in the Bay Area is not so different from me in Pittsburgh, or Salem, or Alvin, or wherever else people hang out at bars, have difficult relationships, and make decisions that don’t always (or even often) turn out to be the right ones (if there is such a thing as a right decision).
Hard Evidence is a horse of a somewhat different color. Diz is working as an assistant D. A. but soon resigns and signs on as defense lawyer for his former father-in-law, a judge accused of killing a Japanese call girl.
This is, then, a courtroom drama, a genre that I avoid like the plague, but I found I couldn’t put the book down, and probably enjoyed it at least as much than the other two books in the series. Abe Glitsky plays a less prominent role and the novel is quite long, but I found skimming wasn’t working so I settled down and read the text about as closely as I read anything these days.
I still don’t get any strong sense of place, but the relatively small cast is well portrayed, the puzzle (it’s not just a trial) is intriguing and the characters are all irritating and sympathetic in roughly equal proportions. I will put this in the plus column.
September 13th, 2014 at 11:09 pm
I’ve wondered for a while is this the same John Lescroart that wrote Holmesian pastiche for a while or are we talking two different people.
I admit I don’t read a lot of the bestselling mystery writers today. I’ve read a few non series Connally’s one or two Pearson’s and at least one of most of the others, but I see little originality and no sense of style. I’ll forgive almost any flaw for good style and most of these all feel like Dick and Jane as far as the style goes.
They don’t have to be Chandler or Macdonald, but a decent metaphor or simile once in a while wouldn’t kill them. I suppose it is a foible of mine, but I like to be able to flip through a book and find a random passage worth quoting for itself and only a handful of the big names seem able to manage that today. They are all very cinematic, but it is movie of the week cinematic, and dammit, I bought a book not rented a DVD.
Some may be can’t put it down, but sadly they tend to be can’t tell one from the other too and can’t remember if I read it or not until I’m halfway through it unless I recognize the cover.
September 14th, 2014 at 12:26 am
According to Hubin, these were Lescroart’s first two books, before he started his Dismas Hardy series:
LESCROART, JOHN T. (1948- )
Son of Holmes (n.) Fine 1986 [France; Auguste Lupa]
Rasputin’s Revenge (n.) Fine 1987 [1916; Auguste Lupa; Sherlock Holmes; Russia]
Walter makes the Hardy books sound better than they did when I was browsing through them at the local Borders bookstore. Maybe I ought to try one, someday.
September 14th, 2014 at 7:25 am
My mother was also a Lescroart fan and recommended them to me, so I read the first (DEAD IRISH) and it made no impression on me whatsoever.
September 14th, 2014 at 7:26 am
I always like a gratuitous mention of Alvin, Texas. I liked the two Auguste Lupa books but haven’t read any others by Lescroart. However, he has an excellent novelette about a certain Mr. Sigerson in an anthology titled IN THE COMPANY OF SHERLOCK HOLMES that will be published next month.
September 15th, 2014 at 3:26 pm
I have read and enjoyed probably the first ten books in the series, Dismas is one of the more normal series characters you would meet. Gets married, has kids, and seems like a normal guy, which to me is the appeal of the series (same with Glitsky and his family).
One of the books starts off with a thought provoking look at domestic violence, with a wife waiting to see when her doctor husband is coming home, but not sure if she should make dinner, not make dinner, etc, and which ever way she turned it would probably be wrong. In talking with the author later, he said that chapter was included in an anthology regarding domestic violence.
Also, one of the middle books is set before the previous book (except the last chapter), which the whole time I am reading the book I was wondering if I read them out of order.
David
September 15th, 2014 at 7:51 pm
Well, Borders isn’t around any more, but I think I’ll try browsing around the Barnes & Noble that’s still there across the street.