This is the fourth entry in John Lescroart's series featuring attorney Dismas Hardy, and the one in which the series really hits its stride. In the earlier books, Hardy had suffered a devastating family tragedy and had become somewhat unmoored. He'd abandoned his life as a policeman and a lawyer to become a bartender. He ultimately wound up working as a prosecutor in the district attorney's office and as this book opens, he has left that job and gone into private practice as a defense attorney, where he will remain through the rest of the books.
As this book opens, Hardy has rented office space in a firm headed by a flamboyant attorney named David Freeman. Forty-three days into this new arrangement, Freeman takes on a sensational murder case and asks Hardy to assist him with it. The defendant is a beautiful woman named Jennifer Witt. Jennifer is the daughter of a man who routinely beat her mother and she has married not one, but two men who have routinely beat her.
Jennifer's first husband was a drug addict who died of an apparent overdose. She then married a successful doctor who is a total control freak. He closely circumscribes Jennifer's life, and everything in his house, Jennifer included, must be perfect. If not, there will be hell to pay and Jennifer will be in for another beating. The two have a young son who is the one bright spot in Jennifer's life.
Jennifer must stay in good physical shape in order to please her husband and one morning when she returns from a run, she finds a policeman at her door. Someone has reported shots fired inside the house and when Jennifer reluctantly allows to policeman to enter the house ahead of her, they discover that her husband and son have been shot to death with a gun that was kept in Jennifer's bedroom.
Jennifer, who stands to gain five million dollars out of her husband's death, quickly becomes the prime suspect and, as the evidence against her mounts, she is arrested and charged with the murders. David Freeman believes that she is probably guilty and wants to use a battered wife defense. But despite all the evidence to the contrary, Jennifer insists that she wasn't abused and that she is innocent. She will not allow Freeman to go in that direction. Hardy can't decide if Jennifer is guilty or not but he will do the best he can to help Freeman defend her. It will be an increasingly uphill battle, and the major stumbling block will be the defendant herself.
This is a gripping story with well-drawn characters and an interesting subplot is the effect that the case has on the relationship between Hardy and his wife, who increasingly resents all of the time that Hardy is spending on the case, leaving her to care for the house and their two small children, virtually by herself. The book really kicks into gear once the trial begins, and the courtroom scenes are very good. This is a book and a series that should appeal to anyone who enjoys a taut, exciting legal thriller.
As this book opens, Hardy has rented office space in a firm headed by a flamboyant attorney named David Freeman. Forty-three days into this new arrangement, Freeman takes on a sensational murder case and asks Hardy to assist him with it. The defendant is a beautiful woman named Jennifer Witt. Jennifer is the daughter of a man who routinely beat her mother and she has married not one, but two men who have routinely beat her.
Jennifer's first husband was a drug addict who died of an apparent overdose. She then married a successful doctor who is a total control freak. He closely circumscribes Jennifer's life, and everything in his house, Jennifer included, must be perfect. If not, there will be hell to pay and Jennifer will be in for another beating. The two have a young son who is the one bright spot in Jennifer's life.
Jennifer must stay in good physical shape in order to please her husband and one morning when she returns from a run, she finds a policeman at her door. Someone has reported shots fired inside the house and when Jennifer reluctantly allows to policeman to enter the house ahead of her, they discover that her husband and son have been shot to death with a gun that was kept in Jennifer's bedroom.
Jennifer, who stands to gain five million dollars out of her husband's death, quickly becomes the prime suspect and, as the evidence against her mounts, she is arrested and charged with the murders. David Freeman believes that she is probably guilty and wants to use a battered wife defense. But despite all the evidence to the contrary, Jennifer insists that she wasn't abused and that she is innocent. She will not allow Freeman to go in that direction. Hardy can't decide if Jennifer is guilty or not but he will do the best he can to help Freeman defend her. It will be an increasingly uphill battle, and the major stumbling block will be the defendant herself.
This is a gripping story with well-drawn characters and an interesting subplot is the effect that the case has on the relationship between Hardy and his wife, who increasingly resents all of the time that Hardy is spending on the case, leaving her to care for the house and their two small children, virtually by herself. The book really kicks into gear once the trial begins, and the courtroom scenes are very good. This is a book and a series that should appeal to anyone who enjoys a taut, exciting legal thriller.
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