- Hardcover: 400 pages
- Publisher: Dutton (Jan 27 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0525947752
- ISBN-13: 978-0525947752
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 16 x 2.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 635 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #665,340 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Lescroart starts slowly and takes too much time building reader interest in this latest addition to his acclaimed San Francisco legal suspense series featuring lawyer Dismas Hardy and cop pal Abe Glitsky (The First Law, The Oath, The Hearing). Dismas is firmly ensconced at the top of his flourishing law firm, and Abe has been made deputy chief of investigations, but neither man really enjoys his exalted executive status. Dismas, who seldom finds himself in a real courtroom these days, has become a high-priced legal fixer who takes meetings, goes to lunch and drinks too much, while Abe yearns for the intellectual challenge and physical thrills of a good murder investigation. Dismas's up-and-coming associate, Amy Wu, lands a case defending Andrew North, a troubled 17-year-old who's been arrested for murdering his girlfriend and high school drama coach. In an attempt to have him tried as a juvenile rather than an adult, Amy commits the inexplicable error of admitting her client's guilt to the district attorney before even speaking to the accused teenager. After this egregious blunder, Dismas joins his normally stellar associate as "second chair" in the trial and manages to rescue the case and shake his own disillusionment with the legal system. While readers new to the series might feel a bit left behind (Lescroart spends too much time referring to events in past books, particularly The First Law), old fans and those who persevere will be rewarded with a compassionate look at life's vicissitudes and a thorny multiple murder case.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Lescroart regulars Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky may have survived a deadly shootout in The First Law (2003), but their psyches are on life support. Hardy drinks too much and cuts deals instead of practicing law. Glitsky's still a hardworking "procedure freak," but his guts are killing him, and he struggles in his new hands-off role as San Francisco's deputy chief of investigations. Amy Wu, an up-and-comer in Hardy's law firm, isn't doing well, either; grieving her father's death, she's looking for love in singles bars and spinning out of control. When Wu is retained to represent a high-school student accused of shooting his girlfriend and drama coach, the evidence is so damning, she arranges a plea bargain without consulting her client. He refuses to plead guilty, and Wu's miscalculation alienates her from judge, prosecutor, client, and boss. When Hardy steps in to sit "second chair" and assist on the case--and uncovers evidence that suggests their client may actually be innocent--he rediscovers his love of lawyering. An embattled Glitsky, meanwhile, searches for a serial killer who appears to be executing victims at random. This has some familiar ingredients, including a wealthy, difficult client seemingly caught dead to rights, and some twists are somewhat predictable. But that's no matter. Under Lescroart's assured hand, this perfectly paced tale of legal procedure and big-city politics keeps us turning pages even when it's time to turn in at night. Keir Graff
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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First Sentence
Only four minutes remained in sixteen-year-old Laura Wright's life as she came out of the bathroom of the small apartment on Beaumont Street in San Francisco. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Only four minutes remained in sixteen-year-old Laura Wright's life as she came out of the bathroom of the small apartment on Beaumont Street in San Francisco. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great!,
By A Customer
Ce commentaire est de: Second Chair A Novel (Hardcover)
This latest John Lescroart novel starts slowly and I was worried at first, but he knows what he's doing, for the pacing overall is excellent in this tale of disillusionment with the justice system. The book picks up speed as you go along and gives testament to the way this author crafts his work.The thing that stuck me most about this book was the wonderful character developement and dialogue. The only other author that comes close to this is Grisham and "The Firm" and a handfull of other books come to mind--"The Last Juror" being the latest one. I did find a few minor flaws with this book, but feel that it's not important to point them out--if you find them, then so be it, but I don't want to be the one to take anything away from this well-written novel. Also recommended: Bark of the Dogwood
2.0 out of 5 stars
Utterly Predictable,
By dapsyd (London, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
Ce commentaire est de: Second Chair A Novel (Hardcover)
Having read all his last six books Lescroart disappointed me with this one. I was able to guess both the Executioner and how the two stories involving Glitsky and Hardy were going to converge half way through the book. The next 200 odd pages were then difficult to get through. Lescroart still retains his captivating style and warm characters but this book is living off the success of his last couple with constant references to events from the First Law. If I hadn't read The First Law before this one I would have struggled to understand what all the references to the previous year was about. I would only recommend this book to his die hard fans.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A VITAL, ARRESTING VOICE PERFORMANCE,
By
Ce commentaire est de: The Second Chair (Audio CD)
Voice performer David Colacci gives a vital, arresting reading of John Lescroart's legal thriller "The Second Chair." As with previous works by this author there are dramatic courtroom scenes, and easy to relate to characters. His setting is the City by the Bay.Once again lawyer Dismas Hardy and his detective buddy, Abe Glitsky, are paired. Now Glitsky is the Deputy Chief of the Investigations Bureau and Hardy is managing partner in what seems to be a soon-to-be-successful law firm. Amy Wu, a promising young attorney in his firm, brings him a challenging and headline grabbing case. The son of an upper level San Francisco family, Andrew Bartlett, has been arrested in the double murder of his girlfriend and teacher. He's 17 and the District Attorney is determined to try him as an adult. Wu is equally determined to take the case to juvenile court. However, she needs some help to do this and so she turns to Hardy, asking him to sit second chair. Evidence against young Bartlett seems sound. But there is chaos to come when a string of murders chills San Francisco. Citizens are shot in what are apparently random killings. Thus both Hardy and Glitsky are pitted in challenges that may change their lives - one must try to save a client, the other must stop a psychotic killer. Lescroart just keeps getting better and better. - Gail Cooke
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