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Although Lescroart leads the reader up and down a few blind alleys before the truth comes out, the mystery's not the thing here. It's the characters and their back stories that make this such a good read. Foremost among them is Graham, who washed out of pro baseball and walked out of a promising law career before finding the father who once deserted him long ago. The core of the story is Graham's relationship with Sal, who's losing his mind to Alzheimer's but may still be a threat to a federal judge who was once his closest friend. Then there's Sarah Evans, the homicide cop who falls in love with her suspect. For good measure, there are some changes in the lives of those characters who are familiar to readers from other Dismas Hardy adventures--Abe Glitsky, the half Jewish, half black cop; Drysdale, the D.A. who's been beaten in court by Dismas in previous outings; Frannie, Dismas's wife; Moses, his brother-in-law; and Dismas himself, who becomes more interesting every time Lescroart brings him back. While the pacing is langorous and the denouement not as tight as it might be, The Mercy Rule provides a complex and satisfying reading experience. --Jane Adams --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
DISMAS HARDY WAS ENJOYING A SUPERB ROUND OF DARTS, closing in on what might become a personal best. Read the first page
Concordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Good mystery; good characters,
By
This review is from: The Mercy Rule (Mass Market Paperback)
The good thing about a Lescroart mystery is not so much the mystery as the characters who intersect the mystery. Murder's the name but the players are the game. Here Lescroart touches on an emotionally charged issue, euthanasia or mercy killing. There's a nice analogy with the game of baseball, perhaps unintentional, which is that in the early levels of the game the adolescent players learn 'the slaughter rule,' allowing a team which has no chance of winning having fallen behind an insurmountable lead, to exit with some self respect intact.Hence we have Sal Russo, years ago a bright guy married to his sweetheart, knowing all along she is from a different life, years later preparing to die alone, the target of an agonizing tumor complicated by the onset of alzeimers. He is reunited by his oldest son, Graham, who tried his own (and his father's) dream of playing in the big game, only to fall short. Sal dies under mysterious circumstances with a DNR (do not revive) warning in plain view. That Graham is arrested, then released, then indicted for murder, reflects the indecision the politicians, their constituents and the police have on this painful topic. Do the terminally ill have control over the time that they cross the river, or do we let events rob them of their remaining dignity? Dismas Hardy is again the reluctant guardian at the gate, not wanting murder as a crime he defends, all the while knowing it's where his true strength . . . and definition lies. If there is an irritant, it is the tedious relationship he has with his wife, Frannie. So many alter egos of the novelist's heroes love their partner for what they do, yet make life difficult for them because they do it. Kudos as an aside to Lucy Chenier, Elvis Pike's lover, who got up and left. But with that one comment, a multi-latered book for the reader who wants social issues, murder most foul, great complicated characters and unexpected twists. Not a fast read but a very good job.
5.0 out of 5 stars
OPENING A LESCROAT BOOK IS LIKE MEETING OLD FRIENDS,
By
This review is from: The Mercy Rule (Mass Market Paperback)
Lescroat has that ability to make his primary characters believeable and earthy. In the "Dismas" books one feels like they are returning to old friends who have encountered some problems along the way. The only problem is that Dismas always seems to get involved in MURDER! And when that happens you can rest assured that Dismas looks under every stone until he finds the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."The Mercy Rule" was a great 'who dunnit' with quite a few possibilities on the list of suspects but the author holds us in suspense until the enth degree - as we rule out each suspect and turn the pages faster and faster to learn the identity of the true killer. Even with murder, mystery and mayhem, Lescroat instills a sense of duty, family loyalty and love in his novels and he shows no exception with The Mercy Rule. A great read.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thoughtful and engrossing legal thriller,
By F. J. Harvey "Cricket ,country music and a go... (Birmingham England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Mercy Rule (Mass Market Paperback)
Lescroart is not an author I recommend to people seeking an easy,lightweight and disposable read.His San Francisco set legal tales tend to be quite complex,and multi-layered with an emphasis on issues and characterization as well as plot.The Mercy Rule is no exception to the pattern.Its centre piece is the trial of Graham Russo,lawyer turned wanna be baseball player,who is accused of killing Salvatore ,his father and stealing his money and vintage baseball card collection.Salvatore was terminally ill with an inoperable brain tumour as well as in the grip of Alzheimer's.Some -including liberal SF District Attorney,Sharon Pratt,see it as a mercy killing-assissted suicide-and refuse to proseecute.The State of Califirnia takes a different view and put Graham on trial. His defence is entrusted to Lescroart regular character,Dismas Hardy.The trial ,crisply and dranatically presented,is compelling reading but occupies only around 30%of the book and the verdict is delivered with around 60 pages of the book left.The coda sees Hardy digging into events leading up to Salvatore,s death The build up to the trial is fascinating with the whole issue of assisted suicide and the conflicting views it gives rise to dealy with fairly and impartially.The investigation is complicated by the developinhg relationship between Graham and the homicide detective Sarah Lee who has been assigned to the case and we identify with Dismas Hardy in his desire to be a defence attorney when the main source of income is in borin but financially rewarding corporate law issues The downside to the Lescroart method is a certain leisureliness of pace and the book ,nearer 500 than 400 pages,does have its longeurs but overall its rewarding and full of inside information on legal processes and political wheeling and dealing,something which seems to be an inevitable part of the legal process in America
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