Prodded by his father, Glitsky asks the new homicide lieutenant about the case, but the brass tells him in no uncertain terms to stay out of it. Guided by the Patrol Special — a private police force supervised by the SFPD that is a holdover from San Francisco's vigilante past-the police have already targeted their prime suspect: John Holiday, proprietor of a run-down local bar, and a friend and client of Dismas Hardy.
While Dismas Hardy has built a solid legal practice and a happy family, John Holiday has not followed the same path. Despite this, Hardy has remained Holiday's attorney and confidant, and with Glitsky's help, Hardy finds ample reason to question Holiday's guilt. Hardy's case falls on hostile ears, however, and to avoid arrest, Holiday turns fugitive. The police now believe three things: that Hardy is a liar protecting Holiday, that Holiday is a cold-blooded killer, and that Glitsky is a bad cop on the wrong side of the law.
As the suspense reaches fever pitch, Hardy, Glitsky, and even their families are caught in the crossfire and directly threatened. The police won't protect them. The justice system won't defend them. Shunned within the corridors of power, and increasingly isolated at every turn, Hardy and Glitsky face their darkest hour. For when the law forsakes them, they must look to another, more primal law in order to survive.
"Lescroart's expert crafting turns this legal thriller into a quite a wild ride."
—Booklist
"One of the best thrillers writers."—Larry King, USA Today
Questions Frequently Asked of John Lescroart
(and their much, much less-frequently provided answers)
Q. How do you...?
A. Stop right there. This is, hands-down, the most-asked question I get. Although I'm three-quarters Irish, my French last name—pronounced "less-kwah"—is courtesy of my paternal grandfather.
Q. What order were your books published in?
A. Dead Irish (1989), The Vig (1990), Hard Evidence (1993), The 13th Juror (1994), A Certain Justice (1995), Guilt (1997), The Mercy Rule (1998), Nothing But the Truth (1999), The Hearing (2001), The Oath (2002), and The First Law (2003).
Q. Where did you go to law school?
A. I didn't. I graduated from Cal Berkeley with a degree in English Literature.
Q. I heard you are also a musician. What's up with that? Are you still making music?
A. Shhh. Not here. This is the John Lescroart book site. Look for an all-new Web site about my music at date-nite.com in December 2002.
Q. Where does the name "Dismas" come from?
A. I was raised Roman Catholic and in the pantheon of saints in that religion was Saint Dismas, who was supposedly "the good thief" on Calvary, crucified next to Jesus. He is the patron saint of thieves and murderers.
Q. Why do I feel like I read A Certain Justice and Guilt out of order, even though by looking at the published date I can see that I didn't?
A. I wrote A Certain Justice first and in the course of writing it came up with Wes Farrell's account of this trial he'd done that made him lose faith in the law. So when I finished that book, I decided to go both backwards and forwards and tell the whole story of Mark Dooher in Guilt. In a real sense, A Certain Justice is both a prequel and sequel to Guilt. The events of A Certain Justice happen chronologically between Parts IV and V of Guilt.
Q. How do I find a harcover copy of Sunburn? What about Son of Holmes and Rasputin's Revenge?
A. Sunburn was never published in hardcover. Presently, it is simply out of print, and extremely rare. I understand there are a few online booksellers that have it, but it's going in paperback for, literally, hundred of dollars per copy, and that's just too much. Maybe someday I'll try to bring that book out again.
Son of Holmes and Rasputin's Revenge were originally printed in one paperback edition in 1995 by Primus/Donald I. Fine, Inc. in New York City. They will apparently be re-released in the relatively near future, so they should be easily available soon.
Q. I bought Hard Evidence in paperback recently, but feel like I've read it before. Why is that?
A. Hard Evidence was RE-released in paperback, and that has caused much confusion! It was originally published in 1993.
Q. I would love to see one of your books made into a movie. Are there any plans, and who do you see playing the lead roles?
A. As to the movies, I'm represented in Los Angeles, but none of my books has yet to make the complete journey from page to screen. That, as they say, is show-biz. My own choices for the gang include Dennis Quaid as Diz and Delroy Lindo as Abe but that's about as far as I've taken it.
