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The Hearing: Summary and book reviews of The Hearing by John Lescroart, plus links to an excerpt from The Hearing and a biography of John Lescroart.

The Hearing

The Hearing
by John Lescroart
Hardcover: Apr 2001,
464 pages.
Paperback: Feb 2002,
560 pages.

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BOOK SUMMARY

The call comes at midnight. It looks like a tragic and petty murder--a rising star in San Francisco's legal firmament found shot in a dark alley. But for homicide lieutenant Abe Glitsky, the crime cuts horribly close to home--unknown to anyone, the victim was his daughter. Seething, Glitsky leans hard on his only suspect--a homeless heroin addict found lingering over his daughter's body, with her jewelry in his pocket and a smoking gun in his hand.

The city's embattled, ambitious D.A. Sharron Pratt sees an opportunity to revive her troubled administration by publicly declaring war on the killer and vowing to deliver the death penalty, putting the case on the fast track to certain conviction. Unable to watch a man die for Pratt's political gain, Dismas Hardy warily takes on the defense. But as Hardy's crusade to secure his client a fair hearing ensues, a lethal web of political corruption, legal conspiracy, and cold-blooded murder begins to unravel. In a case that will send shock waves through the city of San Francisco and echo in the private lives of its most prominent citizens, the hearing is just the beginning.

Media Reviews

  Bookpage
The Hearing will be an irresistible read for...all those who appreciate a well-crafted courtroom drama.

  Publishers Weekly
Another satisfying, character-driven legal thriller will be happily embraced by new and longtime fans of master plot-weaver Lescroart (The 13th Juror).... The richness and diversity of the large cast neither slows the pace nor confuses the narrative, as even minor characters take on memorable presence and depth. Readers will savor the mounting tension and the many twists and turns along the way to the surprise ending.

  Kirkus Reviews
[Lescroart] lays on the political intrigue as fearlessly as if he were writing exposé journalism rather than courtroom drama.

  Library Journal
In this sixth offering in the series and the follow-up to Nothing but the Truth, attorney Dismas Hardy not only defends confessed murderer Cole Burgess but is forced to confront the fallibility of his friend, Abe Glitsky, chief of the San Francisco Police Department's homicide division. The author deftly continues to build upon the personal and professional relationships among his ensemble cast, adding a new, featured player in the person of legal secretary Treya Ghent.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Mark VW
This book works better from a dialogue and character analysis than by its plot, which is, really, pretty far out there (I can't tell you what happens, but even by cynical big-city standards, it's a little over the top). But forget all that....   Read More

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