unputdownable, riveting, private-investigators, law-enforcement, local-politics, friends, contemporary, mental-health-issues, cooperation, lawyers, ex-cons, false-information, false-identities, family, family-dynamics, family-expectations, mistakes, multiple-murder, investigations, investigators, thriller,suspense*****

Despite the steep learning curve rising from the fact that I jumped in at book #19, I only read two or three chapters when I hunted up an affordable audio copy (vision issues).
The plot itself spiraled and branched like elk antlers and scooped up extra characters along the way. Each of the characters, both main and ancillary, are very clearly drawn and realistic. Thanks for the intro, but it was definitely worth the price for the audio!
I requested and received an EARC copy from Atria Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
P.S. Bernie Rhodenbarr says that St Dismas is the patron saint of thieves ;) ( )

Number 19 in the Dismas Hardy series. Primarily an Abe Glitsky plot line. Although there are MANY twists and turns, this one didn't have some of the elements of earlier books that made them rate higher in my estimation. ( )

A solid John Lescroart mystery that is packed with his ongoing characters, vividly described settings, and complex, intriguing plot lines. A number of twists and turns build the engaging story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria for the opportunity to read this book. ( )

I almost gave this 4 stars, because it lacked a lot of the humorous interactions I so liked in previous books, but it was still there. And there were so many twists and turns that made up for it. Also, Abe Glitsky played a big part in this one, and I like him a lot. When he and Hardy get together, it's always interesting, but Hardy didn't play as big a role in this one as in other books, it seemed.

Another minus was the lack of good t-shirts from Wes Farrell. Some of the previous books had some good/clever ones, but I don't think there were any that were very good in this one. In fact, Wes himself was pretty serious in this book, but his malaise brought up the problem of perception of people accused of crimes. He has gone from prosecution to defense, and is now questioning his beliefs, thinking that anyone accused of a crime is probably guilty of something, even if it's not the exact crime they're accused of. I think this is very possibly true, but the ones who are not guilty deserve to be represented, and nobody knows for sure who they are. ( )

Paul Riley was convicted of raping and murdering his girlfriend, Dana. After eleven years on death row, the Exoneration Initiative gets his conviction overturned on what many people consider a technicality. Four months later, he’s murdered. Riley’s dad identifies Doug Rush as the man he claims to have seen fleeing Riley’s apartment. Rush is quickly arrested but disappears after being released on bail. PI Abe Glitsky is hired by Rush’s attorney to find him. He soon learns that Riley wasn’t the only prisoner freed by the Exoneration Initiative who was murdered shortly after. Is it a coincidence or is someone enacting the justice they believe the Initiative has denied?

The Missing Piece is the nineteenth in the Dismas Hardy series by John Lescroart. It’s been quite a while since I read one of the books in the series but I didn’t find that this interfered with my ability to follow the story. And what a smart, twisty story it is. This is a well-plotted well-written legal thriller, more a clever puzzle than an action-packed roller coaster of a thrill ride but that doesn’t mean it isn’t completely engrossing. It is populated with multiple characters, all of whom hold a piece of the puzzle, many seemingly small and unimportant until fitted together. it kept me engaged and guessing, completely tied to the page until the aha moment at the end. I’d like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Is this the perfect crime or a perfect conundrum?

“The Missing Piece” is about one shot, just one bullet, fired, that hits its mark, and changes everything for everyone. It is book nineteen in the “Dismas Hardy Series.” I had not read any of the previous books, but was able to follow the complex narrative. There are a lot of multifaceted characters with multifaceted backgrounds and associations, but the narrative gave me the details I needed; all are introduced with pertinent information. Readers get to know them within the context of the narrative, their appearance, their mannerisms, their opinions, and their ability to hide secrets. This is a conversation driven story filled with what people say to each other, say about each other, and occasionally what they say to themselves.

The action takes place in a week and over many past years. An exonerated prisoner is released, but perhaps he is not actually innocent, but had only been released because of legal errors. This makes him a free man but not an innocent man. Then there is a murder, and another one, or two. Something serious and dangerous is happening; things have to be somehow related, but connection does not mean causation. There is no hard evidence, no pattern, nothing. People are looking, but not seeing. This is a five-hundred piece puzzle, dropped on the floor, with a missing piece.

“The Missing Piece” is a complex story that evolves bit by bit. Each character holds a piece of the puzzle, and multiple points of view bring out the diverse part that each character plays. The seemingly unrelated clues ultimately come together, and the whole story is exposed. The chain of events may be elaborate and diverse, but the motive is simple and uncomplicated. I received a review copy of “The Missing Piece” John Lescroart and Atria Books. And, yes, “Sympathetic Pheromones” would be a great name for a band.

“The Missing Piece” is now available in print, as an e-book, and on audio from independent bookstores, online booksellers, retail stores, public libraries and anywhere you get your books. ( )

So this definitely holds all the cards till the end. When I got down to like the last 25 pages and it still wasn’t revealed who the slippery criminal was, I began to think that maybe they were not going to solve the case after all. I’m glad that didn’t end up being true because I would have been quite frustrated I’m sure. This is an interesting storyline for a novel, with a recently exonerated convict being targeted for assassination, only to have the man accused of killing him meet the same fate. I appreciated the fact that it wasn’t a give me who was responsible for the crime. It ended up being a bit of a surprise. So many of these types of stories it ends up being obvious who the killer is, but I couldn’t really figure that out. I guess this an ongoing plot with these same characters, but I haven’t read any of the other novels, and I can follow the story just fine, so this can stand on its own. Thank you to Netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Paul Riley was placed on death row for the rape and murder of his girlfriend, Dana. Wes Farrell was the San Francisco DA who put him in jail. Eleven years later, The Exoneration Initiative found evidence to get Riley released. Being unable to get a job with a livable wage*, he returned to crime. Four months later, he was killed, his body surrounded by some of his most recent loot.
Doug Rush, Dana’s father, is identified by Riley’s father as the killer and the homicide detectives close in on him immediately. Rush had angrily threatened Riley at the time of the trial. Wes, who now works as an attorney with Attorney Dismas Hardy, agreed to represent Rush. Also on the team was Abe Glitsky, a retired homicide detective.
Soon afterwards, Doug, who is out on $1,000.000 bail, misses his court date and no one knows why or where he is.
Some people, including lawyers and police personnel, believe that some of the people who are exonerated through programs like The Exoneration Initiative are actually guilty and often commit similar crimes afterwards. Some of them are tired of defending guilty people.
There are several murders in THE MISSING PIECE. Hardy, Glitsky, and Farrell must determine whether they are related as well as trying to find out what actually happened to Rush.
John Lescroart throws in several twists and red herrings in THE MISSING PIECE, a title that has more than one interpretation.
One early chapter deals with a previous client threatens Farrell but never reappears. Perhaps this is the basis of a future book.

* NOTE People who are falsely imprisoned are sometimes awarded large sums of money, often in the millions, for compensation but actually receiving the money sometimes takes a very long time. Their previous conviction, even though overturned, can make it difficult for them to get a job paying enough to survive, especially in a city with a high cost of living. They may return to crime ( )

The Missing Piece by Lescroart
Dismas Hardy #19

Innocent or Guilty? Sometimes people who are innocent go to jail, sometimes guilty people get off scot free, sometimes the innocent are released after spending time in jail AND sometimes the guilty are let out on a technicality or for other reasons. This book takes a look at what might happen if a man is released from prison and then someone kills him. Who would want to kill him? Was he really guilty? Was it a relative of the person that he went to trial for murdering? Could it be someone else or a vigilante or something new that happened to get him killed after being in jail? Who will defend the man accused of killing him and…well the story gets more and more twisted as the pages go by and the story continues.

I have to say that I came into this series with book eighteen and thoroughly enjoyed it. This book took me longer to get into and I did wish that I had read the series from the beginning so I would have history of the main characters to fall back on. That said, this was still a good story to read with lawyers, private investigators, police procedural aspects, sleuthing, interviews of potential suspects, cases that overlapped and were similar, friendships forged over time that shored up the story and the characters, and a conclusion that tied all the thread together.

I have a feeling that I won’t be reading more in this series unless it is to go back and begin at the beginning as I do feel it would help me understand the series and characters better. For those that have read the previous books in order, I am sure that they will enjoy seeing Dismas, Glitsky, and Farley again along with some others that are probably regulars to the series. For me, it was a bit like being at a party with everyone knowing each other and chatting away while I sat on the outside trying to figure out what I might be missing.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Who would I recommend it to? Those who have read and enjoyed previous books in the series

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars ( )

Please check out my complete, more detailed review of The Missing Piece on Mystery and Suspense Magazine at this link...
https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/the-missing-piece/

My sincere gratitude to the author and the publishers of The Missing Piece, the latest entry in John Lescroart’s long running, bestselling series of crime / legal thrillers featuring cop-turned-lawyer Dismas Hardy and his close friends and associates, for the review copy provided to me through NetGalley.

Wes Farrell—former San Francisco District Attorney and presently a partner with Hardy’s law firm—is disillusioned with his cause as he does not believe in the innocence of his clients anymore. Elsewhere in the city, Paul Riley—convicted by Wes in his previous role for rape and murder of one Dana Rush and rescued recently by the Exoneration Initiative after eleven years of jailtime—is killed by a close-range shot to head in his home.

The obvious suspect of Paul’s murder is Doug Rush, Dana’s father, whom Paul’s father James claims to have seen fleeing the crime scene, and the police immediately arrest Doug—indeed an open and shut case. But Doug denies the charge and wants Farrell to represent him, unaware of his present mental state. Albeit being unconvinced of his client’s innocence, Wes gets him out on bail and gets the trial scheduled in a month. But, Doug disappears on the trial day and the task of tracking him down falls to cop-turned-Private Investigator Abe Glitsky. With a strong feeling that Doug has been dealt a bad hand in life, Glitsky puts all his considerable resources into the matter and uncovers, after chasing many false leads, a story much bigger than just Paul and Doug.

The Missing Piece was my first experience with the work of Lescroart—renowned for his legal thrillers—and I was mildly disappointed initially that this is not a legal thriller as such. But my disappointment gave way to admiration once I got into this finely plotted novel with interesting characters, and a good, solid mystery. Though I had a hunch about the identity of the killer well before the end, the denouement was still fascinating. The friendship among the lead characters, developed over the decades, is charming and their banter is highly amusing.

Close to sixty-five years old, Glitsky is not the typically smart and brawny sleuth of the fictional universe, but is equally, if not more, engaging due to his genuineness. Though labelled on Goodreads as a Dismas Hardy novel, this one has Hardy only in a fringe role. The families of Glitsky and the other lead actors play their part without intruding much on the story’s flow. My only complaint with this novel is that the actual killer has not been given adequate screen-time; some more background into the killer’s motivation would have made it more exciting.

All in all, The Missing Piece is a well-written thriller with realistic characters, engaging plot and an important ethical issue at the core. I certainly enjoyed this one! ( )

Not that interesting, not that engaging. ( )

This is the nineteenth in the Dismiss Hardy series; the first one was published in 1989! Over the years, I have read quite a few of them. I enjoy the repeating characters; it is like visiting with old acquaintances whenever a new book in the series is released.

A solid legal thriller/police procedural (albeit most of the work done by a former head of homicide turned PI), it takes a while for the case(s) to be solved as Glitsky chases a number of red herrings. The plot is maybe not the strongest in this series, but it still makes for a page turning, enjoyable read.

Lescroat quickly fills in the background information on the main characters meaning this book will work as a standalone, but I think it may be more enjoyable if you have read some of the others. I’m looking forward to the next in this series to see how Farrell (DA turned defense attorney) resolves his present career crisis. ( )

The gang is back!.

In this latest installment of the Dismas Hardy/Abe Glitsky series, the author focuses the story around Abe and his investigation of a series of murders related to the “Exoneration Initiative”, which is an “Innocence Project” type fictional initiative that seeks justice for incarcerated humans.

And that’s where the rub lies. “Exonerated”, as Lescroart explores in this book, does not mean “innocent”, but rather incorrectly prosecuted - due to some fault in the handling of the evidence, trial, or case. This makes for a number of tricky ethical quandaries which Lescroart debates with us skillfully. Is “justice” served by freeing a criminal who did in fact commit a crime but ended up being “incorrectly” prosecuted? How does a legal defense team morally process their role in freeing defendants who are actually guilty?

These themes come to life with the release of Paul Riley, a convicted rapist and murderer who is freed after eleven years in prison due to the work of the Exoneration Initiative. This time, the story only peripherally includes the legal team of the series (Dismas, my favorite character has only a very brief appearance in this book) but rather focuses on the crime(s) that occur and the investigative ups and downs performed by Abe and his police contacts that lead us to the twisty and satisfying climax.

All in all, this book is a wonderful journey with old friends. I’ll be interested to see (no spoilers here), how the author resolves next steps for conflicted prosecutor-turned-defense-lawyer Wes Farrell in future books.

A big thank you to NetGalley; the publisher, Atria Books; and the author John Lescroart for an advance review copy of this book. All thoughts presented here are my own. ( )