Search - The Motive

This was my first novel by Lescroart and I really enjoyed it. The courtroom scenes were very well written and I liked the witty dialogue among the characters. While I'm loathe to start a new "series" I will definitely read more from this author.

John Lescroart is to mystery-thrillers as espresso is to coffee...This is not literature in the sense of a Joyce Carol Oates or Norman Mailer, but it is very good writing. I've probably read a dozen of Lescroart's books, and they are excellent. There's a grittiness that intrigues me. His characters are real, meaning they have flaws. They are distracted with the details of life, like being tired, hungry or lonely. And yet they are determined. Similarly, his villains are not unusually evil people. True, they've killed or robbed, but like his heroes, they are people doing what they have to do. I won't give away the plot, but in a surprising and surprisingly satisfying twist at the end, I found myself sympathizing with the villain, recognizing her dilemma, and empathizing with her. I read a lot of novels and I often refer to them as "guilty pleasures" because they are just casual fun. Lescroart, however, rises above his contemporaries, and I recommend this to anyone who wants a good read and enjoys a tightly-written whodunit. Pick it up next chance you get.