Search - The Second Chair (Dismas Hardy, Bk 10)

great courtroom drama

Dismas Hardy joins a double murder trial as the second chair( second attorney). Hardy sets up to prove that the murder wasn't committed by his client. A spellbinder of a tale.

This is the first I've read of this series, so I haven't followed the character development, but the combination of old friends, lawyer and cop, give us two points of view as the case develops. This one concerns a 17 year old from a wealthy family, accused of murdering his girlfriend and their teacher/acting coach.

It was great as all Lescroart books are. I especially like the Dismas Hardy series.

Although he seems to have reached the top of his illustrious law career, Dismas Hardy has lost faith in the legal system. When his young associate, Amy Wu, brings in a high profile, double murder case, he decides to set second chair - in defense of a wealthy, privileged young man, even he has trouble believing.

Hardy has to face his own demons in order to clear his client and save himself.

Good, interesting read!

Attorney Dismas Hardy and his friend Abe Glitsky, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Bureau, are dealing with mental sequelae from their participation in a murder (in a previous book), which is beginning to have physical effects on both of them. Hardy steps in as second chair to his associate Amy Wu in a murder case involving 17-year-old Andrew Bartlett while Glitsky is kept busy trying to hunt down a serial killer nicknamed The Executioner. Both moving down separate avenues which eventually meet.

John Lescroart is a mainstay in the courtroom thriller arena and once more delivers an interesting, provocative read. Although it was disconcerting the manner in which Amy Wu assumed her client's guilt and pushed hard for him to cut a deal with the DA, I'm sure this is something fairly common in our legal system. Recommended for those readers who love a good thriller.