Rating: 
Summary: Worth Reading!
Review: The Oath is the first book I've read by John Lescroart but won't be the last. Lescroart's strong suits are in his ability to develop multidimensional, credible major as well as secondary characters, believable multilayered story lines, and witty dialogue -- all of which are intertwined in an entertaining, fast-moving mystery. The basic plot involves an HMO executive who becomes a victim of a hit-and-run driver and then a murder victim after being brought to one of his own hospitals for treatment. Dismas Hardy becomes the defense attorney for the doctor presumed to be the murderer and Lt. Glitsky is in charge of the murder investigation. The relationship between Hardy and Glitsky is one I enjoyed very much and am looking forward to learning more about when I read other books in the series. Without going into detail (and perhaps spoiling things for potential readers), what keeps me from giving The Oath a higher rating is that I found its ending to be a bit predictable in some ways and a bit far-fetched in others. Nonetheless, The Oath is worth reading and is a book I think you'll enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: A Stunning Disappointment
Review: There are some authors whose work we take glee in disliking -- Tom Clancy comes to mind -- and there are those whose work we have cherished and fully expect to continue to deliver top-shelf results (Elmore Leonard comes to mind). John Lescroart is one such author: his Dismas Hardy/Abe Glitsky novels have been unfailingly enjoyable, providing superb characters, fluid story lines, intellectual challenge and -- most crucial for the mystery genre -- credible surprises. And so "The Oath" comes as a major disappointment. Hardy and Glitsky, whose sparring, affectionate relationship and individual strengths and failings have been the fundamental strength of previous Lescroart novels, are here reduced to almost peripheral characters. Other characters take center stage, then virtually disappear from the novel. The writing is lazy and cliche-ridden. The red herrings (green cars, bumper stickers, motives and opportunity) have a distinct, fishy smell to them. The half-hearted attempt at the end of the novel to suggest that one of our favorite characters has died is not only clumsy but insulting. The resolution of the "mystery" is a heavy-handed "deus ex machina." The fundamental problem with the book is that it's artifice is unconcealed: all novels are works of artifice, of course (that is, after all, what a plot is), but the best novels (including previous Lescroart books) conceal the artifice with a smooth and believable sheen. In "The Oath," the bricks and mortar of the plot are painfully visible: one can see Lescroart laboriously transferring plot outline to narrative, and the seams and cracks are everywhere.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: This book is Lescroart at his best! A fantastic web weaver, Lescroart takes his characters on a trip into the dark world of HMO's, and hospital politics.
Everyone seems guilty at one time or another, and as a reader, you can't put your finger on the "killer" until the very end.
Diz, as usual, does a great job working his case, and his relationship with Glitsky is, as always, one of greatest parts of the book.
If you read the Dismas Hardy series, you'll love this next installment. If you don't, get started, you have a lot to catch up on!!
Great book!
Rating: 
Summary: too many mistakes
Review: This book seems to have been written and edited without much attention to detail. I am a big fan of Lescroart, but he needs to check his facts. In one place, he says that a person lives in the Haight in SF, but then says that his wife worked at Macy's Herald Square--a long commute. That same page says that Bhutan "made due"--not the proper way to write "made do." I'm only on page 76, but now Lescroart has given a Nobel Peace Prize to Winston Churchill--doesn't anybody ever check facts? These mistakes go along with a previous review that says the medical aspects of the book are incorrect. These mistakes make the book not so much fun to read.
Rating: 
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: This is one of the best crafted novels I have read in several years. In fact, anybody who is considering writing a work of fiction should read this book several times, once for stellar enjoyment, once for its superb craftsmanship, and once again, sentence by sentence, to observe a master who manages 400 pages without a single bad one.
Rating: 
Summary: The Oath
Review: This is the first Lescroart novel I've read. Though I'll try another, it won't be because this one is great. It isn't. I wouldn't recommend starting here.The prose is very good, and SOME of the characterization quite remarkable--the character of Dr. Kensing is original and not at all black-and-white, hardly the virtuous innocent of much genre fiction. Some of the psychological development is good--watching Bracco and Fisk grow to their respective bits of self-knowledge is satisfying. One vignette between Hardy's wife and kids is as fine a piece of writing on affection as you'll find. But I'm gonna have to take other reviewers' word that the Hardy/Glitsky friendship is believable in other novels. Though some of their dialog is quite witty--reminiscent of Spenser and Hawk in Robert B. Parker's singular novels--mostly the relationship as portrayed here it is just stupid. No one in his right mind would remain friends with Glitsky after some of his machinations here. "Ah, you've completely betrayed me, and lied to me, but since it is work-related and friendship is more important than professional conflict, let's have a barbeque, old bud." Like that. Uh-huh. And Hardy is sort of a cipher. I didn't understand at all what makes him tick. What really left me empty was the denouement. It could not possibly be more cliched. There is simply nothing interesting or original or insightful or surprising in it. And in genre novels, the denouement is supposed to involve some showdown between the good guy and the bad guy. Here, the falsely accused guy we've spent most of the novel getting to know gets cleared and drops out of the picture too soon, so he is no part of the resolution. The only person who gets cleared in the climax is a relatively minor character whom we've not been given any reason to care much about. Genre novels are called genre novels because they observe some rules of the genre--and one is that the resolution is suppose to be where the innocent is cleared and the surprise guilt of someone else is revealed. It's a battle of good versus evil, where nothing is as it seems, and we are all reassured because--against all odds-good beats evil. Here, that just doesn't happen I figure Lesroart is worth another try, because of the things I've commented positively on here. But this one just doesn't cut it.
Rating:
Summary: Ultimately unsatisfying
Review: This is the first Lescroart novel I've read. Though I'll try another, it won't be because this one is great. It isn't. I wouldn't recommend starting here. The prose is very good, and SOME of the characterization quite remarkable--the character of Dr. Kensing is original and not at all black-and-white, hardly the virtuous innocent of much genre fiction. Some of the psychological development is good--watching Bracco and Fisk grow to their respective bits of self-knowledge is satisfying. One vignette between Hardy's wife and kids is as fine a piece of writing on affection as you'll find. But I'm gonna have to take other reviewers' word that the Hardy/Glitsky friendship is believable in other novels. Though some of their dialog is quite witty--reminiscent of Spenser and Hawk in Robert B. Parker's singular novels--mostly the relationship as portrayed here it is just stupid. No one in his right mind would remain friends with Glitsky after some of his machinations here. "Ah, you've completely betrayed me, and lied to me, but since it is work-related and friendship is more important than professional conflict, let's have a barbeque, old bud." Like that. Uh-huh. And Hardy is sort of a cipher. I didn't understand at all what makes him tick. What really left me empty was the denouement. It could not possibly be more cliched. There is simply nothing interesting or original or insightful or surprising in it. And in genre novels, the denouement is supposed to involve some showdown between the good guy and the bad guy. Here, the falsely accused guy we've spent most of the novel getting to know gets cleared and drops out of the picture too soon, so he is no part of the resolution. The only person who gets cleared in the climax is a relatively minor character whom we've not been given any reason to care much about. Genre novels are called genre novels because they observe some rules of the genre--and one is that the resolution is suppose to be where the innocent is cleared and the surprise guilt of someone else is revealed. It's a battle of good versus evil, where nothing is as it seems, and we are all reassured because--against all odds-good beats evil. Here, that just doesn't happen I figure Lesroart is worth another try, because of the things I've commented positively on here. But this one just doesn't cut it.
Rating:
Summary: SOLID READ
Review: Well written legal thriller with a powerful ending. Slow moving to start this book picks up in intensity throughout to the final pages. Second best mystery of the year, MURDER DOESN'T FIGURE was first, a fast paced read more to my liking. You can't go wrong with either, they are both exceptional.
Rating:
Summary: An explosive thriller
Review: When Tim Markham, the head of San Francisco's largest HMO dies in his own hospital, no one doubts he died of the massive injuries inflicted by a random hit-and-run car accident. But soon an autopsy reveals he died of an overdose of potassium, and the attending physician Eric Kensing becomes the prime suspect. Kensing, desperate, and in need of an attorney, turns to Dismas Hardy for his defense. Going head-to-head with long time friend Abe Glitsky, and the two bumbling detectives assigned to this case, Dismas knows he has a tough battle to win, and when he finds information that further cements the hatred between Kensing and Markham, Dismas begins to question his client's innocence. The deeper Dismas digs into Markham's twisted past, he finds no one is exactly who they say they are, and everyone has something to hide, but nothing can prepare him for another shocking murder that will start to unravel a conspiracy of violence that takes the lives of those it has sworn to protect. 'The Oath' is a sure bet for a wild ride of page-turning excitement. The mixing of medical science, and legal thrills makes for a perfect read that will surely entertain. With many novels of it's kind out there, 'The Oath' stands far ahead of the rest for it's twisting plot, fleshed out characters, lightning fast pace and surprises along the way. John Lescroart is one of the masters of the legal thriller, and his newest novel will give his fans something to cheer about, and earn him a slew of new ones. Mr. Lescroart is never at a loss for creating suspenseful, original plots, and 'The Oath' will further prove his knack for writing blockbusters as it rockets up all the bestseller list's. A MUST read! Nick Gonnella
Rating:
Summary: Dismas takes on the HMO
Review: With a villain everybody loves to hate - the HMO - John Lescroart's ninth novel featuring San Francisco Defense attorney Dismas Hardy and his best friend and oft-times rival, homicide detective Abe Glitzky, finds plenty to engage the reader. When the HMO's CEO, Tim Markham, dies after a hit-and-run accident and the autopsy determines it was a medical injection that killed him, his doctor, Eric Kensing, is the obvious suspect. Not only did Kensing vociferously protest the HMO's cost-cutting restrictions, the victim had also been having an affair with Kensing's wife. When the dead man's family is massacred and Kensing is placed at the scene, only Hardy continues to believe in his innocence. Glitzky's determination to nail Hardy's client causes a rift between the friends, only partially healed when Hardy's fishing turns up a pattern of suspicious deaths at the hospital, which cannot all be laid at Kensing's feet. Lescroart's thorough research and skill in explaining the complex tensions between HMO, hospital and patient keeps the story humming even as Hardy's increasingly cozy relationship with the mayor, prosecutor and police strains credibility. Though not one of his best, Lescroart's well-drawn characters - particularly the strong relationship between Glitzky and Hardy - and solid writing make this a fine read.
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