Rating: 
Summary: A STUNNER !
Review: For those who are faithful readers of John Lescroart and have developed a "reader relationship" with his two primary characters, Abe Glitsky and Dismas Hardy, THE OATH is a stunner!As usual, Lescroart's plotting, characterization, and dialogue are excellent. However, what sets this book apart from his previous work, is the emotional reactions it creates. Reading THE OATH is very similar to watching two best friends fight and not being able to do anything about it. Glitsky, San Francisco Chief of Homocide, and Hardy, ex-District Attorney turned brilliant defense counsel, are at odds over the guilt or innocence of Dr. Eric Kensing, the prime suspect in the murder of the CEO of a high profile but financially troubled physicians' medical group. Throughout the book, the reader can only passively stand by while Glitsky and Hardy present their points of view and reveal their own personality traits and unique perspectives. Lescroart masterfully introduces and develops several suspects and motives in this complex, multi-layered legal puzzle. However, the concern for both Hardy and Glitsky is never far away. As the suspense and interest build toward the story's climax I was stunned and begging for answers in the final pages. Thankfully Lescroart provided satisfaction, but you'll have to read this highly recommended thriller to find out how.
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.
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: New Favorite Author
Review: Of the many books I have read this was definetly a good one. John Lescroart has joined my list of favorite authors. In this book, Glistky and Hardy return when they find out a corporate CEO has been killed. But why? The story develops when the autopsy reveals overdose of Potassium and besides that other patients have been dying quite too often. The deals with the problems that big companies deal with in regards to costs, hmo, and everything. The surprises come throughtout the whole book, and we don't really find out who killed the CEO and why until the very end of the of the book. Great book!!
Rating:
Summary: Another Great Book from Lescroart!!
Review: John Lescroart has once again written an intense book surround a murder investigation. With his usual characters, attorney Dismas Hardy and Homicide Investigator Abe Glitsky, Lescroart once again keeps the action coming nonstop. This book involves some very real issues in the United States today. Issues surrounding health care and how we pay for it are discussed throughout the book within the story. The plot thickens as one of Hardy's clients is suspected of murder, and Glitsky thinks he has his man. But, as usual in a Lecroart novel, there are numerous twists and turns until there is finally a stunning ending. Did Hardy's client commit the crime? Will Hardy and Glitsky be able to maintain their friendship? What's going on behind the scenes at a San Francisco hospital? If you pick up this book, you won't put it down until you know the answers to all these questions.
Rating:
Summary: Great Mystery
Review: Keeps you turning the pages, I had to keep taking this away from my wife as I read it. She kept trying to snatch it from me each time I set it down. This is a nicely woven tale that keeps you guessing until the end. I like his writing style and plan to read more of his books.
Rating: 
Summary: The Oath
Review: Boring and disappointing. The characters were uninteresting and the plot dragged. After reading more than half, I decided not to waste my time and I skipped to the ending which was predictable.
Rating: 
Summary: Not too hot
Review: As a health care professional, I hate HMO's but love HMO-thrillers. Well, "The Oath" is low on my list. In fact, after a while, I just skimmed it. The writing was poor and I, for one, wasn't drawn in the the "old favorite characters" who I felt detracted from the plot action. Don't waste your time.
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: 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.
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