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Summary: OPENING A LESCROAT BOOK IS LIKE MEETING OLD FRIENDS
Review: Lescroat has that ability to make his primary characters believeable and earthy. In the "Dismas" books one feels like they are returning to old friends who have encountered some problems along the way. The only problem is that Dismas always seems to get involved in MURDER! And when that happens you can rest assured that Dismas looks under every stone until he finds the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."The Mercy Rule" was a great 'who dunnit' with quite a few possibilities on the list of suspects but the author holds us in suspense until the enth degree - as we rule out each suspect and turn the pages faster and faster to learn the identity of the true killer. Even with murder, mystery and mayhem, Lescroat instills a sense of duty, family loyalty and love in his novels and he shows no exception with The Mercy Rule. A great read.
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Summary: On a par with Grisham
Review: Sal Russo was dying from a brain tumor and since it was in the end stages, he suffered from excruciating pain. Sal was also inflicted with Alzheimer's disease, so no one was surprised when he was found dead in his apartment from an apparent morphine overdose. However, the autopsy results lead the coroner to conclude that Sal either was assisted in committing suicide or was murdered. Suspicion falls upon Sal's oldest son, Graham, whose fingerprints are on vials of morphine. Obtaining a search warrant, the police inspect Graham's safety deposit box and find $50,000 and Sal's valuable baseball card collection. The police arrest Sal, but the DA leans towards not taking this case to trial as justice would not prevail if the state adheres to an ambiguous law. Whether he stands trial or not, Graham's legal problems have just begun. John Lescroart, the New York Times best selling author of TH 13TH JUROR, has written another blockbuster hit that is sure to return him to all the lists. THE MERCY RULE is a complex, fascinating tale that deals with nebulous legal, political, and social issues that haunt society today. The novel has cross genre appeal that will allow this talented writer to give Grisham, Turow, and Rosenberg a run for the number one selling legal thriller of the year. Harriet Klausner
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Summary: Good mystery; good characters
Review: The good thing about a Lescroart mystery is not so much the mystery as the characters who intersect the mystery. Murder's the name but the players are the game. Here Lescroart touches on an emotionally charged issue, euthanasia or mercy killing. There's a nice analogy with the game of baseball, perhaps unintentional, which is that in the early levels of the game the adolescent players learn 'the slaughter rule,' allowing a team which has no chance of winning having fallen behind an insurmountable lead, to exit with some self respect intact. Hence we have Sal Russo, years ago a bright guy married to his sweetheart, knowing all along she is from a different life, years later preparing to die alone, the target of an agonizing tumor complicated by the onset of alzeimers. He is reunited by his oldest son, Graham, who tried his own (and his father's) dream of playing in the big game, only to fall short. Sal dies under mysterious circumstances with a DNR (do not revive) warning in plain view. That Graham is arrested, then released, then indicted for murder, reflects the indecision the politicians, their constituents and the police have on this painful topic. Do the terminally ill have control over the time that they cross the river, or do we let events rob them of their remaining dignity? Dismas Hardy is again the reluctant guardian at the gate, not wanting murder as a crime he defends, all the while knowing it's where his true strength . . . and definition lies. If there is an irritant, it is the tedious relationship he has with his wife, Frannie. So many alter egos of the novelist's heroes love their partner for what they do, yet make life difficult for them because they do it. Kudos as an aside to Lucy Chenier, Elvis Pike's lover, who got up and left. But with that one comment, a multi-latered book for the reader who wants social issues, murder most foul, great complicated characters and unexpected twists. Not a fast read but a very good job.
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Summary: a very good, smooth and interesting read
Review: The Mercy Rule is a very pleasant, well-written read. It has interesting plot and character development. Each sentence and paragraph logically follows the preceding one and each word seems to fit the puzzle. The characters make one want to keep reading this series; also, the humor is well-done. Lescroart's books keep getting better and better. This was a very well-written legal mystery where the words, arguments, and logical thinking win out, not gore and violence. The culprits were not obvious, but once discovered, were not a surprise given the plot development This was a satisfying and very relaxing read, well worth staying up late at night to finish it. And one of those where you're of mixed minds at the end--you wanted to see how it would turn out but are reluctant to leave the characters, and close the book. Then you wonder what you'll read next that will be as pleasant and easy-going but interesting and well-done. Please write more in this series. (Maybe Frannie should get a job and add an additional intereting element of her experiences at work which could somehow dovetail with Dismas'...whatever, there are many possibilities. Maybe Glitzky could have a romance or one of his older sons could get into trouble and need help. His life could use some more dimensions at this point.) Anyway, it's up to Lescroart and I'm sure he'll deliver new, good stories. kdurkin
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Summary: Ten Times Better Than Any Grisham
Review: This book is ten times better than any recent John Grisham book. And twenty times better than any David Baldacci. For one thing, it has a well-thought-out plot. It has some characters with some depth. The relationship between Dismas Hardy and his wife still lacks any depth, however; she ends up being mainly an irritant as opposed to a positive element in the narrative. Still, I would recommend this book to anyone as a superior effort.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: This could have been a good story, the premise was an interesting one. But the whole book was padded with way too much non-essential information. It actually occurred to me that Lescroart was being paid by the word...then it would all make sense. For the most part, a very dull read.
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Summary: A Terrific and Utterly Enthralling Book
Review: This is my first by Lescroart, and I found it to be well-written and easy to follow. The book is based on the issue of assisted suicide, and whether or not Graham Russo helped his father kill himself. The medical examiner's official standing is that it is a homicide/suicide equivocal -- which means that it could be either, there is not way to tell, and no indicators to make him lean one way or the other. This book addresses one of the medical issues that is at the forefront of today's society, but it does it in a way that is subtle and not in your face. Throughout the book, Graham Russo maintains his innocence, thus sending Hardy on a search for the truth leading him to unearth a secret almost twenty years old.
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Summary: Well written.
Review: This is my first by Lescroart, and I found it to be well-written and easy to follow. The book is based on the issue of assisted suicide, and whether or not Graham Russo helped his father kill himself. The medical examiner's official standing is that it is a homicide/suicide equivocal -- which means that it could be either, there is not way to tell, and no indicators to make him lean one way or the other. This book addresses one of the medical issues that is at the forefront of today's society, but it does it in a way that is subtle and not in your face. Throughout the book, Graham Russo maintains his innocence, thus sending Hardy on a search for the truth leading him to unearth a secret almost twenty years old.
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Summary: Tough going
Review: This is my first(and possibly last) Lescroart book and though some of the characters are potentially interesting,I found it terribly hard going and started hurrying through it just to get finished.I don't buy the romance between the cop and the suspect anyway-she'd be bounced off any police force!
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Summary: It kept me turning the pages.
Review: This is the first book I have read by Lescroart. I am definately looking for the others now. I thought the characters, especially Dismas and Graham, were well rounded. My sleuth instincts predicted the true killer, but the ending was a nice surprise. I have recommended The Mercy Rule to my book-club pals.
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