The Motive: A Dismas Hardy Novel

I came across this title in paperback and was intrigued by a Washington Post blurb on the back cover that read, "Surpasses anything Grisham ever wrote ... " I like Grisham so I checked the availability on Audible and ultimately downloaded it. The good news is that the listen was a good one. The bad news is that the Washington Post was wrong. This novel told a couple of stories that were skillfully linked. I truly enjoyed both the investigative pursuits and the courtroom dialogue. I correctly guessed "who done it" about halfway through the listen and was pleased when some of the assumptions I made were revealed. There is misdirection but Lescroart gives the reader enough information to deduce what might have happened. What disappointed me was the history behind the "culprit" and what drove him/her to commit the crime. I thought it was a tad far fetched. But don't let that stop you from giving a listen to this otherwise entertaining book. I'll try another in the Hardy series.

The story was engaging, the characters good, not great and not easily discernible. Too many look-alike women, cars, etc. Different format, with the book being broken into parts that feature Glitsky then Hardy. An odd thing happened near the end: Past tense changed to present tense during the high tension "solving" of the crime. Odd to me, disjointed in the hearing/reading.

I think I would have liked more integration of the various story lines rather than what felt like discrete parts. Glitsky played a stronger role, which I do like, and Franny fell into the same old "perfect wife" role that Trea also does.

Not my favorite, but not the least liked either.

Lescroart wanders into areas he doesn't know well enough, to the story's detriment. He also displays a lot of the laziness he's prone to: bad grammar, often using the wrong word/s and not finding his end product important enough to warrant the effort of finding the right one. The worst failure is that he crams an entire sub-novel (and a lousy one) into the last moments of the book, rather than weaving it in or trimming it down in a competent way. I got the sense that, by the time he'd gotten that far, he just lost interest and wanted to be done with it. It shows.

AUDIO: Not a terrible reader, but not a good one. Too much overemphasis, and too many nits like mispronunciations and the bizarre decision to make life-long Bay Area residents speak with a New York City accent any time they're feeling macho.

its in my top 5 , maybe top 3 for the Dismas Hardy/Abe Glitzky series

The court room scenes are terrific. I enjoyed the corrupt police angle. Excellent pacing and it held my interest.

Another great job by Colacci

Not finished with book yet.

Not finished with book yet.

I usually like Colacci's narration a lot, but this time he doesn't seem to be into it. The Abe Glitsky voice is only marginally similar to the voice Colacci has used for Abe in all of the other Lescroart books I've listened to in the past. Had I listened to this one first, I might feel differently, but since I've come to expect that gravely, sarcastic tone when Abe speaks, I'm a little disappointed in this reading.

??

This is another murder mystery taking place in San Francisco. If you are familiar with Lescroart's previous works, you will find attorney Dismas Hardy and SF Deputy Chief of Inspectors Abe Glitsky working together on case involving two bodies found in a house fire. As in all Lescroart's works, his description and use of SF scenes is excellent and makes me want to go back and visit.

There are plenty of interacdtions between characters. The story pits Glitsky against the detective assigned to the case and the main suspect is one of Hardy's old girlfriends. Glitsky and Hardy are also worried about the spectre of their role in a police shooting that they were involved in many years ago. The courtroom scenes are good with Hardy doing an excellent and clever job of cross examining the prosecution witnesses.

The story is very entertaining but it lags in two areas. Unfortunately, it starts with a note all the interesting, VERY detailed of the burning of a house...although this is when the bodies are discovered, I was getting very impatient with the speed of the story. The other place was in some personal, non crime related, issues that came up for Glitsky...although I'm sure there are some fans who liked getting to know Glitsky in a deeper way, this side story had nothing to do with the main story (near as I could tell) other than to distract Glitsky. I estimate the book could have been 10% or more shorter if there was less detail about the fire and Glitsky's personal traumas without harming the story.

However, don't let that take away from the story. I loved it and would recommend it highly. Enjoy.

Found this book dull. For me a book comes alive as the author builds credible characters who carry forward the action in a way that grabs and holds one's attention and, sometimes, one's emotion.. In The Motive this just doesn't happen. Narration was fine - did not interpose itself between the book and the listener in a distracting way - but could not rescue the essential tedium of the book.