• Poison

  • A Dismas Hardy Novel
  • By: John Lescroart
  • Narrated by: Jacques Roy
  • Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (411 ratings)

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Poison  By  cover art

Poison

By: John Lescroart
Narrated by: Jacques Roy
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Publisher's summary

From the "master of the legal thriller" (Chicago Sun-Times) John Lescroart comes a dramatic family drama in which attorney Dismas Hardy is called on to defend a former client against the accusation of murder.

Dismas Hardy is looking forward to cutting back his work hours and easing into retirement after recovering from two gunshot wounds. He is determined to spend more time with his family and even reconnect with his distant son, Vincent. But Dismas just can't stay away from the courtroom for long, and soon he is pulled into an intense family drama with fatal consequences.

Grant Carver, the vigorous patriarch of the Carver family and its four-generations-owned family business, has been murdered. His bookkeeper, Abby Jarvis, whom Hardy had defended on a DUI charge 11 years prior, is the prime suspect after police discover she's been embezzling funds from the company - but she insists she did not kill her boss.

As he prepares to defend her, Dismas investigates the Carver clan and discovers the dark, twisted secrets within the family. It seems that Abby was not the only one who stood to profit from the company's $25 million market value. From jealous children to gold-digging girlfriends, Dismas has his work cut out for him in sifting through mud flinging, backstabbing, and accusations of blackmail.

But Dismas has to save not only his client's life but his own, as it soon becomes clear that someone has a painted a target on his back, too. With Lescroart's signature "smart, riveting, and utterly compelling" (Brad Thor, number one New York Times best-selling author) prose, this whip smart and nail-bitingly suspenseful thriller will keep you guessing until the very end.

©2018 John Lescroart (P)2018 Simon & Schuster

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What listeners say about Poison

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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Worst Lescroart legal 'thriller' ever!

I made the mistake of setting Poison by John Lescroart aside with 4 hours left this morning to listen to Scott Pratt's Justice Lost which was released today. When I completed Justice Lost I returned to Poison and completed it; comparing the two legal thrillers is unavoidable. Lescroart's Poison suffers from the comparison. I have read or listened to many John Lescroart legal thrillers. Poison just-take-a nap boring. Justice Lost is a tightly written novel with an interesting plot and great narration. Poison is a sloppily written excessively wordy novel. Narration by Jacques Roy is mostly disinterested monotone. My advice is to skip this one; I wish I had.

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24 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Disappointing, slow moving story

John Lescroart rarely disappoints. However, this story is an exception. I've dowloaded Poison 6 weeks ago and still struggling to finish. Basically, I don't care about the characters and don't care who did it. The plots just plods along like an old, arthritic dog. I'll finish it - one of these months but definitely not one of those you just can't put down.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Really Disappointing

I love the Dismiss Hardy stories and with this book the story is great, but unlike David Colacci who actually performs the story, Jacques Roy just read it. A great performer like David Colacci, or George Guidall, Scott Brink, Roy Dotrice, Wil Wheaton, etc can all take a so-so story and make it very enjoyable listen. But when a so-so narrator takes a good story and reads it, it makes for a so-so audio book. This is a so-so audio book.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not a thrilling thriller, I'm afraid

I was disappointed to find that David Colacci was not the narrator of this book, as he has become the voices of Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky for me. The new narrator seems bored with the book, which, I agree, is not very exciting. I was able to figure out the identity of the villain long before it was revealed, and I kept hoping it was a red herring, but, alas, it was not. Surely hope that the next book is better...if not narrated by Colacci, I likely will pass.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

For fans of Dismas Hardy. Not a legal thriller.

You must already be invested in the Dismas Hardy series to really enjoy this book. If not, you very likely will rate this one- or two-stars only. (I believe this is my 11th of the series.) Unlike many others in the series, this is also not a legal mystery/thriller in the conventional sense. It is closer in form to a police procedural, but there is a great deal of time spent on Hardy's inner struggles as he becomes involved in defending another person accused of murder, even though he had sworn off such cases. As a result, a substantial portion of the dialogue (both inner and outer) involves reconciling his legal practice with his relationship with his second wife Franny. Some of the other familiar characters are back, including BFF Detective Abe Glitzky (now retired) and P.I. Wyatt Hunt. Unusually, his son Vincent has a significant role to play, but his daughter Rebecca (and current legal partner) is essentially invisible except by reference.

Lescroart is a master at building suspense, and this book is no exception. Related mostly but not entirely by following Dismas, I'm afraid the denouement was rather abrupt and in several ways, related second-hand. The villains were essentially revealed to the reader even before Dismas finally figured out who the persons were. After that, the story was wrapped up in just a few pages. I'm not sure why Lescroart had things play out like that, but I found the final chapters a bit of a letdown.

I found the narration by Jacques Roy was good, but all the previous ones to which I have listened were narrated by David Colacci, who is exceptional. So I couldn't help being slightly disappointed, most likely through no fault of Roy.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Almost

This almost made it onto my list of good Dismas Hardy novels, it is along list as I have read most of them. Unfortunately, the story fell apart at the last approximately 20%relying on a lazy deus ex machina device to bring the story to a close.
Very good narration.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

How smart Desman is.

The twists and turns of the plot and the intertwining of relationships kept you guessing. Another great story in this series.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Story line

Loved the story line and a well read book you could almost put yourself in the setting

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved the story as per usual

I’m surprised I could get through the whole book, this performer is no John Colaccci. Wish the author would have stayed with his tried and true performer, Colacci.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

A bit bland

Almost no courtroom time and very little Dismas Hardy. I like this series but this one just didn’t work for me.

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