The Oath

Dismas Hardy, Book 8

By: John Lescroart

Narrated by: Robert Lawrence

Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

When the head of San Francisco's largest HMO dies in his own hospital, no one doubts that it is anything but the result of massive injuries inflicted by a random hit-and-run accident. But the autopsy soon tells a different story - an overdose of potassium killed him, and the attending physician, Eric Kensing, becomes the prime suspect in a high-profile homicide.

Homicide lieutenant Abe Glitsky, though hindered by the inept bungling of two politically appointed cops assigned to the investigation, quickly sets his sights on Kensing. Desperate and in need of an attorney, Kensing turns to lawyer Dismas Hardy for his defense. But as the pressure mounts to indict Kensing, Hardy goes on the offensive, believing that the murder had little to do with his client, and everything to do with business. Hardy knows that all is not well with the HMO, and makes a terrifying discovery: too many patients have been dying, many of them victims of murder - and it looks like it is the hospital that is killing them.

His own marriage tested and his family strained as he struggles to save his client, Hardy must uncover a twisting conspiracy of avarice and violence that takes the lives it is sworn to save. A timely and gripping novel that puts lives - and a long-standing friendship - at grave risk.

Check out more titles in the Dismas Hardy series.

©2004 John Lescroart (P)2004 Brilliance Audio

I'm an IDIOT! Don't YOU be an idiot. Skip this one

As is my habit, when an author I like comes out with a new title, I go back and start from the beginning and listen to ALL of his books before listenting to the new book. As i went through the Dismas Hardy books this time, I wondered why I didn't have The Oath, The First Law or The Hearing in my library. I purchased and downloaded all 3 WITHOUT rereading the reviews. Then I found out why I had NOT purchased them previously. This is one of the all-time worse narrators every to record a book. It's even more horrible because a couple of these are key book in the series. He actually does a lisping detective (REALLY?!!) What purpose does that serve. Hardy's voice read by Lawrence is nasal and whiny. I can't begin to express how difficult it was to listen to these. BEWARE!

Enjoyable story, but the narration is pretty bad

Since when does Moses McGuire have a (bad) Irish brogue? I was a bit annoyed with the narration of this book. Lawrence also narrated The Hearing, which sounded terrible. This was a little better, but sheesh, the accents! Stop it! Especially when it makes no sense for the character!

As for the book itself, it was well-written, as always. I like Lescroart's mysteries.

A well-written story

The plot is decent, the details are adequate, and the characters are nicely developed. I think this book is a fairly typical Lescroart, and is money well spent.
The Oath could be considered a medical thriller, but the hospital is only the start of the action. This particular book is also short on courtroom drama, so if you really want some Perry Mason stuff this one is not going to please you. There are a few philosophical passages, but they are actually quite nice and not too long.
The Abe Glitsky twist towards the end was unnecessary.
Robert Lawrence has a somewhat sing-song style of narration, but, once I got used to the style I thought he was quite good. Despite all the adverse reviews about him, I will gladly pick up another book read by Lawrence.

Good story HORRIBLE narrator.

I liked the book but hated the narrator. Everybody sounds like they have a speech impediment.

Excellent Hospital Crime Drama in San Francisco

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If you enjoy the Dismas Hardy series, I would definitely recommend this audio book

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Oath?

Oath starts out a little slow but often this is necessary, to set the various scenes.
I enjoyed this audio book and once i got to part 2, I could not stop listening

Which character – as performed by Robert Lawrence – was your favorite?

I thought the Hospital CEO , who was corrupt , was fascinating.

Good and Bad

The beginning of this book dragged with many characters that I found difficult to remember. That difficulty stemmed from narration that I would consider to be not the best. Differentiation was created more by accents that I was not sure were true (southern, english, etc.) and the female voices were awful.

However, the story is a good one and worth the listen. I look forward to other books by this author, but not by this narrator.

smart, fast paced, still very timely!

explores many of the issues in the current healthcare debate in the context of a real "page turner" of an audio book. The reader did a great job w/the different characters... you could always tell which character was speaking by the voice, and there were plenty of them!
as a heath care worker intimately familiar w/these issues, and an avid mystery buff, i really, really enjoyed this book!

Difficult to present as an audiobook....

I am a big fan of John Lescroart, especially his Dismas Hardy series. This is the first time I have listened to one of his books, however, and I was a little disappointed. Lescroart is a fine writer of dialogue, and this particular narrator struggles quite a bit, trying to give unique voices to each character. His portrayal of women is especially distracting (they all sound alike with a silly falsetto voice), and he has no luck at all with an Australian character. If I didn't enjoy the series so much, I would have probably given up on it altogether. Just a lesson learned: I'll listen to the sample before I order next time. That said, the book is great - complicated plot, engaging characters and satisfying resolution.

Good story, awful narrator!

It was incredibly painful to listen to this book by the narrator who read it. I would buy this book again if somebody else would narrate it.

Good Story, Dislike the Reader

This reader, Robert Lawerence, was okay with the narrative, but the only voice I liked in dialogue was Det. Abe. I especially disliked Dismas Hardy’s voice.

I like the stories well enough that I’ll keep getting them, even with this reader, but I prefer others.