This is more a legal/police procedural than a mystery/thriller. The book is well written, and the characters are very good, but it's very long with little content. The author also wants to tie up things from earlier books, and that's not very interesting for new readers.

In the latest Dismas Hardy book, the San Francisco attorney is worried when his secretary, Phyllis McGowan, suddenly disappears. When Dismas gets desperate enough to search her home, he discovers that Phyllis has been helping to move illegal immigrants through an underground railroad. Phyllis is arrested for murder for the killing of a human trafficker, Hardy and his two partners try to save her. The main person who stands in the way is the city’s new District Attorney, Ron Jameson. Hardy tries to find out how to save Phyllis as well as himself from Ron Jameson, who has a huge secret to hide. This is typical Lescroat with the wonderful dialogue and plot that is always intrigues. John Lescroart is one of my favorite authors.

With the latest installment in the Dismas Hardy series, you will find many of the well-developed characters you have enjoyed throughout the series along with a colorful picture of San Francisco. Sadly the plot of this particular book fell a bit off-mark. The dual story-lines both were anti-climactic with the over-lay of politics taking too much a fore-front in what should be entertainment. If you are a die-hard fan of the series, I'm sure you will enjoy parts of the follow through on ongoing story-lines, but for a new reader, it might lead to disappointment.

I feel so lucky to have received an ARC for one of my favorite authors. I have read all of his novels and this one didn’t disappoint. A revisit of two previous storylines, all the loose ends were tied up and relegated to the closed case files.
We become better acquainted with his loyal secretary Phyllis, who is implicated in the murder of a sex trafficker. His usual cast of characters appear to clear her name, while looking for the real killer. Dismas Hardey revisits the familiar Little Shamrock, my father’s favorite lunch destination, of which he is part owner. Abe Glitsky, now retired, manages to insert himself into the parallel investigations in the cold cases that are reopened.
Dismas Hardey manages to reassemble former partners into the firm to provide the reader with a compelling mystery that had me smiling with satisfaction at the end. Thank you to NetGalley and John Lescroart for the opportunity to read another great story. Here’s hoping you’re well on your way to your next publication.

John Lescroart is one of my favorite author and favorite people. This gentle man writes some of the best crime fiction today. He has said that he is Dismas Hardy (in another life).

Those familiar with Dismas will know about his trusted secretary Phyllis. when she is out of sorts, Hardy knows something is wrong but can't get her to talk. Then she is arrested for the murder of a human trafficker - he must get to work to uncover the mystery. Family and friends play an important but unknown role for Dismas and he must get cracking to figure it out and save his friend.

What an amazingly brilliant premise, written with care and not overflowing with unnecessary dialogue. Lescroart is at his best when he writes Dismas Hardy and this one is a winner.

This book is a Dismas Hardy legal thriller. Dismas and his friends are in some of my favorite books by this author. This one is about Dismas’s secretary, Phyllis being arrested as an accessory to murder. An ambitious unscrupulous DA with an agenda can be a dangerous thing. Especially if said DA has a secret of his own. This is another good legal thriller by this author that will have you rooting for the good guys to the end. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

John Lescroart in The Rule of Law presents us with a fast paced, engaging story with well defined characters. There are many twists and turns throughout the book with all the threads of the story line being resolved at the end. The story revolves around the main charavter Dismas Hardy’s efforts to defend his secretary who was arrested for a being an accessory to murder. Central to the story line is a recently elected District Attorney who acts with self interest in order to hide his own secrets. I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

I eagerly await each installment of John Lescroart's Dismas Hardy series. They never disappoint and THE RULE OF LAW is no exception. Lescroart always gives us complex characters with rich histories and a plot that will keep you up reading long past your bedtime. In THE RULE OF LAW Dismas and his team take on an voracious and ambitious DA. Lescroart tackles the difficult topic of immigration and sanctuary cities. If you haven't read all of the Dismas Hardy books, I would recommend that you read THE FIRST LAW before starting on THE RULE OF LAW, because THE RULE OF LAW involves some of the events that took place in THE FIRST LAW.

Another excellent Dismas Hardy story. These stories never fail to entertain me. Easy reading with a story that you can not put down until you get to the finish!

I always enjoy this author's books but this one fell with a thud. To many substories going on this time. I did enjoy the dedicated, determined officer, Beth and the detective Devin but then again they are also caught up in the web. I truly enjoyed the old characters all being together because if it wasn't for that I probably wouldn't of finished the book.

From its onset the Dismas Hardy series has been a particular favorite of mine. Mr Lescroart has created in this series an entire cast of characters, each with their own unique and consistent voice and personality. Set in the very real, and beautiful city of San Francisco, the depiction of the sites and sounds of the city, interwoven with the uniqueness of the characters provided a fictional world that came to life so vividly through this author’s storytelling talents.

With the whip smart dialog, along with the trademark wry banter and repartee I’ve come to depend on throughout this series, the story brought to life a hot button topic of sanctuary cities and deportation through the humanization of the individuals who are caught in a black hole of seeking a better life for themselves and their families.

There is one thing I’ve come to expect in this series, and that is the unexpected. There are twists and turns, misdirects and...“I did not see that coming!”...moments which will keep you turning the pages rapidly. Ending the story with all the major players in the series back together, and with Dismas Hardy experiencing a humbling moment was well done.

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

This is the 18th Dismas Hardy novel and is well up to the high standard of the previous ones.

Of course it helps to have read some of the more recent books as some of the previous backstories re-emerge and are brought to fruition satisfactorily.

As always San Francisco is also a hero of the book and I love the descriptions of people of places. The characterisation is as sharp as always Dan there is a tight multilayered plot that takes you down to the wire.

I like Dismas and his values and as always was rooting for him to come out on top.

A well written and thought through legal thriller that I had highly recommend.

A great read, but not as good as many of the ones from the past, in my opinion. But I still had trouble putting it down toward the end.

I'm a big fan of this series, and already knew most of the characters, and also the back story from The First Law. I'd advise anyone to at least read that book before this one for maximum enjoyment. Reading more of the previous books, or all, would be better.

I think this is the first book to feature Hardy's secretary, Phyllis, as more than a butt of Hardy's jokes or complaints, and she's shown to have a somewhat surprising secret life - surprising because she's usually such a no-nonsense, business-only character. This part of her private life explodes in a way that causes many unforseen consequences, resulting in her arrest as an accessory to murder, and almost to the arrest of Hardy and some of his friends.

It was a pretty exciting story, but I believe there was also a political motive to the story, which was to highlight some of the problems facing undocumented aliens in the US, especially the younger ones who were brought here as infants and have no life or knowledge of their legal homes. One was even born in the US, but didn't have proof of any kind. These people are all, in their minds at least, as American as any of us, and would suffer greatly if deported. So they try to keep a very low profile, and are totally unprotected by our normal laws. If they accidentally get noticed somehow, their only choice is to go into hiding. I think the author did address some of the related issues, such as criminals who might get deported instead of arrested for their crimes, etc.

One thing I didn't like so much is that the characters seemed a little too one-dimensional in this book. The bad guys were really bad, the good guys were really good, and there wasn't much gray area. Also, there wasn't as much of the humorous bantering, it seemed, although there was some.

I hope there will be another in the series, now that Hardy's firm has collected a few old friends such as Wes Farrell and Gina Roake back as active partners, and Phyllis has been shown to have an actual life.

Thanks, NetGalley for providing this review copy.

John Lescroart knows his genre well and is a fine writer. He’s been a frequent favorite of mine for years.

The Rule of Law displays his attention to detail, vigilance when it comes to character, and ability to craft a quality yarn.

Highly recommended.

I'm a big fan of John Lescroart and have read all the previous Dismas Hardy novels. The Rule of Law continues the series with Wes Farrell and Gina Roake back at the firm after recent city elections. Phyllis is arrested and some old cases return in this novel with the usual cast of characters including Abe Glitsky, Frannie Hardy, and Devin Ruhle among others.

The new DA is Ron Jameson and he is the new enemy and not just because he is the DA. The novel is fun to read, enjoyable and has moxed the old with the new to provide suspense and familiarity.

I hope that author Lescroart has one or two more books left to write in this series and I look forward to the next one.

I was provided with a NetGalley version for Kindle in return for this review.

This is the story of Dismas Hardy and his fight to free his secretary from an accessory to murder charge. It is a well written book but for some reason I could not fully invest in the book. It may have something to do with this being my first book from the author. I liked it enough to finish but never had the urge to keep pushing to see what happened next.
Thank you Atria Books,John Lescroart and Netgalley the ARC for my review.

Here's the problem:

Is it poorly written? Not terribly, especially compared to the crap that's being published now..

But compared to his earlier work? Not close. Where's the tension, the curiosity of wanting or caring what will happen? As I read this book: 1. I knew that somehow Dismas will solve everything, but the interest of not knowing or caring how he will do it is lacking. And as I read along, I kept asking myself do I care how this ends and what the solution is? Is it worth reading when there are potentially so many other books out there to read that WILL hold my interest?

I do enjoy a good detective or mystery book and I don't expect all to be literary masterpieces, but it does have to he good for its genre.

It's somewhat between a 2 and 3 star and I gave it a 3 star in deference to all the other Dismas Hardy book I read in the past and enjoyed.

Dismas Hardy, Abe Glitzky, Wes Farrell, and Gina Roake – the old gang of lawyers is talking about reviving the law old law firm partnership again now that Wes has lost his bid for re-election for District Attorney. The Rule of Law sounded really promising, and in some respects, it lived up to my expectations.

Hardy is in for a big surprise when Phyllis, his reliable long-time secretary, misses a few days of work. Even more surprising is what comes next. Phyllis is arrested and charged as an accessory after the fact for murder! Dismas, named for one of the men who was crucified with Jesus, often called “the good thief”, has been a defense attorney for a long time. He also spent time as a cop, which is where he met his pal Glitzky. Much of the story – many of the Hardy stories, in fact – emphasize the unusual relationship between a defense lawyer and a police detective. Only now, Abe is retired, which means that he can work for Hardy’s team.

If the story had just stuck to Diz helping Phyllis, I’d have been very happy. But Lescroart makes it complicated by adding in all kinds of political machinations. We have a coyote killed and ICE and an old shoot-out that implicated Russians and a very self-important district attorney, all of which seems like a thinly veiled poke at the current national political situation. That just didn’t work very well for me.

I did enjoy the dedicated, determined officer, Beth Tully. Detective Devin Juhle returns in this book as well. They, too, are caught in the web of politics over truth. Eventually, of course, the truth must prevail. Right?

It was fun to see the whole gang together again, although it’s mainly Hardy and Glitzky. But the plot is overly messy and weak. This was just an “okay” book for me.

Thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and the author for this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

3 stars

The Rule of Law by John Lescroart featuring Dismas Hardy as his honest hardworking lawyer who is also the hero in all his mystery novels. Once I started reading I wanted to continue until the very end.. The story slowly works towards a climatic finish. The plot full of twists and turns kept me entertained until the surprise ending.

John Lescroart’s Dismas Hardy series has delivered reliablyall that readers of the genre look for. Until now. The Rule of Law fails to meet Lescroart’s previously high standards, offering instead an anemic unsuspenseful story and characters who lack vitality. Instead of offering a story full of plot twists and unsuspected actions, Lescroart’s newest seems almost formulaic. All but the most naive readers will catch on quickly to the tired plot. It is only Lescroart’s talents in turning a phrase and moving the little believable action forward that keeps The Rule of Law from being a complete disaster. Nonetheless, fans of the series will be eager to get their hands on it.