Cover Image: The Missing Piece

The Missing Piece

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Member Reviews

4.5 stars which I will gladly round up to 5 stars.

Welcome back Dismas Hardy, Abe Glitzkey , Will Farrell and team.

The Missing Piece is a fast paced read that will have you holding your breath and the lights will stay on for one or two more chapters.

The pages turn quickly , Abe takes way too many chances (bless him) and as the story unfolds .

John Lecscroart is a master a weaving a great story that holds your attention from beginning to end.

Get your copy of The Missing Piece when available and move it to the top of your TBR pile.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria books for a spell binding read.

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I really enjoy John Lescroart novels and this was no exception. Lots of twists and turns, leaving you guessing throughout. The plot was complex until the end. Great read. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance read copy!

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When a prisoner released thorough the Exoneration Initiative is killed within months of his release the father of the woman he raped and killed is the main suspect. His lawyer thinks he’s guilty but a PI who works with the law firm is not convinced and does his own investigation. The story tightens when the father is found killed too. This is a story of vigilante justice and how it spirals out of control.

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I am a big fan of the Dimas Hardy gang of justice served and fought. His office has strong individual characters that can take the lead in any case and add their own personality, experience, and strife to any given case. Wes a defendant lawyer of the firm is struggling with the balance of justice. Making sure his clients have a fair trial but he also is struggling with the guilt that these clients may have. Is justice being served. It is not about getting the client off, it is about justice being served for the client. When a case falls into his lap about a father Doug Rush being accused of killing a man that was exonerated for raping and killing his daughter, it looks like his client is guilty. Another dilemma. A twist takes the story to another player in Dimas Hardy arsenal, Private investigator Abe Glitsky. He is in the job of eliminating suspects. He is like the 70's hit show Columbo. Chews the fat of the facts and is like a dog with a bone. I liked him and his unique ways of getting to the facts without getting killed.

Many moving parts to the missing piece and has the title suggests, there are always missing pieces to justice.

A special thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

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John lescroart has once again brought Dismas Hardy, Abe Glitsky, and Wes Farrell together to solve this thriller. The Missing Piece examines feelings about organizations like the Exoneration Initiative.

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I really enjoyed this police procedural/crime drama! Filled with great characters, mystery and intrigue. Loved the storyline with it’s multiple layers and POVs. Highly recommend.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

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I’d only previously read one book in this series – the first – and it was alright: though I didn’t love it there were elements that caused me to promise myself I’d come back for another delve into the life and cases of lawyer Dismas Hardy. It’s taken me to book nineteen in the series to keep that promise and guess what, Dismas hardly makes an appearance in this one. A lot of water has flowed under the bridge in the thirty two years since book one was penned and there’s quite a few references to past events in the early pages, something I find slightly irritating as someone who repeatedly randomly dips into crime fiction series. But get past this and the story settles down into a caper largely featuring the law firm’s regular private investigator Abe Glitsky.

Wes Farrell, the former San Francisco District Attorney who now works with Hardy, is having second thoughts about being a defence attorney. This heralds quite a bit of debate about the Innocence Project which looks to revisit past cases and exonerate wrongly convicted criminals. Wes is not a fan of IP, believing that most convicts did something that should have had them sent down even if they didn’t commit the crime for which they were imprisoned. And when he picks up the case of a man charged with murdering the convicted killer of his daughter, now released as a result of an IP appeal, he is predisposed to be sceptical regarding his claims of innocence. But then events take a sinister turn and Web hires Abe to come in and do some digging around.

The characters are all well drawn, the dialogue is snappy and smart and the story rattles along at a good pace. Soon it becomes clear that’s there’s a lot more to what’s gone on than was initially evident and Abe gets drawn deeper and deeper into what proves to be a confusing but intriguing case. So this is not really a legal thriller, more a fairly standard murder mystery - but actually a pretty good one. I really liked Abe, he’s dogged and though he is generally good natured he’s also got that bit of edge necessary to kick something out of the weeds when the need arises. This is a case that sends him in various directions and I was never quite sure how it would eventually play out.

I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to re-visit this series – I think it just fell off my radar – but I’m really glad I found my way back. I’ll now definitely be working back through the earlier books as there was plenty here to entice me.

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I’m a long time fan of this author’s books, and this book continues his tradition of crafting an intricate storyline.

Paul Riley is released from prison after the Exoneration Initiative produces the man who confessed to the murder Paul was put into jail for. But soon after Paul is released he is murdered, and his father points the finger at the father of the woman Paul was accused of killing.

Abe Glitsky, former detective now private investigator is tagged by his firm, representing Doug Rush, the woman’s father, with gathering information and determining if Doug killed Paul. This action starts the ball rolling and Abe and the rest of his firm find themselves pulling at strings to unravel several murders. Are they connected, or are they a coincidence? What does any of this have to do with Paula and EI? The reader is kept guessing until the end!

This was a fast-paced, well conceived mystery and I really enjoyed it. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

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All my favorite characters are present in this book: Dismas Hardy, Abe Glitsky, Wes Farrell and Wyatt Hunt.

As DA, Wyatt Hunt convicted Paul Riley of rape and murder. He served eleven years in prison before being exonerated by The Exoneration Initiative. However, the murdered girls father Doug Rush still thought Paul Riley got away with murder. Shortly after his release, Riley is killed and a witness identified Doug Rush as the killer. He is represented by Hardy and Farrell. When he disappears, Glitsky as a PI is asked to find him.

There are many twists and turns and this is a memorable addition to the series.

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The Missing Piece is the nineteenth in a series, the lea character of which (as billed/titled, anyway) is Dismas Hardy. This book, however, features more of Abe Glitsky, a PI, and Wes Farrell, a former prosecutor, now defense attorney, who is having a midlife crisis about defending people he believes are guilty. According to some things I read, Lescroart cycles through characters, putting some (like Abe and Wes here) in the forefront, and then in the next book, putting others at the front. No problem with that!

I've not read any of the books in this series, and I don't think it's necessary to start at one and land here, as it's fine as a standalone. There are enough details about the relationships between the characters that it easily works as a standalone.

Eleven years ago, Farrell prosecuted Paul Riley for the rape and murder of Dana Rush. The Exoneration Initiative, akin to the Innocence Project, finds new DNA evidence pointing to another man who was already in prison for the same crime. That man confessed to Dana's murder, and Paul Riley is released. Paul heads home to live with his father. After Paul cleans up and remodels the room above the garage, his father decides Paul should start paying rent, at $2500/month. Thanks, dad. Since Paul doesn't make much at the restaurant where he works - and certainly not enough to pay dear old dad's price, he decides to go back to breaking and entering.

After one job, he's back in his place, when his dad calls up to him. Paul thinks pops sounds a little off, so he shoves the loot under his pillow, opens the door, but it isn't dad. Paul has an "Oh, shit" moment, but the person at the door shoots Paul in the head before he can do anything.

A couple of detectives show up, and Paul's father tells them he saw the shooter: Doug Rush, the father of the girl Paul murdered. So, despite everything that screams bullshit about this - including dad's attempt to say the money Paul has stuffed under his pillow belonging to him, the dad the scumbag - thee two just bop right over to Doug's place. After asking him a couple of questions about where he's been, and his refusal to tell them anything, they decide to go ahead and arrest him on the basis of Paul's dad's eyewitness. This is the dumbest thing in the book, given how notoriously unreliable eyewitnesses are. In any case, while getting the cuffs on Doug, one of the detectives, who clearly has some issues, beats him. Of course someone captures it on video. Doug makes a call to a detective that worked his daughter's case,who in turn calls Farrell: Doug wants Farrell as his lawyer.

Farrell agrees to represent Doug, even though he thinks Doug is guilty. He manages to get Doug out on bail, though, then goes back to his life, talking to multiple people about his existential crisis. When Doug doesn't appear in court when he's supposed to, Farrell immediately goes to" guilty, he's a runner.

But Doug turns up dead, and not by suicide. Farrell now feels guilty, talks to Hardy, and in comes Abe, to poke around at what happened, as they feel they owe it to Doug.

From there, we get a real investigation, instead of whatever the hell the detectives who arrested Doug were doing (they were suspended shortly after arresting him). Abe finds Doug did indeed have an alibi for the time Paul was shot, but it wasn't something Doug wanted to reveal, in order to protect someone. Then yet another body shows up, and Abe dogs the case until he discovers that missing piece.

Although there is some time devoted to Farrell and his issues with working defense instead of offense, those moments don't drag the book down. Since I'm a weather nerd, I didn't mind the descriptions of that throughout the book. The main characters are well developed by now, of course, and they all act like real, actual people. The story itself raises questions about how possible criminals are treated, how new testing that wasn't available years ago shows innocent people have been locked up, and what justice means or should be. The missing piece, to me, had a bit of luck involved, but sometimes, you do get lucky.

Four and a half stars, rounded up to five.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the reading copy.

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A complex masterfully written crime/legal thriller. Much as Sandford does with Davenport Lescroart does with Hardy. Love this series. Highly recommended novel of suspense.

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A great thriller with some really fascinating characters. I found the writing style very appealing - tight prose and snappy, believable dialogue. I was pleased to learn this is part of a series and will definitely be reading more by this author.

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A decent mystery in the Dismas Hardy series. It's always nice to jump into a familiar series where you know the characters. The plot was interesting and kept me engaged, not as intense as books earlier in the series but an entertaining quick read. #Netgalley #TheMissingPiece

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

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Paul Riley, who was in prison for the rape and murder of his girlfriend, is released from prison thanks to the Exoneration Initiative, who found evidence that pinned the crime on someone else. No one is particularly pleased to see him freed after 11 years, and he soon turns up dead, surrounded by loot from his latest B&E. If Riley was innocent all along, who would want him dead? The police instantly suspect the still-grieving father, Doug Rush, of Riley's dead girlfriend. Wes Farrell, now a defense attorney, agrees to represent Rush but is left in the dust when Rush vanishes. At a loss, Dismas Hardy and Farrell ask PI Abe Glitsky to track down the potentially lethal defendant. Throughout his search, Glitsky encounters wounded parents, crooked cops, cheating spouses, and single-minded vigilantes. He discards one enticing theory after another, trying to unravel the mystery of Doug Rush and Paul Riley.

This is actually my first Lescroart book, and I have now added him to my list of author's to read. His writing is a lot different than other mystery writers out there, something I wasn't quite sure I liked at first. But in the end, I loved that Farrell is not your typical defense attorney, and I enjoyed the fact that there wasn't really a main character- focus shifted between various characters, mostly Farrell and Glitsky. It was like reading an episode of Law & Order (one of my favorite shows). One of my favorite parts was finding out what crazy shirt Farrell was wearing- love little details like that. I loved the twists and turns throughout the story, never knowing what was going to happen next. Amidst the mystery of the case, Lescroart raises some interesting questions with his humanistic writing, causing the reader to think deeply about issues that are prevalent in today's society.

The only thing that I had a little bit of difficulty with was when Lescroart would switch back and forth (sometimes within the same sentence) on how he referred to characters. For example, he would refer to Wes Farrell as Wes and as Farrell, which sometimes made this seem like it was two different people. He did this with other characters as well. Other than that, I enjoyed the book immensely.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Lescroart for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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Innocent until proven guilty. That’s the basis for our American justice system, isn’t it? A jury is, in theory, screened and selected on the premise that each member will be unbiased, will impartially listen to the evidence, and will deliberate without prejudice. Defense attorneys are duty bound to defend their clients to the best of their abilities, regardless of their personal opinions of the guilt or innocence of the accused.

In The Missing Piece, John Lescroart’s 19th episode of his Dismas Hardy series, defense attorney Wes Farrell is facing a late-career crisis. As a prosecutor for the Office of District Attorney in San Francisco, he successfully prosecuted Paul Riley, a man who was charged with raping and murdering a young woman. Eleven years later, Riley has been set free, thanks to an organization known as The Exoneration Initiative. The group’s advocates discovered evidence that exposed led to another person confessing to the crime. Farrell is no longer with the DA’s office; he’s back with his old law firm, Farrell, Freeman, Hardy & Roake.

It turns out that no one is particularly happy to see Paul Riley when he’s released from prison. Even his father isn’t all that welcoming. No one seems more unhappy, however, than the father of the woman who was raped and murdered. So, when Riley is murdered only a month after his release, the father, Doug Rush, is the prime suspect. Here’s the rub: Rush was so impressed with Farrell’s skills in the courtroom during the trial more than a decade earlier that he wants Wes to defend him. What will Wes do? He’s no longer certain where his head and his heart are leading him.

The plot thickens, as the saying goes, and the focus quickly shifts from Wes Farrell to Abe Glitsky, the former homicide detective turned private detective. Abe stirs up a hornet’s nest with his questions and leaves in his wake a trail of dead bodies. Okay, not really his fault. He does uncover some interesting data about other EI alumni and questions an assortment of witnesses. This book is not a barnburner, by any means, but it certainly held my interest. Even though I had a good idea who was responsible, my mind was doing some crazy mental gymnastics trying to keep up with Abe’s investigation. Naturally, he takes too many chances and well…I’m not saying more than that.

I love this Hardy series! I love how Lescroart shuffles his lead characters from one book to another and that when one team member gets in over his head, the others all get together and pitch in. Those who are familiar with San Francisco will probably recognize some familiar places like the Embarcadero and the Little Shamrock Bar, which was established in 1893 and survived the 1906 earthquake.

On a more serious note, of course, is the matter of justice. Guilt. Innocence. Fairness. We see what happens when an unauthorized person decides to take matters into his own hands.

I received an ARC digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. My thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and Mr. John Lescroart.

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4 stars for another well crafted legal mystery in the Dismas Hardy series. This book focuses on an Exoneration Initiative case, where convicted murderer Paul Riley is released after this legal team files legal appeals on his behalf and succeeds in getting the alleged murderer exonerated and released. But then 4 months after his release Riley is murdered and a witness claims that he saw Doug Rush, the father of the murdered victim from the original trial 11 years ago, at the scene of Riley's murder. Rush is arrested and Wes Farrell, a lawyer with Hardy's firm, agrees to defend Doug.
Doug is released on bail. Doug disappears and Hardy assigns his chief investigator, Abe Glitsky to find him. Another murder happens and Abe is attacked, because he won't give up the investigation. Abe does solve the case, but there are several false clues and some interesting moral questions raised in the book: What happens if a factual killer is released on a technicality?
This series is probably best read in order, but I have not done so. This book worked fine for me as a stand alone.
One quote, describing Wes Farrell: "The customer cut a fine figure, an attorney in a thousand dollar business suit. Like the werewolves of London, his hair was perfect, full and speckled with just the right amount of gray, for the ever-crucial gravitas."
Thanks to Atria Books and John Lescroart for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
Revised Pub.date: March 29, 2022

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John Lescroart never fails his books always draw me in.This is an excellent addition to the series but can be read alone.Characters that one alive a tight story will be recommending this and other books by the author.#netgalley #atria

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This is the nineteenth in the Dismiss Hardy series; the first one was published in 1989! Over the years, I have read quite a few of them. I enjoy the repeating characters; it is like visiting with old acquaintances whenever a new book in the series is released.

A solid legal thriller/police procedural (albeit most of the work done by a former head of homicide turned PI), it takes a while for the case(s) to be solved as Glitsky chases a number of red herrings. The plot is maybe not the strongest in this series, but it still makes for a page turning, enjoyable read.

Lescroat quickly fills in the background information on the main characters meaning this book will work as a standalone, but I think it may be more enjoyable if you have read some of the others. I’m looking forward to the next in this series to see how Farrell (DA turned defense attorney) resolves his present career crisis.

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This book is one in a series about the character Dismas Hardy. You do not have to read the books in order but it is nice to do so because of the character development and age progression of Dismas and his family. The story is compelling, as usual. John Lescroart is a fabulous author who writes a believable story with realistic and likable character. I highly recommend this book.

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I enjoyed reading this book. It had a good story to it. I liked the variety of characters in it. It was a well written book. I hope to read more books by this author.

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