The book had a very interesting plot and the author has done some great groundwork because the effort is reflected throughout the book. But the narration felt a little dragging in some places and a little bit confusing. I found it a little difficult to relate to the characters especially the investigators. Overall the book was okay.

Overall this was a fairly quick read.

I have never read anything from this author in the past; however, I understand this book is part of a series. I did not feel lost and I felt that I could keep pretty good track of the characters. Therefore I feel that by reader could just read and enjoy this book as a stand-alone

I felt the beginning started off pretty slow however it picked up pace as the story went along.

The ending came with a surprise which overall made the reading this book worthwhile.

I would rate this book 3.5 stars.

Thank you to net galley and Atria publishing providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love reading thrillers and murder mysteries so it was with great excitement that I dove into this Dismas Hardy Series Book #19. I had never read any of the series previously so I was a little concerned that I might be left in the dark coming into the middle of the series as I did. However I can safely say there’s no need to read from the beginning to be able to get into the characters and plot of this book.
Convicted felon Paul Riley is released from prison 11 years after his conviction of murder and rape of his girlfriend. He is freed and declared innocent with the help of the Exoneration Initiative. Only to be found murdered weeks later shot execution style in the head. Her father, Doug Rush, is brutally arrested by the police and must stand trial for the murder. Unfortunately not even his attorney, SAN Francisco DA Wes Farrell working with Dismas Hardy believes in his innocence. Which has Wes in a dilemma of whether any person arrested by the police is really innocent if they are heading to trial. When Doug Rush winds up missing Wes Farrell, Abe Glisky and the gang end up having to decide whether or not it’s in their wheelhouse to continue representing a client that is no longer there. Especially considering even the police want to make the whole thing go away.
This murder mystery will have you guessing with lots of twists and turns and red herrings. It will be very difficult to guess the murderer even up to the very end. Excellent read!

I've read several books by this author and have always enjoyed everything I've read, so I was looking forward to reading this book. I must say it didn't disappoint. This book was easy to read and fast paced and kept me wanting to read more. I highly recommend this book.

I love to read mysteries and legal thrillers, yet I haven’t read anything by John Lescroart before. "The Missing Piece" is such a page turner and I've been missing out this whole time! After I passed the halfway mark in the book, panic kicks in and I knew I need to read more Dismas Hardy and the gang so I have gotten myself a copy of book 1-3.

A man sentenced for rape and murder got off on technicality through Exoneration Initiative program and shortly after his release he was shot dead. Doug, the father of the victim is believed to have done the killing according to an eye witness. Doug was charged then got out of jail on bail. The day of his trial, Doug didn't show up. Later, he too was found murdered. What's going on?

John Lescroart is a master storyteller. The switch between characters flow nicely that it took me a bit to realize the story went from legal side with Wes Farrell to investigative side with Abe Glitsky. Is this normal for this series? I don't know, but I enjoyed it! I notice that this book doesn't have that much Dismas Hardy, but other characters are excellent and I had no trouble catching up. To be honest, I had no clue whodunit. This is part legal thriller, and part police procedural so if that's something of your interest you don't want to miss this one!

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for providing me this ARC.

Masterful storytelling, as expected, with characters you will love and a mystery that will keep you guessing. A must read for all lovers of fabulously written mysteries.

What a wonderful well written thriller with great characters!
This book is full of twists and turns. with an amazing ending!
I really enjoyed reading this book!

There is no bigger fan of John Lescroart! I’m pretty sure I’ve read every Dismas Hardy, Lincoln Lawyer and Abe Glisky novel, among others. When I saw that he had written another, despite his earlier announcement that he was taking a sabbatical and “recharging his batteries”, I certainly was disappointed.But here we are with The Missing Piece, another great effort, with all the major players. A exonerated convicted rapist and murder is shot with a bullet to the head. The father of his murder victim is arrested for the murder, and Wes Farrell agrees to represent him and gets him released on bail. And sadly, he is also found dead, and Abe Glisky starts investigating the case.
There are many players in this story, as the search for a killer or killers begins, with all of the partners involved. As usual, the character building is outstanding, the setting of my home town, SF, always intrigues me, and the outcome to wrap up this story, is a surprise.
With Lescroart’s battery charged, I’m looking forward to another best seller next year.
My thanks to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster/Atria Books for the ARC. All opinions are my own. I loved this book!

Eventhough this was the 19th book in the series, I've been keeping off from the genre for a while so is my first book from the series. But I loved the book and the fact that it made perfect sense as a standalone. There was suspense and an interesting story line and I love the dialogues between the partners. The ending was totally unpredictable and still completely worth it! Overall, this just managed to spark my previous love for crime fiction.

Reading a John Lescroart novel is like meeting up with old friends. The characters are well developed and the plot always keeps you guessing. The books are set in San Francisco, and the city is shown in all its grit and glory. Lescroart's novels are fiction but they read like true crime. There are moral and ethical dilemmas galore and the stories always leave me thinking about them. So it is with the Missing Piece. The story centers on a fictional Exoneration Initiative which releases prisoners who have been unfairly convicted. But are these criminals really innocent? Paul Riley is released based on a confession by another prisoner and, when he is then murdered, the father of his victim is arrested. The story takes many twists and turns from here. This is a must read, both for Lescroart fans and those who just enjoy a great story. My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

First of all, thanks to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for this eARC to review. All opinions are my own. So I used to be super invested in this series, especially for the Dismas Hardy/Abe Glitsky books. Then I stopped reading them for awhile but took the opportunity to dive back in to the series. Sadly, I remember why I stopped reading them. It was not a bad book, but just a bit convoluted and had too much exposition with an unsatisfying ending. I did appreciate the viewpoint behind the Exoneration Initiative and what that means from a court perspective. These books also remind me why I would have a hard time being a defense attorney. 3.5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. I have read many of the books in this series. The three main characters Will Farrell, Abe Glitsky, and Dismas Hardy are all here.
Farrell put away Paul Riley for murder. He is released after new evidence is found. He is soon murdered. Ferrell hires Abe to find out what is going on.
There are a lot of misdirection which keeps you guessing. This series has been going on for a long time and it is entertaining.
The writing was good and so is the mystery. I recommend this book. In fact, the whole series is worth a read.

Our favorite characters as created by author John Lescroart include Dismas Hardy, Wes Farrell, and Abe Glitsky, all become entwined in an investigation that follows the murder of Paul Riley, recently "exonerated" of rape and murder charges after a conviction that sent him to prison. Farrell had taken on the defense of Riley's alleged murderer, Doug Rush, the father of Riley's victim is accused of the murder. He wants Farrell to represent him as Farrell was the DA who put Riley away and is now in private practice. But Rush dies before his trial. The case appears to be dead as well, But Farrell takes on the investigation for the real killer. We are off to the races, and a good story follows. I was quite happy with it.But it did go on too long, though, as the author kept coming up with various and sometimes confusing scenarios as to how the murder of Rush took place. Ultimately he works it out, and I was left happy.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

I have read random books in this series in over the years, and I was not disappointed in this book. A lot of misdirections in the story but that is what made you want to keep reading.

The Missing Piece by John Lescroart. Atria Books, 2021.

This story, the 19th and latest in the popular San Francisco crime series featuring police officer turned prosecutor turned defense attorney Dismas Hardy, and his best friend, homicide chief turned private investigator Abe Glitsky, is the polished and sound piece of crime fiction readers of his other work will expect. Plot elements that prompt readers to think about wrongful conviction, exoneration, defense lawyer burnout and other issues add depth to the story.

Until 2012, I usually bought John Lescroart books in airports, but when I started using an e-reader he fell off my radar completely, I am not sure why. I will be looking for the books I missed.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of The Missing Piece for free via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. #TheMissingPiece #NetGalley

I chose to read this book because 1) I have read a number of John Lescroart novels before and enjoy the characters like Dismas and Abe, and their straightforward, somewhat quirky friendship; 2) the plot description for this book seemed intriguing.

I enjoyed the main characters (Dismas, Abe, and Wes) and their interactions with and support of each of other throughout this story. There are always some good one liners or zingers thrown around during their conversations! Lescroarts writing style always flows well. I can envision the locations, the characters, and action happening - kindda puts me in the story.

But, I didn't enjoy the plot of this story as much as I thought I would. Although I was captured at the start of it, once the felon, Paul Riley was freed from prison and murdered, the story took on what seemed like a lengthy quest to find out whodunnit. An additional murder happens, and Abe Glitsky, now a private detective, spends most of the book trying to figure out if the two murders are connected or not and who the murderer is. I found myself a little bored of Abe's investigation at some points, but I still wanted to know who did it!

The most frustrating part of the story for me was the person who actually did it seemed to come out of nowhere! Abe seemed to have no clue who it was despite his lengthy investigation. He hit roadblock after roadblock, then he's talks to a few people and suddenly pieces it all together and knows who the murderer is.

Though I enjoyed the main characters as I always do and the twists and turns through Abe's investigation, in my opinion, this wasn't the best Lescroarts story, based on others I've read by him.

Highly entertaining police procedural, The Missing Piece is the latest in the Hardy series, and it keeps you guessing throughout the story. This is my first foray in this series, but I didn’t feel as if I missed anything, so it’s easily a stand-alone. Lots of action, sharp, witty dialogue and interesting characters make this a winner. I’ll definitely be looking at other books in this series. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

First, I must say it's been a while that a book didn't get me involved in a story like The Missing Piece. Each chapter made me want to go on reading just so I'd find out what really happened.

With a well constructed story, we are introduced to important questions like if the justice system really works and whether it can be so blind sometimes that punishes innocent people while guilty ones walk away easily. Lescroart has a way of going around a great array of scenarios, all the while knitting every knot gradually, guiding us to an ending that leaves the reader open-mouthed when the conclusion hits.

The only point the author may need to work better is defining which character is main and which is secondary. I say this because I was introduced to this book as a Dismas Hardy story, but then again, it begins with Wes Farrell in the spotlight and goes on with Abe Glitsky as main, leaving Dismas as a simple supporting role.

All in all, it was a worthy reading and I surely recommend it if you like authors like John Grisham and James Patterson.

I want to thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for giving me an ARC of this book.

If you have read books by the author you will absolutely love this book. I have so missed these characters and was so excited to see their return.. The “who done it” was made that more interesting because Wes Farrell, once in the DA’s office is now a defense attorney. He represents a gentleman accused of killing the murderer of his daughter after her killer gets exonerated. The former head Homicide, Ab Glitsky, has retired and is now a private detective working for this defense attorney and solves this crime when everyone else wants to through in the towel.

There are lots of twists and turns and absolutely fabulous writing. You will not regret reading this book and you will wish for more.!

<i>The Missing Piece</i> is a very fast paced murder mystery with a lot of misdirection. In the first part of the story the protagonist is the disillusioned lawyer Wes Farrell and the second part of the story is a tenacious detective Abe Glitsky. <i>The Missing Piece</i> is #19 in the Dismal Hardy series written by John Lescroart.

Paul Riley just gets out of jail on a technicality and is busy committing burglaries. One night he answers the door at home and someone shoots him in the head. Doug Rush, the father of a girl murdered by Riley, is identified leaving the house and he is accused of the shooting. The lawyer Wes Farrell decides he's going to defend Doug in spite of the fact that he thinks Doug committed the murder. The night before case comes to court Doug is murdered in a park near his home. Feeling guilty that he doubted Doug, Farrell convinces his firm to hire a detective, Abe Glitsky to investigate what happened to Doug.

I really enjoy that there are no obvious suspects but a number of possibilities throughout this story. Each time there is a new person interviewed it opened new doors where you could see that person being guilty. Until the reveal at the end, which is a surprise, the reader is kept guessing.

The story is realistic. There is no doubt this can happen and people who are involved will be devastated. I enjoy that the characters are very human. They make mistakes and own their foibles. They struggle, but they still cope and then get the job done. I particularly like Abe Glitsky who is retired but still very popular among the police officers. In spite of this, he remains modest and persistent. He doesn’t let up until he has solved the puzzle. Wes Farrell gets caught up in his disillusionment and makes a serious judgement in error because of it.

I highly recommend this book to people who like an interesting murder mystery with intriguing characters and a genuine twist at the very end. I give this novel a 5 on 5. I want to thank Netgalley and Atria Books for providing me with a digital copy of this novel. I provide this review voluntarily.