A Plague of Secrets [With Earbuds] » (Playaway Edition)

Famous for his series of bestselling legal thrillers starring San Francisco lawyer Dismas Hardy, John Lescroart has an interesting perspective on the serendipity surrounding his success. "It almost makes me say I believe in justice," he explains in our exclusive audio interview, "but, of course, I've written too many of these books to make that stand!" he admits with a chuckle.

In a multiple murder case plagued by lies and deception, there is one terrible secret that defense attorney Dismas Hardy is duty-bound to protect. Even if the price is his client's life.
When Dylan Vogler, the charming manager of the popular Bay Beans West coffee shop in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, is gunned down near the store, inspectors are shocked to discover that his knapsack is overflowing with high-grade marijuana. It soon becomes clear that San Francisco's A-list flocked to Bay Beans West for more than a pricy caffeine fix.
Maya Townshend is the absentee owner of the shop-and the beautiful and extremely wealthy socialite niece of the city's mayor. When she becomes Dismas Hardy's client, he thinks it will be a simple hand-holding exercise until the police identify a suspect. But then another of Maya's past acquaintances turns up murdered, and the newspapers begin to reveal the names of the coffee shop's celebrity, political, and even law-enforcement clientele. Hardy begins to question how much his client knew about what was actually going on inside her business-and whether she was also Vogler's lover.
All the while Hardy's best friend, homicide lieutenant Abe Glitsky, sick with worry over his severely injured youngest child, barely functions at his job. Without his supervision, his inspectors are prey to the machinations of the many power brokers with interests in the case. Ambitious prosecutors close in on Maya, and as her trial gets under way, Hardy discovers that his client harbors an explosive secret. A secret that Dismas Hardy is privilege-bound to protect.
Perceptive, fast-paced, and masterfully plotted, A Plague of Secrets represents JohnLescroart working at the absolute top of his game.

Publishers Weekly

A brisk pace, sharp dialogue and believable characters propel bestseller Lescroart's 13th thriller to feature San Francisco defense attorney Dismas Hardy (after Betrayal). When someone shoots Dylan Volger in an alley near the coffee shop he managed, Bay Beans West, the cops discover a load of marijuana in the victim's backpack, a crop of weed growing in his attic and a customer list that includes a judge and several local officials. Suspicion centers on Hardy's client and Bay Beans West's owner, Maya Townshend, who's the sister of a city supervisor and the mayor's niece. That Maya was paying Volger an unusually high salary of $90,000 suggests he was blackmailing her. An arrogant U.S. attorney decides to turn the trial into a "career-making moment," invoking a little-known law to prosecute Maya. Lescroart skillfully juggles myriad plot threads, including one involving homicide detective Abe Glitsky, a series regular, whose young son is in a coma after a car accident. (July)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.