Dead Irish (Dismas Hardy Book 1)

As I write this review, in early 2017, John Lescroart's series of Dismas Hardy books stands at 15, with a further two books with Rebecca Hardy as the lead character, and three leading with Abe Glitsky. I have read many of those 20 total books and enjoyed them, and decided to go back to the beginning of the series to see how it all began, back in 1989 when Dead Irish was first published.Dead Irish finds Dismas Hardy, having retired from both police work and his legal career, now tending bar, persuaded to investigate the death of the son of a friend. His efforts are far less self-assured than they are in later books where he has settled into this new career, and his relationship with old friend Abe Glitsky is also much less cordial and settled. These differences were very interesting to observe as Hardy struggles to determine what his role should be, not wanting to interfere with the police investigation but also finding it insufficient to pursue leads he feels require effort. Glitsky is also less than helpful, at best tolerant of his old friend who is seen as meddling in something that isn't his job or his business.The story itself is a good one if less developed and polished than the later books are. The actual killer is very well concealed until very late in the story, with some nail biting moments as the climax is reached. Altogether it's an excellent story and a worthy beginning to the Dismas Hardy series.For reference, here is the full listing of Dismas Hardy and related books, with links to their listings here on Amazon (Kindle versions linked but hardcover and paperback versions can be selected on the same page):Dismas Hardy series: 1. Dead Irish (1989) 2. The Vig (1991) 3. Hard Evidence (1993)  (the first of the courtroom stories) 4. The 13th Juror (1994) 5. The Mercy Rule (1998)  (apparently not offered in Kindle version?) 6. Nothing but the Truth (2000) 7. The Hearing (2001) 8. The Oath (2002) 9. The First Law (2003) 10. The Second Chair (2004) 11. The Motive (2005) 12. Betrayal (2007) 13. A Plague of Secrets (2009) 14. The Ophelia Cut: A Novel (2013) 15. The Keeper: A Novel (2014) Rebecca Hardy novels: 1. The Fall (2015) 2. Fatal (2017) Abe Glitsky novels: 1. A Certain Justice (1995) 2. Guilt (1997)  (apparently not offered in Kindle version?) 3. Damage (2011)

The story is o.k., a solid John Lescroart story, but this Kindle edition is terrible. There are no visible breaks between the scenes within a chapter, so you're reading and suddenly you realize someone else, who wasn't in the previous scene, is talking, and you are somewhere else. This is seriously annoying, and ruins what otherwise might have been an enjoyable reading experience.

This is the introduction to Dismas Hardy as a former police office and former attorney. Having read the entire series except for this one, I wanted to go back and see how the author introduced him. Good storyline, but you can see that Lescroat has gotten much better since this first effort at the series. My one issue is that he gives no back story as to why Dismas is not practicing law. You know that he returns to practice and becomes a formidable defense attorney, but why did he leave practice. All in all it is worth reading.

Fast moving book with twists and turns that keep the readers attention. Enjoyed the reading action so much I hated to see it end.

"Dead Irish" is the 1st in a crime fiction series of about 16 books set in San Francisco. Based on reviews and commentaries, the series has apparently gotten better over time, and only because of its reputation I may read additional books. The case is about local guy Eddie's death, a young man who had a very bright future in front of him. Murder or suicide? Family and friends can't believe suicide is possible, and so Eddie's brother-in-law asks his bartender, Hardy, to look into it. Hardy is ex-everything: policeman, lawyer, husband, father. Interwoven with developments in the case, we learn of Hardy's personal history including a few tragedies, and we learn of some friends and family who obviously will play supporting roles in subsequent episodes. Suspects are identified, but a clear motive is never established (in my opinion it's never well established even by the last page). Anyway, there are a few of the mandatory twists and turns and finally justice is served.I like San Francisco as a setting for a series, but there didn't seem to be much that grabbed me in this introductory book, certainly not the way Nesbo's Hari, nor Bingham's Fiona, nor Billingham's Thorne did. The writing was adequate and the characters were done fairly well. But there were some minor irritants. It was a tad too long so the tension waned a bit, it did not give me the feel of an author steeped in police procedure, e.g., our hero Hardy gets all kind of access to police info and crime scene presence that just struck me as very unrealistic and there was little forensic detail. and it took a cheap shot at a missionary priest that was demeaning, completely unnecessary and irrelevant. From the little I know of this series, it seems best to read the books in order. So, if I do get around to reading #2 it better be a helluva lot better than #1.

A former cop/lawyer gets involved in a friend's suicide because he thinks it is murder. There were times that this book dragged. It got bogged done in too many things trying to be part of the plot. Having said that, the story and ending were great. I kind of figured it out, but the end was still well done and (somewhat) poetic. A 3.9 out of 5 rating.

The former cop is drawn into a messy apparent suicide of a friend with a pregnant wife. His instincts override the easy call by the investigators and a friend lets him in on the case information. The final outcome is very different than anyone involved had the slightest clue. Fast moving tale.

This is a reasonably decent detective-style story. I cannot see why some praise it so highly, for while nothing is bad, it is a little thin on action, and the characters (including the hero) and events aren't especially interesting. The characterisation is pretty good, though, and I did get through to the end. I don't feel compelled to buy another one in the series just yet, although I probably will when I run out of other stuff.

Allowing for the fact that this book is the first in a series I have to say that it just about passes muster but as a standalone I found it quite frankly a bit dull. Had it not led on to further novels I may well have put it down as I found it incredibly hard to empathise with any of the characters and the plot just rumbles along. It's not "noir", it's not a whodunit it's not a procedural, and whilst I am happy to accept that one doesn't always have to fit any given novel into a tight genre specification, I just felt that this book tries too hard to be a little of all these without quite achieving any. Having said all that, there is just about enough promise to suggest that if the author tightens things up whilst fleshing out the characters there may well be something to like here. I'll try the second volume and see how we get on.

I found this a little heavy going. Its the first in a series and I deliberately started with this one for this reason. I do recall some other reviews, which I read before buying this, which suggested that the style has evolved greatly over the course of the series. Whilst there is nothing intrinsically wrong with this book, I'm not sure that my interest was piqued sufficiently to read any later ones of the chain.

Lescroart has created a character I want to meet again. Good, evenly-paced plot that let the characters grow in believability. Lescroart has a knowledge of Catholicism that is valid and neither artificial nor lacking in perception. The underlying theme of this first Hardy novel is enhanced by this.

a new writer for me and i like him just started another of his books they are good thank you