Flames engulf a picturesque, renovated San Francisco Victorian in the opening pages of this mystery. The entire first chapter is a mesmerizing drama pitting the fire against wave after wave of arriving fire fighters. As the fire is contained but not yet totally extinguished, Arnie Becker, the lead arson investigator begins initial questioning of the onlookers. "But suddenly Becker's partner in the Arson Unit, J.P. Dodd — twenty eight years old, Army-trained, competent yet relaxed, appeared at his elbow. The night around them was a kaleidoscope of lights in the darkness — the yellow flickering fire, the red bubbles on the trucks, the white glare from the firemen's helmets, now the kleigs of the TV camera crews. Dodd's earnest face looked particularly grave. 'They've found two bodies, Arn. Shaklee needs you to come on up.'”(p.7)Lescroat saturates this multiplex procedural with detail. He follows Becker's attentive precautions to preserve the crime scene in the midst of the ongoing fight to extinguish the blaze. He presents a vivid picture of Detective Dan Cuneo's personal tics and oddly disjointed round of interrogations. Lescroat ensnares his characters in a complex web of emotional family crises, political maneuvering, and personal animosity. Abe Glitsky is now fifty-five and deputy chief of inspectors for the San Francisco Police Department. His enjoyment of family tranquility and professional success is brief. His wife hesitantly discloses she is pregnant. The mayor pressures him to intervene in the arson murder investigation. Glitsky is reluctant. Not only is it bad form to interfere in another detective's case, but he and Cuneo have a past history that also involved Glitsky's close friend Dismas Hardy. Then, Hardy becomes involved in the case due to a past relationship with one of Cuneo's suspects.This is one of those cases with almost too many leads. The owner of the house was Paul Hanover, a prominent attorney, lobbyist and political backer of the mayor. One of Hanover's clients was a towing company whose lucrative contract with the city is coming up for review. Hanover was engaged to a much younger woman whom his ex-wife and three children disapproved of. He lavished money on this woman, giving her an expensive engagement ring and funding her a million dollars to renovate the Victorian house. After some rancorous exchanges with his family, he had announced his plan to alter his will in favor of his fiancée. The last person known to have spoken with him was his daughter-in-law Catherine, but she relayed the gist of their conversation to both Hanover's ex-wife and one of his daughters that same afternoon. The principals in the case are questioned at various times by Cuneo, Glitsky, and Hardy and significant details seem to emerge by happenstance as each of them pursues differing scenarios. Detective Cuneo seizes on one of these scenarios early in the investigation and halts further inquiry. The reader is surprised at how effectively he is able to assemble circumstantial evidence to secure the indictment of Hardy's client.The second part of the book is a gripping courtroom procedural. Hardy deflects damaging testimony to nudge the jurors toward any one of a number of alternative narratives, always seeking to instill that tiny seed of reasonable doubt. Without any other suspects, it's a risky strategy. Lescroat is masterful at depicting the changing rhythms of the courtroom. Hardy's objections are designed to break the prosecution's momentum. His carefully phrased questions target damaging testimony he hopes to convert into performances of either belligerance or confusion.Lescroat exploits Glitsky's family life to prime the reader's susceptibility. Thus there is the added drama of Glitsky's distraction by his wife's delivery and Hardy's attempt to be supportive in the middle of a tense murder trial. The success of this tactic will depend on the reader's previous engagement with the characters of this popular series. For the most part, the author is successful. This was an enjoyable book, and my only regret is not having read more of the earlier books in the series first.
The Motive starts off with a fire at a Victorian house where a prominent San Francisco businessman and his girlfriend are killed, not from the fire, but from bullets to the head. The businessman turns out to be a friend of the mayor. When the case stalls, the mayor hands it over to Abe Glitsky. Meanwhile the deceased’s daughter-in-law hires Dismas Hardy to represent her. She happens to be an old flame of Dismis, something that brings tension between he and his wife. This starts a winding investigation that involves with the auto-towing industry.The novel has many twists and turns along with a good bit of intrigue along the way. Glitsky and Hardy are ostensibly on opposite sides, but as expected they wind up teaming up. There was nothing earth-shattering about the plot or the characterization. It’s not a novel that will resonate long after you read it, but it fairly entertaining, and not a bad read.Carl Alves – author of Blood Street
What do You think about The Motive (2005)?
Well, one of those books you read to just enjoy the story. There is a double murder and of course the deception and the double bluffs are out in full force. The police arraign a woman on flimsy grounds and it is left to the entrepid defense lawyer and the upright police officer (who happen to be good friends and who share way too much information with each other) to get to the truth.In the end they do, and it all makes up for a reasonably entertaining read. The denouement is a bit fanciful and while I suppose it can be true, to me it was a bit of a stretch. And faintly disappointing. Anyhow, the Dismas Hardy, Abe Glitsky tag team stories by Lescroart are usually reasonably good, and while this book is not as good as the others I've read, I did find it OK.
—GS Nathan
Descriptt12 sound discs (14 hr.) : digital ; 4 3/4 in.SubjecttHardy, Dismas (Fictitious character) -- Fiction -- Sound recordings.Socialites -- Crimes against -- Fiction -- Sound recordings.Attorney and client -- Fiction -- Sound recordings.Trials (Murder) -- Fiction -- Sound recordings.San Francisco (Calif.) (Calif.) -- Fiction -- Sound recordings.GenretSuspense fiction.Legal stories.SubjecttAudiobooks.Audiobooks -- Compact discs.GenretMystery fiction.Detective and mystery stories.NotetCompact disc.PerformertDavid Colacci.SummarytIn the wake of the murders of a politically connected socialite and his glamorous fianc, Dismas Hardy's partner is placed at the head of the controversial investigation.
—Chantel
"The Motive" by John Lescroart.Two people have been found murdered. The man, Paul Hanover, on the upper crust of the social spectrum and his fiancée, Missy, (of the trophy type).Chief Glitsky knows the officer who has the case underway and doesn't try to hide his distrust of him. That officer is Dan Cuneo. Dan Cuneo centers his attention on who he believes to be his chief suspect...Dismas Hardy's former girl friend. Hardy receives a frantic call from his former girlfriend pleading for his help claiming she's being set up by Cuneo. Hardy brings everything to the table which includes that his wife must be informed of any situations that arise. Dismas listens while his girlfriend fills him in of all the details of Cuneo's sexual advances towards her.This includes how after she rejected him he started focusing his attention on her of being the main suspect in these murders.I enjoyed Glitzshy's and Dismas way of working together to solve this case while going about it at opposite angles of it. Smoothe writing that kept my interest.
—Ellen
