Damage

From Publishers WeeklySan Francisco homicide chief Abe Glitsky takes on a particularly nasty villain in Lescroart's hair-raising 16th novel featuring Glitsky and lawyer Dismas Hardy (after A Plague of Secrets). After Ro Curtlee serves 10 years of a long prison sentence for the rape and murder of one of his family's housekeepers, an appeals court orders a new trial and his wealthy and powerful parents post bail of million for his release. Cocky and ruthless, Curtlee eliminates one of the witnesses who testified against him and threatens Glitsky's family, while his parents, who own San Francisco's #2 newspaper, and their favorite columnist, Sheila Marrenas, apply other kinds of pressure to new DA Wes Farrell, among others. Either influence or lack of hard evidence frustrates every move Glitsky and his colleagues make to try to nail Curtlee. What at first appears to be a stunningly stark black-and-white portrayal reveals many subtle shadings by book's end. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. FromWes Farrell, the lawyer who appeared in A Certain Justice (1995) and Guilt (1997), has a new job: he is San Fransisco’s new district attorney. And his first case looks like it’s going to be a doozy. Ten years ago, Roland Curtlee, scion of a wealthy and powerful family, was convicted of the rape and murder of a family employee. Now he’s been let out pending a retrial (on what seems an especially nit-picky technicality). When the first trial’s chief witness appears to be killed in a house fire, and someone else involved in the case dies under similar circumstances, Wes must fend off pressure from the Curtlee family and find the truth in a case that’s full of confusion and lies. Naturally, he turns to his old friend and colleague, Abe Glitsky, the homicide cop who acts as a sort of link between the Farrell novels and Lescroart’s series featuring attorney Dismas Hardy (who also appears, in a minor role, in this book). Another solid, well-constructed legal thriller from the popular author. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: How’s this for a track record: more than 8.5 million copies of Lescroart’s novels have been sold in the past decade, and his books have been translated into 16 languages in more than 75 countries. Piggy-backing on all that, his latest will profit from a six-figure marketing campaign. --David Pitt