The Mercy Rule (Dismas Hardy) - Hardcover

Against his better judgment, Dismas Hardy decides to defend fellow attorney and onetime baseball star Graham Russo, indicted for murder in the death of his ailing father, Sal. At first, Sal's death looks like suicide--his plans to kill himself before his cancer or his Alzheimer's made life unlivable were well known. And Graham admits administering morphine to ease his father's suffering. Was it a mercy killing? Maybe. But then Sal's valuable collection of baseball cards turns up in Graham's safe-deposit box. The stage is set for a confrontation between Graham and his old law-school rival, now assistant state attorney, and between Dismas and his old friend, Homicide Chief Abe Glitsky. But an appealing woman cop who falls in love with her suspect and a senior judge with a personal interest in the trial's outcome keep changing the odds. What lifts this courtroom drama a notch above Lescroart's earlier mysteries featuring the ruminative and appealing Hardy are Dismas's reflections on how out of touch he's become with his family--something he'd vowed to correct until Graham Russo came to him for help. Veteran stage and screen actor John Shea captures Hardy's inner conflicts in a voice soft with the glow of fine Irish whiskey; audio fans are in for a treat. (Running time: six hours, four cassettes) --Jane Adams

Advance praise for The Mercy Rule:

"John Lescroart has written a thought-provoking and important novel. Well written, well plotted, well done. A winner!"
--Nelson DeMille

"An edge-of-the-seat legal thriller that has it all--hot-button issues, deception, greed, corruption, and a labyrinthine plot that will keep you guessing until the very last page."
--Faye Kellerman

"The Mercy Rule is that rare book--a superb novel and a superb thriller. It's the best legal thriller I've read in this decade. I dare anyone to read twenty pages and not be absolutely taken with it. Absolutely superior work."
--T. Jefferson Parker

"A masterpiece. Stacked with powerful and unforgettable characters, taut and suspenseful, The Mercy Rule is a brilliant and compelling courtroom drama."
--Karen Kijewski