Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Book Blurb:
The beloved New York Times bestselling Dismas Hardy series returns with a “perfect piece of entertainment from a master storyteller” (Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author) about a relentlessly twisty murder mystery.
No one mourned when San Francisco DA Wes Farrell put Paul Riley in prison eleven years ago for the rape and murder of his girlfriend. And no one is particularly happy to see him again when he’s released after The Exoneration Initiative uncovered evidence that pinned the crime on someone else. In fact, Riley soon turns up murdered, surrounded by the loot from his latest scam. But if Riley was innocent all along, who wanted him dead?
To the cops, it’s straightforward: the still-grieving father of Riley’s dead girlfriend killed him. Farrell, now out of politics and practicing law with master attorney Dismas Hardy, agrees to represent the defendant, Doug Rush—and is left in the dust when Rush suddenly vanishes. At a loss, Farrell and Hardy ask PI Abe Glitsky to track down the potentially lethal defendant.
The search takes Glitsky through an investigative hall of mirrors populated by wounded parents, crooked cops, cheating spouses, and single-minded vigilantes. As Glitsky embraces and then discards one enticing theory after another, the truth seems to recede ever further. So far that he begins to question his own moral compass in this “hypnotic and powerful” (Gayle Lynds, New York Times bestselling author) thriller that’ll keep you guessing until the very end.
His Review:
People die quickly in this tome. There is a pair of detectives that are on the case and their boss is irritated that they could not immediately solve it. He feels that his detectives spend entirely too much time in the office or wandering around town trying to put the pieces together. He wants a quick indictment and threatens their livelihood unless he sees immediate results.
The investigative pair of Waverly and Yamashiro have been together for many years and are the investigative spear point for the department. They ask questions at the last place the victim was seen alive, the local watering hole.
The solution seems very circular to me with the potential perpetrator coming back into the detective’s focus repeatedly. The actual criminal does not appear until very late in the novel. I felt I was receiving false leads over and over again. The reveal when it finally arrived was quick and succinct near the last chapter. The dialog at times had some funny twists and I found myself laughing out loud at a few of the antics.
This book will entertain readers when they toss logic to the wind and go with the flow. Enjoy! 3.5 stars – CE Williams
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.
Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five Stars 
Book Details:
Genre: Legal Thrillers, Serial Killer Thrillers
Publisher: Atria Books
ASIN: B08VKLGQ71
Print Length: 301 pages
Publication Date: March 29, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link(s): The Missing Piece [Amazon]
The Author: “John Lescroart‘s writing skills are a national treasure.” —The Huffington Post
John Lescroart is the author of twenty-nine novels, nineteen of which have been New York Times Bestsellers. Libraries Unlimited places him among “The 100 Most Popular Thriller and Suspense Authors.” With sales of over twelve million copies, his books have been translated into twenty-two languages in more than seventy-five countries, and his short stories appear in many anthologies.
John’s first book, SUNBURN, won the Joseph Henry Jackson Award for Best Novel by a California author. DEAD IRISH, THE 13TH JUROR, and THE KEEPER were nominees for the Shamus, Anthony, and Silver Falchion Best Mystery Novel, respectively; additionally THE 13TH JUROR is included in the International Thriller Writers publication “100 Must-Read Thrillers Of All Time.” HARD EVIDENCE made “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Ultimate Reading List.” THE SUSPECT was the American Author’s Association 2007 Book of the Year. THE MOTIVE was an Audie Finalist of the Audio Publishers Association. THE MERCY RULE, NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, THE SUSPECT, THE FALL and THE RULE OF LAW have been major market Book Club selections. John’s books have been Main Selections of one or more of the Literary Guild, Mystery Guild, and Book of the Month Club.
©2024 CE Williams – V Williams
For those following Punkin the Pom, we are still one step forward, two back. This poor little thing…only Heaven (and the breeder) knows her history. Hoping she is gradually gaining a little trust in us while trying ever so subtly now to push her boundaries a bit as she still spends most of her days safely ensconced in her crate (almost seven months now). We took her to a groomer who cut all her guard hair off down to her undercoat. I told her I didn’t want it that short, but she now looks like a little puff ball.
New York City, 1911. Edith Wharton, almost equally famed for her novels and her sharp tongue, is bone-tired of Manhattan. Finding herself at a crossroads with both her marriage and her writing, she makes the decision to leave America, her publisher, and her loveless marriage.
I enjoyed the book but found it aggravating to have to untangle some of the words grouped together in one or two lines of text—a formatting problem. The final conclusion was well thought through and overall all the book was entertaining. Otherwise, an additional editor or two would greatly smooth the narrative as well as increased attention to the formatting problems. 4 stars – CE Williams
Rosepoint Publishing 