Guilt

By: John Lescroart

Narrated by: David Colacci

Mark Dooher is a prosperous San Francisco attorney and a prominent Catholic, the last person anyone would suspect of a brutal crime. But Dooher, a paragon of success and a master of all he touches, is about to be indicted for murder.

Charged with savagely killing his own wife, Dooher is fighting for his reputation and his life in a high-profile case that is drawing dozens of lives into its wake - from former spouses to former friends, from a beautiful, naïve young attorney to a defense lawyer whose own salvation depends on getting his client off.

Now, as the trial builds to a crescendo, as evidence is sifted and witnesses discredited, as a good cop tries to pick up the pieces of his shattered life and a D.A. risks her career, the truth about Mark Dooher is about to explode. For in a trial that will change the lives of everyone it touches, there is one thing that no one knows - until it is much too late...

©2009 John Lescroart (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Fast forward

I liked the premise but hated the pace. The narrators slow reading made it much worse. I decided to bump up the speed which made it almost enjoyable.

I really wanted to like this book. The beginning had some good character development and It had some interesting moments but I had to skip a lot as the story became obvious. The ending wrapped up loose ends in a quick and unsatisfying way.

Great back story

Fun to get Wes Farrell ' s back story. Many of the later novels refer to this. Dismas Hardy doesn't appear in this book. Abe Glitsky's wife Flo is in this story also.

Great!!!

Great writing, plot, characters, twists and turns! One of the best legal/ police thrillers I’ve ever read!

Enthralling!

To me, Lescroart is the king of the legal thrillers and I have read/listened to almost all of his novels. And, in my opinion, this is his best. It wrapped me up from beginning to end. HIghly recommended!

Slow Starter - But Good Ending

Any additional comments?

I started to get impatient with the story; but stuck it out. Glad I did.

an exceptionally good read

I've always enjoyed Lescroart's books -- but this one is at the top of my list. All the characters are interestingly and insightfuly developed. The author's portrayal of a psychopathic/narcissistic character is especially well written.

the reader was also outstanding.

I couldn't stop listening once I started and wished it would keep on going, even though the ending was gratifying.

Great plot - really interesting book

This was my first John Lescroart book but it won't be my last! He develops interesting plotlines and characters and the book describes San Franscisco beautifully. It is a long book, but it kept my attention all the way through. I thought the narrator was excellent.

Out of Sequence

When I first started listening to "Guilt," I thought that this novel, despite the copyright dates, must come chronologically before "A Certain Justice," Lescroart's previous novel. But, actually, Lescroart here has used the risky technique of filling in the back-story missing from "A Certain Justice." I don't think the technique quite works with "Guilt," since it leaves the listener feeling a bit confused until the end, where the story jumps to events after "A Certain Justice." For this reason, I have docked one star from my rating of "Guilt." Otherwise, Lescroart gives us his usual excellent writing, and David Colacci gives us his usual excellent narration. Perhaps, to vent another slight criticism of "Guilt," Lescroart paints the bad guy -- Mark Dooher -- with a bit of cartoonist's brush: portraying a villain so good and likable on the outside that nobody can see the evil on the inside. But we like our bad guys bad, and our good guys good, don't we? We already know, from "A Certain Justice," that Mark Dooher is a bad guy, so we have inside knowledge that the other characters don't have; and we keep wondering when the other characters are going to wake up to Dooher's inner wickedness. Of course, he gets his just deserts in the end. I would recommend "Guilt" to Lescroart fans, suspense fans, and legal thriller fans who have patience for good character development and intricate plotting. Only I might recommend that they listen to "Guilt" before listening to "A Certain Justice," since these two novels seem to have been published out of sequence in Lescroart's San Francisco series.

Only if you are truly bored...

A bit flat. A bit didactic, a bit single-dimensional. The story is not believable and the characters are also strange and not realistic. All and all, I will not buy this author again

Great book

Great book...starts slow...but really get going with unexpected twists and turns...very nice ending w/o the typical cliff hanger