3.0
The Ophelia Cut
ByPublisher Description
In this riveting New York Times bestselling novel from the “master of the legal thriller” (Chicago Sun-Times) John Lescroart, defense attorney Dismas Hardy tackles his most personal and complex case yet—defending his brother-in-law against murder charges.
When Moses McGuire becomes the prime suspect in the murder of his own daughter’s rapist, attorney Dismas Hardy—Moses’s brother-in-law—agrees to defend him. But McGuire has fallen off the wagon, and his stay in prison could bring to light old secrets that would destroy Hardy and his closest colleagues’ careers. As the overwhelming evidence against McGuire piles up, Hardy focuses on planting doubt in the minds of the jurors—until, in a feat of legal ingenuity that is staggering in both its implications and its simplicity, he sees a new way forward that might just save them all. But at what price?
When Moses McGuire becomes the prime suspect in the murder of his own daughter’s rapist, attorney Dismas Hardy—Moses’s brother-in-law—agrees to defend him. But McGuire has fallen off the wagon, and his stay in prison could bring to light old secrets that would destroy Hardy and his closest colleagues’ careers. As the overwhelming evidence against McGuire piles up, Hardy focuses on planting doubt in the minds of the jurors—until, in a feat of legal ingenuity that is staggering in both its implications and its simplicity, he sees a new way forward that might just save them all. But at what price?
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Ophelia Cut Reviews
3.0
“This is suspense filled legal thriller set in the city of San Francisco. This is my first taste of a John Lescroart novel and I must say I enjoyed it. The characters were well developed and throughout the story the reader is able to see how each of them grows. They each had something to hide and this helped to add to the the intrigue of the whole story. This story is filled with a lot of questions but the most important one is who is the murderer?There were so many suspects even though the evidence pointed to one particular person. The story started it out with a bang, but it tapered of somewhat eventually picking up back the pace during the trial. I enjoyed how the author portrayed the the trial. It had me wondering what the defense team would be willing to do to get their client off. I was disappointed with the ending as I am still wondering who the actual murderer is.
I would recommend this book to lovers of mystery and legal thrillers.”
“On the surface, The Ophelia Cut is a whodunit. Or, at least I thought it was a whodunit until I finished the book. I suppose it could be a courtroom procedural, except that only covers the last half of the book. The first half could be a The Big Chill meets I Know What You Did Last Summer thriller-slash-character study. Except it doesn't quite deliver.
The cast of characters is large. At least it seems that way in the beginning. There's Diz, Glitsky, Hardy, McGuire, Frannie, Dismas, Susan, Moses, Abe, Treya, Wes Farrell . . . There are cops and lawyers and DAs and their wives and daughters. Oh, but wait, some of these people are the same character. There's lawyer Dismas "Diz" Hardy, homicide detective Lieutenant Abe Glitsky, and bar owner Moses "Mose" McGuire. And other assorted cast of characters. Quite honestly, Hardy, Glitsky, McGuire, and one or two other characters were interchangeable in my mind until the trial started halfway through the book. I just didn't feel that character development was strong enough to distinguish any one of them from the other. Of them all, Glitsky was probably the one with the most complexity, but as soon as I got to know him, he became a sidebar to the story.
Interestingly enough, the person I was most intrigued by was Ricci, introduced in the prologue. Ricci had depth, a backstory that drew you in, just enough mystery, and a conflicted morality that made him a compelling read. And then Chapter 1 started and Ricci, at least in that incarnation, was never heard from again.
The Ophelia Cut is interesting enough. I have no qualms about giving up a book halfway through if I don't like it, and it held my attention enough to finish it. It would be a good beach read if you happened to pick it up, but this isn't one I would go out of my way to pack in my vacation bags.”
About John Lescroart
John Lescroart is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-nine previous novels, including the The Rule of Law, Poison, and Fatal. His books have sold more than ten million copies and have been translated into twenty-two languages. He lives in Northern California.
Other books by John Lescroart
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