Book reviews Thriller

The Missing Piece by John Lescroart

About the Book- The Missing Piece

The beloved New York Times bestselling Dismas Hardy series returns with this relentlessly twisty murder thriller.

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 really innocent all along, who would want him dead?

To the cops, it’s straightforward: the still-grieving father of Riley’s dead girlfriend killed the former prisoner. 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 of the crime after another, the truth seems to recede ever farther. So far that he begins to question his own moral compass, allowing author John Lescroart to explore what The Washington Post calls “the genuine humanism that [is] central to his writing.” 

Masterful misdirection, Lescroart’s signature “enthralling…sharp dialogue” (Publishers Weekly) and a shockingly satisfying climax make The Missing Piece a first-rate thriller you’ll savor to the last word. 

 I should have probably started with Book1 rather than directly going to Book 19. So literally with THE MISSING PIECE I had to deal with the missing pieces.

Read on for our review of the book

Our Review – The Missing Piece

Clearly this wasn’t my cup of tea. Well it could also be the fact that this was the 19th book in the series and I had literally picked a book from the middle of a series. Even though the core plot is good enough to make a standalone read, it doesn’t quite work full in that capacity because like 80% of the book is dealing with the personal relationship between the central characters. They are talking about previous incidents, jabbing at backstories that maybe well in knowledge to the followers of this series. So I don’t think my issues with the book is actual issues related to the book. Because I simply picked up the book from the wrong shelf. I should have probably started with Book1 rather than directly going to Book 19. So literally with THE MISSING PIECE I had to deal with the missing pieces.

I totally get it that by the time a book reaches this far, there are a lot of history, back stories and previous incidents that will be rolled into every sequels. Being a fan of many series myself, I can very well understand, the need to see more of the personal aspects of the central characters along with the usual investigative plots. This is exactly what the book is dealing with. I am guessing that the incidents in this book is some sort of after currents of incidents in the previous books. 

So my issue with the book was majorly that actual events or actions in the book was nearly to nil. 90% of the book is talks and talks. And even in that 90% only 20% of it is about the actual plot and rest of them are basically piling up with reference to either previous events, backstories or just mere portal of camaraderie between particular characters. I wouldn’t say that it would be a totally bad idea to pick up this book as a standalone as the book has its own plot but since the actual events and action are so less, it is a bit tough to cope up with all the information overload. You kind of become a bit dazed at the mere facts and not knowing which ones to shelf and where. That was what made it a bit tough for me to enjoy the book.

Conclusion

It is a legal thriller so the investigative arc is not exactly like an alpha male with a machete kind. Its more of paperwork, procedures, round table discussions and brain storming. So for somebody who is a fan of guns, blood, car chases and fists and kicks, this may come as a bit slow. So that was why I couldn’t fully get into the book

Squirrel Rating

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