Reviews
Fans of John Lescroart's series hero Dismas Hardy, the thoughtful and likable San Francisco lawyer, will welcome this meditation on marriage served up as a murder mystery. In previous outings, Hardy has been a cop, a bartender, and even an assistant prosecutor, so he knows that, "Sometimes the whole truth is the last thing you want to hear." But then his wife Frannie goes to jail for refusing to tell what she knows about the husband of a murdered environmental activist. The Hardy's children are classmates of the victim's youngsters, and Dismas must confront the secrets in his own relationship that have been concealed by the all-too-familiar pressures of trying to balance work and love in the modern family. The plot, which involves oil, gas, ethanol, and gubernatorial politics, doesn't take center stage in this carefully written and deeply compelling novel; the real action is the series of revelations about the crime in question, which uncover the more interesting story of how even a good marriage can deteriorate despite--or perhaps because of--the daily work of trying to keep it going. Lescroart is in Scott Turow territory here, and he explores and conquers it with the same keen talent for describing the distance between private life and public trust. Nothing But the Truth represents a major step forward for Lescroart, who expands the mystery genre with every Dismas Hardy outing. --Jane Adams


From Publishers Weekly
Secrets and lies are the leitmotifs in Lescroart's 11th novel--a crisp, engaging thriller that could well be subtitled "This Time It's Personal." San Francisco lawyer Dismas Hardy has 72 hours to solve a murder that happened three weeks ago. Time is crucial because his wife, Frannie, has been jailed for contempt after refusing to reveal a secret (confided to her by her friend Ron Beaumont) to the grand jury investigating the murder of Beaumont's wife, Bree. The secret involves Ron's past--he kidnapped his own children rather than leave them in the custody of his abusive first wife, Dawn--and if Frannie spills the truth to the grand jury, Ron plans to skip town and go into hiding again with his kids. There are other secrets, too--related to Bree's powerful political position as an adviser, and rumored lover, to gubernatorial candidate Damon Kerry and as "a player in the big-money oil business." The murder investigation stalled when Carl Griffin, the detective assigned to the case, was shot to death days after Bree was killed. But throughout all the intriguing power plays, it's the close-to-home secrets affecting Hardy and his marriage that resonate most. The tug of competing loyalties and the sense that everyone has something to hide add depth and energy to a plot that has already been galvanized by Hardy's race to exonerate his wife, and solve the murder, in record time. The novel's pacing is reminiscent of classic Ross Macdonald, where a week's worth of events are condensed into a few hours. This winning thriller is the fifth starring Hardy, and it tops Lescroart's last one, The Mercy Rule, raising expectations for his next one. Agent, Barney Karpfinger. Simultaneous BBD audio. (Jan.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Dismas Hardy is a lawyer living what he thinks is a simple life: he enjoys his job, loves his wife, Frannie, and their kids. However, his world is turned upside down when Frannie is arrested for contempt of court for not revealing a secret of a man whose children attend the same school as theirs, a friend whose wife was recently murdered and who is the prime suspect. Now Dismas must solve the murder to get Frannie out of jail as well as deal with his nagging suspicion that more was going on between Frannie and this man. Dismas discovers that the wife was linked to a California gubernatorial candidate and to the debate on gas additives. How does this relate to an organization of ecoterrorists who attempt to poison the city's water supply and to the murder of the original police detective assigned to the case? Though this story has lots of interesting twists and turns, it does drag in places. Dylan Baker is a competent reader, and fans of Lescroart's novels will enjoy this one.ADanna Bell-Russel, Library of Congress Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
A San Francisco attorney gets involved in a homicide case with political implications when his wife is imprisoned for withholding evidence. The local color is convincing, and the characterizations sharp. Still, this is the sort of popular fiction one appreciates best in abridgment. Much of what one reads these days is padded to reach a sellable length, and this murder mystery seems a trifle inflated. This reviewer found narrator Baker difficult to get used to, for the timbre of his voice sounds fey and irritating. After a while, though, one appreciates that he reads with uncommon intelligence and subtlety. Y.R. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Review
Praise for John Lescroart's previous novel, The Mercy Rule:

"A stylish whodunit . . . that finds Lescroart at his best."
--People

"A terrific new novel from John Lescroart, who never wrote a bad page. You won't put it down."
--Larry King, USA Today

"Lescroart has another winner. . . . A taut read."
--San Francisco Chronicle

"Very entertaining . . . a large and emotionally sprawling novel."
--Chicago Tribune

FROM OUR EDITORS

Lescroart continues his string of ambitious, high-energy courtroom dramas with Nothing but the Truth, a multilayered mystery that should, by rights, capture the attention of a large, appreciative audience.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Dismas knows his wife, Frannie, is the most reliable of mothers. When she fails to pick up their children from school one afternoon, he's convinced something terrible has happened. It has: Frannie Hardy is in jail. Called before the grand jury in a murder investigation, she refused to reveal a secret entrusted to her by a man whose children attend the same school as hers, a friend who is accused of killing his wife. But now he has disappeared. Hardy knows there's only one way to get Frannie out of jail: clear her friend of murder. That is, if he can be found.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Secrets and lies are the leitmotifs in Lescroart's 11th novel--a crisp, engaging thriller that could well be subtitled "This Time It's Personal." San Francisco lawyer Dismas Hardy has 72 hours to solve a murder that happened three weeks ago. Time is crucial because his wife, Frannie, has been jailed for contempt after refusing to reveal a secret (confided to her by her friend Ron Beaumont) to the grand jury investigating the murder of Beaumont's wife, Bree. The secret involves Ron's past--he kidnapped his own children rather than leave them in the custody of his abusive first wife, Dawn--and if Frannie spills the truth to the grand jury, Ron plans to skip town and go into hiding again with his kids. There are other secrets, too--related to Bree's powerful political position as an adviser, and rumored lover, to gubernatorial candidate Damon Kerry and as "a player in the big-money oil business." The murder investigation stalled when Carl Griffin, the detective assigned to the case, was shot to death days after Bree was killed. But throughout all the intriguing power plays, it's the close-to-home secrets affecting Hardy and his marriage that resonate most. The tug of competing loyalties and the sense that everyone has something to hide add depth and energy to a plot that has already been galvanized by Hardy's race to exonerate his wife, and solve the murder, in record time. The novel's pacing is reminiscent of classic Ross Macdonald, where a week's worth of events are condensed into a few hours. This winning thriller is the fifth starring Hardy, and it tops Lescroart's last one, The Mercy Rule, raising expectations for his next one. Agent, Barney Karpfinger. Simultaneous BBD audio. (Jan.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal