The Hunter

Lescroart DoesIt Again !!!!!!!

I love the way that Lescroart develops Wyatt Hunt's character in this book. He makes you feel like you know him and are rooting for him as the plot develops!!!!! Wyatt opens himself up and lets you feel his frustrations and successes as the plot develops. John Lescroart keeps you involved and emotionally connected throught the entire book.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Two Words.... Soap Opera

Two words... SOAP OPERA. So disappointed. I use to love John's books and was hoping that this would be a good one.

2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Seeking the Past

The Hunt Club, the private investigative agency in San Francisco headed by Wyatt Hunt, has been the focus of several novels prior to this one, exciting mystery-thrillers. While the present volume is both a mystery with some elements of thriller, the reader has to painstakingly plod through a lot to find them. It basically is more of an introspective look at Hunt, his birth and his development as a mature person.

Hunt’s mother was murdered when he was three, his father twice tried for the deed but not convicted because of hung juries. While on trial, he let Hunt go through the system, passing through several adoptive families before hitting success with the Hunts. Then one day, now a middle-aged man, he receives a text message: “How did your mother die?,” thus setting him on a journey to rediscover his routes, with almost no memories or information to guide him.

Uncovering strange and unexpected information along the way, Hunt follows a trail, often led by additional text messages, not to mention additional murders. Too often, there is much repetition, and the physical reaction by Hunt to the pressures seemed superficial, leaving one wondering if there is some basic physical ailment or just plain old anxiety affecting him. Perhaps some judicious editing, or even a rewrite, could have improved the novel, which in its present form is quite interesting but to this reader lacks the spark of the predecessors in the series. Perhaps that’s what the author strove to achieve - - who knows? With that caveat, the novel is recommended.

Hooked on John Lescroart

As always a fantastic read! You will not be disappointed

Definitely Recommend

Excellent writing as usual... a must read

Worst Lescroart Ever

I have read nearly every other Lescroart novel and this is, without a doubt, worst ever. Minimal mystery, no suspense, predictable outcome, and way, way too much soap-opera "emoting". And were we not supposed to notice same last name of the rich-lady in Chapter 1 to the suspect unveiled just a a short while later ? What a pretentious un-compelling soap-opera. Publisher, author, and Dismas Hardy should be ashamed of this one...

Definitely a Page Turner

The best parts of Lescroart,s character driven books are the relationships the reader maintains with the characters. I was thrilled to see Wyatt Hunt return and loved the idea of delving into his past with him. The book centers around the questionable death of Wyatt's birth mother. Of course it turns out to be a murder to be solved, and of course Wyatt and his "band of merry men and women" are on the job. Enter a mysterious texter and ties to Jim Jones, and a great story unfolds. Upon following his adventures we learn more about the characters we want to share a dinner with, so all in all this was a successful venture for a top author.

A Struggle Through a Muddle

The biggest reward of this reading experience was getting through it.There are sections you can skip and there is nothing compelling in the plot that feeds on being so repetitive its annoying. I won't bother with his next work. He must have been paid by the word in this one as he used alot of them to tell us the same thing over and over again.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Highly recommended !!

Enjoyed all the John Lescroart books I've read and this one did not disappoint !!

BORING!!!!!!!!!!!!

I loved John Lescroart"s DAMAGE and was excited to learn he had a new book out. The Hunter is not near as exciting and riveting as other novels by this author. In fact, The Hunter is down right BORING. It tediously drags along without real suspense or pathos. Not a good sign when I begin skimming - just to get through the book. Very disappointing.

Highly reommennded

I love all John Lescroart's books.

Boring

Loved previous books, but this one is slow and boring. Hope next one is better.

One of his best!

I love the fact they are local stories(I live in the bay area).
This was intriguing start to finish. There is always a great trist at the end of his books.

Recommended

Not as good as his other books.

great book

As always Lescroart writes a darn good story that keeps one guessing to the very end

A More Personal Tale

The Hunter has its share of crime and private investigation, nicely done with a big if. That is why the newly promoted inspector Burg was able to find the "real killers" way back when, yet the detectives assigned to the case could not, nor could Hunt without much difficulty some 40 years later. Saying that Burg solved the crime without telling us how leaves way too many questions. And what was the supposed police involvement at the beginning that caused the threat that the investigation would be shut down as a cover-up? Forgotten by the author is all I know. But then, you know how they are-these former defense attorneys.
But the story is mostly a personal tale of Hunt's adoption and his discovery of his natural family. Another reviewer uses the words "soap opera" and he is not far off. I pick these books up for the crime stories, and frankly didn't care about this aspect of the case. But I recognize that the author did a bang up job on it.

Highly Recommend this book

Although I miss Dismas and Abe, The Hunter was an excellent read. I look forward to all of John Lescroart's books and this one didn't disappoint.

A Little Disappointing

While John Lescroart remains one of my favorite writers, this book wasw a little disappointing. I felt that someone was there with a whip telling him to get this book written. His characters still are likeable and interesting, but this was less so and I found myself getting impatient.

Waiting for the next one.

Disappointing

Not up to par for Lescroart...slow and meandering. Skip this one.

"How Did Your Mother Die?"

Wyatt Hunt is a private investigator who suddenly receives an enigmatic text: "How did your mother die?" Up to now, Wyatt knows he was adopted but has no idea who his parents were, let alone that his mother died by some mysterious event. So begins a journey of discovery, anxiety and trauma beyond one's wildest imaginations, with connections to the infamous Jim Jones, the cultist leader responsible for the deaths of thousands back in the late 20th century.

Wyatt has a bunch of great people working for him, all of whom want to be part of figuring out how Wyatt's mother died, a hunt that will turn even more desperate after one of their own group is murdered while investigating what at first seems a very vague clue. In the process, Wyatt will be seeking who is the unrevealed texter and wanting to know why someone higher up in the Police Department has ordered him to stop fishing around in police business, even though this case has been cold for forty years.

What's Wyatt to do about a letter supposedly written by his real father, a message which declares his own innocence in the demise of his wife? Little by little, the people Wyatt and his staff are interviewing remember a little more and a little more, just enough each time to make the story even more complex and more traumatic for Wyatt. One of the hallmarks of this novel is the authenticity by which Wyatt, normally a very together, orderly guy, suffers increasing mental, emotional, and physical distress and illness. However, a relationship with a significant other improves, even through the test of dire stress to which Wyatt succumbs at one point in the story. A lifetime of coping with the unknown surfaces with horrific effects that it seems may or may not be healed with a solution to the multiple questions reached at many near dead-end points.

The Hunter is a taut, thrilling, complex and fascinating mystery about origins, cold case crime, and relationships gone awry because of hidden motives and secrets! Well done, John Lescroart!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.