Dead Irish (Dismas Hardy Series #1)

by John Lescroart

Overview

THE FIRST NOVEL IN THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING DISMAS HARDY SERIES!

In his new life as a bartender at the Little Shamrock, Dismas Hardy is just hoping for a little peace. He’s left both the police force and his law career behind. Unfortunately it’s not as easy to leave behind the memory of a shattering personal loss—but for the time being, he can always take the edge off with a stiff drink and round of darts.
 
But when the news of Eddie Cochran’s death reaches him, Hardy is propelled back into all the things he was trying to escape. And forced to untangle a web of old secrets and raw passions, for the sake of Eddie’s pregnant widow, Frannie—and for the others whose lives may still be at risk...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780451214270
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/01/2005
Series:	Dismas Hardy Series , #1
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	177,966
Product dimensions:	4.20(w) x 6.65(h) x 1.14(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

John Lescroart is the New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty-five novels including the Dismas Hardy series. He lives in Northern California.

Hometown:

El Macero, California

Date of Birth:

January 14, 1948

Place of Birth:

Houston, Texas

Education:

B.A. in English with Honors, UC Berkeley, 1970

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Dead Irish

“Full of the things I like....Lescroart’s a pro.”—Jonathan Kellerman

“Unusual and powerful.”—Booklist
 
“Possessed of a singular writer’s instinct, Lescroart...produces a full-bodied, substantive, and stylistic effort of the first order.”—Library Journal
 
“A beautifully written San Francisco murder story with perfect-pitch dialogue.”—Playboy
 
“The killer proves to be as fascinating a personality as Hardy himself.”—Publishers Weekly
 
“With John Lescroart’s polished writing, Dead Irish becomes more than a mystery novel with a bartender as detective. With razored precision, characters stand out, flawed and human....Chilling in its intensity, this is an ingenious tale of many different kinds of people.”—Pasadena Star-News 

From the Publisher

Dismas Hardy, an ex-policeman and lawyer who has withdrawn from his former life as a result of a personal tragedy, tends an Irish bar in San Francisco. When his boss asks him to investigate the apparent suicide of Eddie Cochran, Hardy agrees. Cochran was a friend and proving his death was not suicide will free the insurance money to his pregnant widow. As he becomes close to Eddie's parents, his emotionally distraught younger brother and family friend, Father Jim Cavanaugh, Hardy finds his life complicated by an encounter and renewed relationship with his ex-wife. Uncovering a botched drug deal arranged by Cochran's employer, Hardy believes he can show that Eddie was indeed murdered. But from that point his investigations come to a dead end. The killer, identified about two-thirds of the way through the story, proves to be as fascinating a personality as Hardy himself. Lescroart ( Rasputin's Revenge ) provides a surprise twist at the end. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Possessed of a singular writer's instinct, Lescroart drapes a bare-bones plot in psychological window dressing and produces a full-bodied, substantive, and stylistic effort of the first order. San Francisco ex-cop and current bartender Dismas ``Diz'' Hardy cannot believe his friend Eddie would commit suicide, so he decides to investigate. The progress of his search into Eddie's last days coincides with changes in his own emotional make-up, as he faces the reasons for his divorce and his feelings of guilt over the death of his infant son. Full attention to character, then, a sympathetic protagonist, and a satisfying conclusion.

Library Journal

David Colacci’s effortless-sounding narration complements Lescroart’s easy-going writing style overall. While Colacci tends to drop his voice at the end of sentences, which makes listening in traffic difficult at times, he professionally dramatizes a diverse group of characters, including brooding Irishman Dismas (Diz) Hardy, a San Francisco ex-cop, now a bartender, who is investigating the murder of his friend Eddie Cochran. Other well-depicted characters include Father Jim Cavanaugh, a friend of the Cochran family; Frannie, Eddie’s widow; and Jane, Diz’s ex-wife. Diz is an engaging hero, and this outstanding whodunit has an unexpected ending that will surprise listeners as much as it does Colacci. S.C.A. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

AUG/SEP 07 - AudioFile