The Ophelia Cut by John Lescroart

The Ophelia Cut is the latest of Lescroart's Dismas Hardy series.  I finished it a couple of weeks ago, and although I always enjoy catching up with these characters.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the back story, the event that no one wants uncovered is from six years previously and covered in Lescroart's The First Law.

When Dismas' niece is raped and her assailant murdered, suspicion falls on his brother-in-law Moses McGuire.  Dismas must defend him and keep him from talking too much, possibly revealing old secrets that could destroy several lives.

Everyone has something to lose if Moses, an alcoholic, talks out of turn. Moses insists he is innocent, but as the evidence continues to point to him, a moral dilemma arises. Also, a bit of ambiguity in the conclusion may indicate that some events may be revisited in a future novel.

The plus:  Always good see how the various characters who have become so familiar in previous books are doing.  Lescroart reads quickly and easily, a master at building suspense, leaving questions open, letting his characters behave in keeping with their personas.

The minus:  Brittany does not have the same fullness of character as most of Lescroart's creations.  Maybe she isn't even supposed to, she certainly seems shallow.  And...something about the conclusion just bothers me.

Lescroart has written 15 novels featuring Dismas, Abe, and other friends and colleagues (I've read most, if not all, of them), and even if this one isn't a favorite, it is still a good read.  Ignore the cover--this is the worst one ever.

From Net Galley/Atria Books.

Mystery/Legal Thriller.  Publ. May 7, 2013.  Print version 432 pages.
ISBN-10: 1476709157