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137th out of 195 books
—
217 voters
The Vig (Dismas Hardy Mystery #2)
by
John Lescroart (Goodreads Author)
A beautiful woman paid it with her body. A seedy lawyer used somebody else’s money. It’s the vig – the exorbitant interest mob loan sharks take on their money. Now, in the city by the Bay, everyone has to pay…
Down-and-out-lawyer Rusty Ingraham left behind a murdered woman and a houseboat splattered with blood. All the evidence said Ingraham was in San Francisco Bay. Dead....more
Down-and-out-lawyer Rusty Ingraham left behind a murdered woman and a houseboat splattered with blood. All the evidence said Ingraham was in San Francisco Bay. Dead....more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
August 1st 2006
by Signet
(first published 1990)
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A solid, more upbeat sequel to Dead Irish
Although The Vig is intended to be a stand alone, I would strongly recommend reading the previous Dismas Hardy book entitled Dead Irish to understand some of the self-torment on the part of Dismas Hardy that continues into this book.
For those that have read Dead Irish , this book is not nearly so dark and tortured. Not that it's a comedy since there are plenty of people dying, being set up in criminal schemes and hard choices are faced by many of the ma...more
Although The Vig is intended to be a stand alone, I would strongly recommend reading the previous Dismas Hardy book entitled Dead Irish to understand some of the self-torment on the part of Dismas Hardy that continues into this book.
For those that have read Dead Irish , this book is not nearly so dark and tortured. Not that it's a comedy since there are plenty of people dying, being set up in criminal schemes and hard choices are faced by many of the ma...more
The blurb on the cover of this one says, "the plot twists and turns..."
Having just emerged from this tale I'd go one further and call it labrynthian.
This is book 2 of the Dismas Hardy series, and for me, it filled in the picture I had of Dismas, Frannie, Abe and Moses even further. (I initially started this series at book #4, and have now just started re-reading from the beginning.)
It also gave me a hefty respect for the sheer amount of talent it takes to be an author. Not only do you need to h...more
Having just emerged from this tale I'd go one further and call it labrynthian.
This is book 2 of the Dismas Hardy series, and for me, it filled in the picture I had of Dismas, Frannie, Abe and Moses even further. (I initially started this series at book #4, and have now just started re-reading from the beginning.)
It also gave me a hefty respect for the sheer amount of talent it takes to be an author. Not only do you need to h...more
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Although I prefer reading from book number one in a series, sometimes it's not all that important. However, in this series, I believe it is important for the development of the main character, Dismas (Diz) Hardy.
He's an interesting guy; an ex-cop, ex-assistant prosecutor and now part-owner and bartender at the Little Shamrock, a local bar. Notice, I didn't say ‘fern bar’ like in TGIF or the like. It’s a neighborhood working man’s bar.
For much of the book Diz is looking over his shoulder after an...more
He's an interesting guy; an ex-cop, ex-assistant prosecutor and now part-owner and bartender at the Little Shamrock, a local bar. Notice, I didn't say ‘fern bar’ like in TGIF or the like. It’s a neighborhood working man’s bar.
For much of the book Diz is looking over his shoulder after an...more
The ex-cop and DA turned bartender, following the death of his infant son, Dismas Hardy is the protagonist in this second episode in the series that bears his name. Diz has been coasting for a good ten years now, when a former colleague, Rusty Ingraham, shows up at the bar, to warn Diz that a newly paroled ex-con is gunning for him. Diz is dismayed and not a little frightened, and the tension escalates when Rusty, apparently a murder victim, disappears. Hardy takes a break from tending bar, hopi...more
Second Dismas Hardy mystery. Dismas is still working as a bartender at The Shamrock, when he spots a face from the past; a man steps off the city bus and enters the Shamrock. His name is Rusty Ingraham, a former Deputy DA with Hardy in the San Francisco DA's office. Dismas buys the apparently down and out Ingraham a drink and Ingraham tells Hardy that Louis Baker has been paroled from San Quentin after 9 years, but short of his full sentence of 13 years. Both Hardy and Ingraham had prosecuted Ba...more
The Vig was a decent enough story, but it doesn't really stand out from the pack. In The Vig, a violent felon is released from prison in a case that Dismas Hardy prosecuted years back. After the detective in the case warns Hardy, he runs scared. As the book unfolds it becomes apparent that the killings going on in the story aren't related to the felon. There's more that's lurking underneath the story. Even after the felon gets arrested, Hardy won't let it go. With the help of his friend, Abe Gli...more
In the second book of the Dismas Hardy series by John Lescroart, Dismas is visited by Rusty Ingraham, an old colleague from the District Attorney's office. It seems Louis Baker, a defendent that swore he'd kill both Rusty and Dismas when he was released is preparing to be released. Rusty fears this con will actually come after them, so he asks Dismas to set up a check system. Dismas calls Rusty each morning at 10a.m. and Rusty calls Dismas each night at 10p.m. If either one doesn't call or isn't...more
Nov 14, 2012
Mary JL
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Any fan of legal or police thrillers
Recommended to Mary JL by:
I am a fan of this author
As usual, iin Lescroart's "Dismas Hardy" series, he has an interesting plot and an wide range of well-drawn characters. Murder, loan sharks, threats and politics all mixed up in a nice legal /suspernse thriller. The series' books do not need to be read in order---each can stand alone.
This is an early one in the Dismas Hardy series and one part I liked is the interaction between Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky. While Hardy is frantic over a death threat made earlier by a parolee, Glitsky feels such...more
This is an early one in the Dismas Hardy series and one part I liked is the interaction between Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky. While Hardy is frantic over a death threat made earlier by a parolee, Glitsky feels such...more
A friend suggested this series and I read "Dead Irish", the first book, a few weeks ago and "The Vig" followed that one in the series.
I didn't like "The Vig" as much as the first one although I liked that they had many of the same characters so I knew a little of their history and understood how they were connected.
I thought the book was a little hard to follow in places - so many subplots and not always sure how some of the characters fit into the whole scheme of things until the end.
I plan to...more
I didn't like "The Vig" as much as the first one although I liked that they had many of the same characters so I knew a little of their history and understood how they were connected.
I thought the book was a little hard to follow in places - so many subplots and not always sure how some of the characters fit into the whole scheme of things until the end.
I plan to...more
I enjoyed this book but Lescroart is my kind of author . I have read many and enjoyed them all .This book is a little dated as technology had moved on so much since it was written. Good plot that twists and turns .Why only three stars , I am just tough on rating books !Will I read more by the same author ,most certainly .
I sped through this and enjoyed it a bit more than the first one- although the first book was necessary for me to be more comfortable and familiar with the cast of regular characters. I'm still getting a kick out of the settings and locales and how they relate to where I'm living now- especially because Lescroart shows the less glamorous side (ie. the cold, the fog)
Just discovered this author and his characters Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky, a lawyer and a chief of detectives who solve crimes in the San Francisco area.
Won't describe each murder mystery, just saying I really like this author, the characters, and the tales he spins.
Won't describe each murder mystery, just saying I really like this author, the characters, and the tales he spins.
This is the second Dismas Hardy books, and at least as good as the first. His books don't seem to end the same way as other murder mysteries. Justice is served in his own way.
I had to read this to find out how Dismas ended up with the wife he has. I had read some of the later ones, and knew what happened in his life, but not why.
For some reason, I'd never read any Lescroart before. The Vig is a good one to start with. It's not a fast book, which kind of suited me when I read it. It was quite engaging, though. Rusty Ingraham and Dismas Hardy had served together in the DA's office when they send Louis Baker, a cold blooded killer, up the river. Baker vowed, at the time, to make them pay. Years later both of them are out of the biz and down on their luck and Baker's getting out. Then Ingraham is missing leaving a trail of...more
Although out of sequence, this is the first Dis Hardy I've read. I enjoyed the twists and turns and look forward to the other books.
Lescroart is one of my favourite authors. This was a great book, like everything he writes!
I made the mistake of reading a novel later in the series & I absolutely could not put it down. I'm trying to get up to speed. I hope the books will get up to speed soon too! Nevertheless, still a great read.
Very good. Going to enjoy the rset of this series. Story moves along with no slow spots.
I just couldn't get into this book.....Mybe some other time.....
Much better than his first one. I'm reading the third one now.
Jul 28, 2011
Jeff
added it
I like this series Am already on the next one.
Nancy 5 stars; Ron 4 stars
Nancy 5 stars; Ron 4 stars
Great mystery. Sometimes you just need something quick and easy to read!
good. moves the story along.
very good as usual!
Another good one. However, it is clearly an early one in the series. You can tell by the repitions, language, etc. that this is not the height of the series. But it was fun to listen to in the car.
I liked this one better than Dead Irish, but still not a the best example of a Lescroart book. If it had been my first, I don't know that I would've read more. I am enjoying getting the full back story of the characters by going back to these first books in the series.
Chris - I picked this one up from the Library on a whim, and really liked it. I'm not sure if the character of Harding shows up in other books by Lescroart, but I intend to find out.
Harding is a retired cop who became an assistant DA, and also retired from that.
So, as he uncovers mysteries, you get that law angle, as well as the cop angle.
It's a good read.
Harding is a retired cop who became an assistant DA, and also retired from that.
So, as he uncovers mysteries, you get that law angle, as well as the cop angle.
It's a good read.
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| "The Vig" | 1 | 11 | Aug 29, 2007 07:05am |
John Lescroart (born January 14, 1948) is an American author best known for two series of legal and crime thriller novels featuring the characters Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky.
Lescroart was born in Houston, Texas, and graduated from Junípero Serra High School, San Mateo, California (Class of 1966). He then went on to earn a B.A. in English with Honors at UC Berkeley in 1970. In addition to his nov...more
More about John Lescroart...
Lescroart was born in Houston, Texas, and graduated from Junípero Serra High School, San Mateo, California (Class of 1966). He then went on to earn a B.A. in English with Honors at UC Berkeley in 1970. In addition to his nov...more
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