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A Plague of Secrets (Dismas Hardy Mystery #13)

by John Lescroart (Goodreads Author)

3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 · rating details · 1,843 ratings · 177 reviews

Dismas Hardy, Abe Glitsky, and Wyatt Hunt return in a compelling and timely legal thriller filled with blackmail, political intrigue, and multiple murder.

The first victim is Dylan Vogler, a charming ex-convict who manages the Bay Beans West coffee shop in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district. When his body is found, inspectors discover that his knapsack is filled with...more

Hardcover, 432 pages

Published June 30th 2009 by Dutton Adult (first published January 1st 2009)

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May 16, 2012 Carl Brush rated it 4 of 5 stars

So, it looks like I’ve started a trend for myself. First three Percival Everetts in a row, now two John Lescroarts. I have a non-Lescroart on deck, but suspect I’ll return to him for a third round soon. A Plague of Secrets might be an appropriate title for many of J.L.’s books, since he’s a black belt at inventing dark corners in the lives of everyone, respectable or non. Sometimes only we, the readers, and the characters themselves get to know the secrets. Sometimes the clandestines go public....more So, it looks like I’ve started a trend for myself. First three Percival Everetts in a row, now two John Lescroarts. I have a non-Lescroart on deck, but suspect I’ll return to him for a third round soon. A Plague of Secrets might be an appropriate title for many of J.L.’s books, since he’s a black belt at inventing dark corners in the lives of everyone, respectable or non. Sometimes only we, the readers, and the characters themselves get to know the secrets. Sometimes the clandestines go public. In this one, there are some doozies which never see the light;
there are plenty that do; and there are others that stay within select circles. Complex, fascinating, and it’s hard to know which one (ones) is (are) going to finally drive away the swarm of dilemmas (there is never just one in a Lescroart) that bedevils the characters.

What happens first isn’t a crime at all. The five-year-old son of San Francisco Police Lieutenant Abe Glitsky suffers a brain injury. His wife calls best friend Dismas Hardy and family for some baby sitting of hurt boy’s sister. (Dismas. One of the great names in popular fiction, it being the name of the good thief on Calvary. And the more you get to know him, the more appropriate it gets.) Then cop-cum-prosecutor-cum-defense attorney Hardy gets pulled into defending a society wife accused of murder. Two murders, in fact.

Young (early 30‘s) Maya Townshend is married to a real estate mogul, is niece to the city’s (female) lawyer and brother to a top member of the board of supervisors. But she has a past, one she’d rather not share, and the desire to keep that secret is one of the things that gets her in trouble.

Then there are the folks surrounding the murder victims. Boy do they have secrets. Not to mention the info some of the cops and private eyes are keeping under the bed.

Lescroart skillfully stage manages all these characters and subplots and sub- sub-plots, but does it in a manner that doesn’t at all feel like management. Everything they do feels organic to their lives and motives. As well--and this is fun for those of us who know the bay area--their movements in and about the city mesh seamlessly with the action. Good stuff that keeps moving and keeps you feeling for the people involved.

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Jan 24, 2012 Johnny rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

I’m not a criminal attorney, so this may not be right. What are the three essentials for a murder case? Are they motive, means, and opportunity? Theoretically, one doesn’t even need definitive physical evidence to point to a defendant’s guilt provided these three factors are demonstrated convincingly enough. In A Plague of Secrets, my latest foray into the San Francisco world of erstwhile cop and assistant D.A. turned defense attorney Dismas Hardy and erstwhile social worker turned private inves...more I’m not a criminal attorney, so this may not be right. What are the three essentials for a murder case? Are they motive, means, and opportunity? Theoretically, one doesn’t even need definitive physical evidence to point to a defendant’s guilt provided these three factors are demonstrated convincingly enough. In A Plague of Secrets, my latest foray into the San Francisco world of erstwhile cop and assistant D.A. turned defense attorney Dismas Hardy and erstwhile social worker turned private investigator Wyatt Hunt, John Lescroart ties the three factors to the defendant in a masterful way. Yet, while the physical evidence is inconclusive, the unfolding investigation and trial leaves the reader uncertain as to whether to root for Hardy getting a dismissal on the basis of the prosecution’s shoddy case or on grounds of actual innocence. Indeed, one isn’t sure, at points, whether to root for Hardy to win or lose this case. And one certainly isn’t expecting some of Lescroart’s cast of supporting characters to die—much less in the way that they buy it in this novel.

In many of Lescroart’s novels, I’ve been relatively sure of the perpetrator from early on in the book, as well as of the client’s innocence. In A Plague of Secrets, I had neither assurance. I was in suspense as to what was going to be revealed next throughout the entire novel. When I did discover the answer (and not a moment before the author wanted me to do so), I found that the subtle psychological clues had been in front of me throughout the story, but it was still unexpected to me when I read it. I jumped at two “red herrings” early in the book, but still wasn’t ready for the resolution. That’s all I can say about why I rated this “5 stars” without giving too much away.

I can talk about the bare beans plot, however (pun intended). The story centers on an independent coffee shop at the corner of Haight & Ashbury in San Francisco. (What? One of the head shops went out of business?) This particular coffee shop (shock of all shocks) had a manager dealing weed to the tune of about ten grand per month (dollars, not ounces). When the manager is murdered in the alley behind the shop, it looks like blackmail and money-laundering are the biggest factors. Indeed, blackmail is a powerful and important motive in the case.

But merely telling the story isn’t enough for Lescroart. As always, the reformer within the author has led him to consider abuse of power, questionable prosecutorial practices, the case (very balanced, actually) for and against the legalization of marijuana, (indirectly) the war on drugs as practiced by the federal government, procedural carelessness and obstinance, as well as unethical and irresponsible media malfeasance. As usual, Hardy’s cross-examinations offer ample chances for Lescroart to stick pins in the voodoo dolls of “expert” witnesses. If I wasn’t lecturing today, I would have finished this novel in the wee hours of morning. As it was, I couldn’t wait to get on my commuter train in order to finish it on the way to my office, this morning. My experiences with this author just keep getting better and better.
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Aug 09, 2010 David rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: completed

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The most important thing I learned from this book was how to pronounce the author's name.. (in the about the author section in side the back cover)..

I have been a fan of the Dismas Hardy series from early on. Lescroart has always done a powerful job of weaving a number of elements into each story.

1) A clever mystery chocked with adequate misdirection (i.e. red herrings)

This time around, the author plays a little three card monte, offering three (or four) other possible suspects. Sadly, he does...more

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Sep 10, 2010 Carrie rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of my current favorites. I love John Lescroart and have been reading his books for years. I love the Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky characters in particular and the stories with them as the main characters (not so much the Hunt Club books). Anyway, the last few novels have been a bit too heavy in detail just for the sake of detail (to me, anyway), but this book is a return to the really great, earlier books that tell a really great, page-turning story. I am so glad. I will now go out a...more

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Feb 01, 2010 Min rated it 4 of 5 stars

Loved this book! Of course, I always love Lescroart's work (especially the Dismas Hardy series), but this book was better than usual. From the jacket copy, I wasn't sure I would like it, but it got off the ground quickly and it kept me reading nearly straight through.

The manager of a successful Bay Area coffee shop is murdered, and it's soon discovered that he was using the coffee shop to sell marijuana to numerous customers. One thing leads to another and soon enough, the owner of the shop is H...more

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Oct 22, 2009 Caitlin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009

In the world of legal thrillers John Grisham usually gets all the hype, but John Lescroart and Robert Tannenbaum are much better writers. A Plague of Secrets is Lescroart's twentieth book in his Dismas Hardy series; that's pretty impressive.

I like this series, set in San Francisco, partly because it's set in San Francisco, but also because the recurring characters & their lives are interesting. After twenty books in the series, I really care about these people, they feel fleshed out and real...more

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Apr 16, 2011 Cheryl rated it 3 of 5 stars

OK, so I'm jumping into the author without having read his prior 19 books which could be part of the problem. I had some issues trying to follow the characters (wait...who's wife is she?) and since I was reading it on my kindle, didn't have the patience to backtrack and figure it out. I remember thinking at one point that I should map everyone out with their relationships and jobs, but decided that this was more effort than I wanted to exert for a mystery/thriller novel. Historical fiction, mayb...more

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Feb 26, 2011 Kevin rated it 5 of 5 stars

When I picked this book up at a local tourist hot-spot in Virginia I didn't figure I would be picking up a new favorite book.

The book starts out with the murder of Dylan Vogler, the manager of a coffee shop in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Fransisco. Just by knowing the setting of this book, you may be able to guess one of the themes of this book, the "victim less crime" as the author calls it. Despite having different opinions on the matter than the author, this was still a very enjoyable...more

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Jan 31, 2010 Laurie Fiess rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 16, 2009 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: i-bought-this

I didn't see the end coming on this one. Might re-read to see where I slept, or what happened...actually I DIDN'T sleep last night much, and read between 1 and 5 AM which is when I finished it, so that may be why I didn't pick up on any clues? Anwyay, I loved it.

Diz is still Diz and there really isn't anything re Frannie in this one, but lots of other regular characters, with interesting bits that make us know them more and possibly understand what is making them tick...like the accident to Glit...more

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Aug 03, 2011 Ed rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Legal thriller fans.

Shelves: legal-fiction-thriller, crime-fiction, reviewed

It's good having Dismas Hardy back. He gets better with age. It also feels good to read a story that harks back to San Francisco in the 60s and 70s, years I remember with great affection as chaotic as they were.

The story begins at Bay Beans West, a coffee shop in the center of the Haight-Ashbury district, the epicenter of the now vanished hippie culture. It's very popular and its manager, Dylan Vogler, can take credit for a lot of its success. Problem is, he's found shot to death behind the sho...more

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Aug 17, 2011 Jelan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: guilty-pleasure

To me, the definition of a "guilty pleasure" book is that it can't make me feel too guilty. It must be a pleasurable page-turner that holds my interest but doesn't insult my intelligence. It can't require mental gymnastics or arouse too much moral indignation, but it also can't let me just read on autopilot. By this definition, A Plague of Secrets if a wonderful "guilty pleasure" book. Nicely written, interesting characters, sufficient plot twists and turns. I can't say that I love mysteries wit...more

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Oct 23, 2012 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: legal-thriller, mystery-crime

The manager of a popular San Francisco coffee shop is found dead in the back alley. It soon becomes apparent that he was selling more than lattes. One of the suspects is the shop owner, Maya Townshend, who is running a sort of hobby business. When another of her former acquaintances is murdered, she's indicted.

Dismas Hardy agrees to defend Maya, whether she committed these crimes or not, and he has to admit that she seems to be guilty. Her maddening refusal to discuss her relationship to the tw...more

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Sep 24, 2010 Kathie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am a fan of John Lescroart and his recurring characters, Dismas Hardy, Abe Glitsky, and Wyatt Hunt.

In this work a coffee shop manager is discovered murdered outside his San Francisco shop with a backpack full of marijuana. The coffee shop owner, Maya Townshead is linked to the murder and soon linked to a second murder.

Dismus Hardy is hired as Maya’s defense attorney. Maya is the wife of a wealthy real estate executive, niece of a well-known actress, and of the San Francisco’s mayor. Over tim...more

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May 01, 2009 Russell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Plague of Secrets by John Lescroart
Reviewed by Russell Ilg

John Lescroart has taking the art of legal thrillers to new highest. John
characters are by far the best in the industry I have the feeling that I am
right there sitting in the connor watching the whole drama unfold. Dismas
and Abe are like old friends I have known my whole life and can not wait to
great carried away in the best thriller of the year. The story unfolds as a
run away fright train and never slows down it only picks up speed as yo...more

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Oct 15, 2011 Eric Wright rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, own

Lescroart tells a convoluted tale full of lies, deception and secrets going back decades. Maya Townshend, owner of a popular coffee shop in san Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district is charged with the murder of her manager who is found with his knapsack full of high grade marijuana.

Maya and her husband enlist lawyer Dismas Hardy to defend her before a judge with a axe to grind about Hardy. Throughout the book, Hardy's investigative team uncovers secret after secret. The end reveals one final, and...more

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Jul 14, 2009 Cora rated it 2 of 5 stars

Being a huge fan, and having read most of his earlier books, I found this book which is four-hundred-thirteen pages long, at times to be moving at an excruciatingly slow pace that I actually thought about putting it down. There is more action in the last thirty pages than in the entire three-hundred-eighty-three previous pages put together. There are a number of mini-plots that are set up... but never culminated. This is not one of Lescroart's best works. "A Plague of Secrets" lacks the freshnes...more

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Apr 14, 2010 L rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

Talk about secrets! The book is chock-full of them. This is a great read. I like Dismas Hardy & his relationship with Abe Glitsky. (f course they would be in serious trouble without their wives; that buddy thing only goes so far, you know?)

And isn't about time someone planted some of the murder and mayhem at a trendy coffee shop? I mean, come on--all that caffeine? Hardy has an impossible case, complete with, well, let's say over-eager, lazy police and a judge you'll love to hate.

SPOILER: A...more

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Aug 09, 2009 Wynne rated it 3 of 5 stars

I first discovered Abe Glitsky and Dismas Hardy at Dome Lake so it was fitting to find this newest story up there and to lose myself in the book for a quick read. Abe's son is hit by a car and through his grief and guilt he is temporarily detached from his responsiblities of running the homicide department. A murder takes place in the alley behind a ridiculously popular coffee shop on Haight street in SF. His detectives in their zealousness fail to investigate carefully and so eventually there i...more

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Jul 04, 2011 V.R. Barkowski rated it 3 of 5 stars

In Lescroart's 13th Dismas Hardy novel, Maya Townsend, a politically connected socialite is linked to the murder of an employee. Along with the dead body, police find a backpack full of weed. Seems the victim was selling more than lattes out of Maya's coffee shop, and his clientele included some of San Francisco highest rollers. Dismas Hardy to the defense! If you enjoy legal thrillers, I highly recommend Lescroart's Hardy series with one caveat. While there's nothing wrong with A PLAGUE OF SECR...more

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Nov 16, 2009 KarenC rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Those who enjoy legal thrillers

Shelves: better_than_tv, legal-thriller, police

Lescroart returns to form in his latest Dismas Hardy/Abe Glistsky novel. Abe is a late participant in the case, but a necessary character. Wyatt Hunt returns as the investigator to help Hardy and his client. Resolution of the case is reminiscent of the old Perry Mason series.

Hunt is a favorite because he garages his Mini Cooper very kindly in part of his renovated warehouse home. His investigation agency is integral to the solution of the case.

Once the trial begins the plot keeps the reader tu

...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Mary rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: listened-to

This is a Dismas Hardy legal thriller with blackmail, political intrigue, and multiple murder.

The first victim is Dylan Vogler, a charming ex-convict who manages the Bay Beans West coffee shop in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district. When his body is found, inspectors discover that his knapsack is filled with high-grade marijuana. It soon becomes clear that San Francisco's A-list flocked to Bay Beans West not only for their caffeine fix.

But how much did Maya Townshend-the socialite niece of t...more

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Nov 03, 2010 K rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: legal-thriller, mystery-fiction

Dismas Hardy defends Maya Townshend, the beautiful socialite niece of the San Francisco's mayor, who is suspected of killing a charming ex-convict. A compelling and timely legal thriller filled with blackmail, political intrigue, and multiple murder which also features returning characters Abe Glitsky and Wyatt Hunt and his Hunt Club staff. Add in other past Lescroart characters including Wes Farrell, law partner of Dismas Hardy and the detectives who catch the murder case are Debra Schiff and D...more

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Aug 03, 2009 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Court room fans; readers who like mysteries or San Francisco.

Recommended to Richard by: I read all Mr. Lescroart's work.

Dismas Hardy wins again! The San Francisco based defense attorney is faced with the equivalent of a locked room murder that he is sure his client did not commit. No, wait, there are two murders. Plus an accidental vehicular homicide many years before. No, if you count the shootout there are four more. Plus a variety of injuries.

There is guilt enough to go around, too, but if you see the exciting conclusion coming on this one, I'd like to know what tipped you off.

Rated R; violence & language....more

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Feb 28, 2010 Bernie Charbonneau rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Any crime-thriller reader

If you like legal thrillers then you must know the writings of John Lescroart. In the last couple of novels I have found that his story's are more entertaining than Mr. Grisham's novels. That said, this thriller involves a prominent San Francisco women who owns a flourishing coffee shop that finds her shop manager murdered in the back alley with a backpack full of marijuana. With Dismas Hardy, our defendant attorney, left to untangle the twists and unexpected developments that arise through this...more

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Nov 27, 2010 Marti rated it 3 of 5 stars

I decided that I would have to give this John Lescroart book three stars instead of the usual four. It just isn't as crisply done and seems sloppy in some places. I guess that is probably because of the prosecutor's rush to bring the case to trial, and that Dismas Hardy's investigators don't get him some pertinent facts, all of which probably happens in real cases. The accused doesn't always seem sympathetic. The fact of Abe and Treya's son's tragic brain injury is alarming to start the book. It...more

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Apr 27, 2013 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: john-lescroart, series

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Jul 30, 2010 Chuck rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have sworn off legal thrillers for awhile but I was forced into the emergency book stash and came up with this one. I learned that this is one of a series but it stands alone very nicely. It features Dismas Hardy, a criminal defense attorney, who takes on as a client a woman who owns a trendy coffee shop. She is accused of a double murder one victim of whom is the manager of her coffee shop. I suggest that you just read and enjoy the ride because any attempt to figure it out on your own will s...more

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Nov 03, 2010 James Thane rated it 3 of 5 stars

A Plague of Secrets reunites John Lescroart's main series characters, Dismas Hardy, Abe Glitsky and Wyatt Hunt, along with the cast of minor characters that populates this very engaging series. The book opens with a personal tragedy that afflicts Glitsky, Hardy's best friend and the head of the San Francisco Homicide unit. Not surprisingly, the tragedy will distract Glitsky's attention from his duties in the department, and it probably goes without saying that this will not be a good thing.

Immed...more A Plague of Secrets reunites John Lescroart's main series characters, Dismas Hardy, Abe Glitsky and Wyatt Hunt, along with the cast of minor characters that populates this very engaging series. The book opens with a personal tragedy that afflicts Glitsky, Hardy's best friend and the head of the San Francisco Homicide unit. Not surprisingly, the tragedy will distract Glitsky's attention from his duties in the department, and it probably goes without saying that this will not be a good thing.

Immediately thereafter, Dylan Vogler, the manager of a very popular coffee shop, is found shot to death at the back door of the shop. Vogler is wearing a backpack filled with high quality weed that he's also selling out of the coffee shop. His client list, which includes some very prominent names quickly becomes public, causing no end of embarrassment for a number of people.

Suspicion falls almost immediately upon the coffee shop's absentee owner, wealthy socialite Maya Townshend, who knew Vogler in college. Townshend claims she felt sorry for her former classmate when he finished a stint in prison and needed a job. Thus she made him the manager of her coffee shop at the rather astonishing salary of $90,000 a year.

Townshend is well connected politically and the case provides the opportunity for a number of ambitious and very scary politicians and others to advance their own careers and agendas by prosecuting her. Maya retains Dismas Hardy to defend her, and the game is on.

Last week, I reviewed one of the very early Perry Mason mysteries, and I always think of Mason and his creator, Erle Stanley Gardner, when I read one of Lescroart's Dismas Hardy books. As fond as I am of the Mason books, it always strikes me that Dismas Hardy is a defense lawyer for grown-ups. Reading Lescroart, you get an excellent impression of what a defense lawyer's life is really like and how a murder trial really works, especially with a high profile client. Not surprisingly, I suppose, it doesn't look much like a Perry Mason novel.

Lescroart's court room scenes are always enormously compelling, and once one of his cases gets to trial you know you're in for a long night because from that point on, it's always impossible to put one of these books down. Certainly, that's the case here.

As the title suggests, this is a book in which an awful lot of people have buried secrets, and Dismas Hardy is forced to uncover and understand the meaning of any number of them if he's going to have any chance at all of saving his client. Watching him attempt to do so is a great treat.
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Jul 12, 2010 Linda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-thriller

Lescroat's latest book is a full of action and suspense. Being from California, I love reading the mysteries that take place in places that I am familiar with, and San Francisco is one of those places. This book contains mystery, suspense and good characterization, though not as deep as many of his novels. San Francisco is a great place for this adventure, especially as Lescroat weaves in the local color with different food offerings, the scenery and with hilly and curved streets, bayside scenes...more

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About John Lescroart

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

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“The essence of fascism is to make laws forbidding everything and then enforce them selectively against your enemies.” — 7 people liked it

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A Plague of Secrets (Dismas Hardy Mystery #13)

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