A Certain Justice (Abe Glitsky) | John Lescroart

A Certain Justice (Abe Glitsky) | John Lescroart | A wholly improbable premise salvaged by terrific story and commentary

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A Certain Justice ...

	A Certain Justice (Abe Glitsky) John Lescroart Signet, 2006 - 480 pages average customer review:based on 14 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

When the angry white mob poured out of the bar on San Francisco's Geary Street and surrounded an innocent black man, Kevin Shea was the only one who tried to stop them. He failed, and now, thanks to a deceptive news photo taken during the melee, he is wanted for the murder himself-and the real culprits have threatened his life if he says a word.

As riots rage and politicians posture, Lieutenant Abe Glitsky finds himself under pressure to bring Shea in at all costs. And as respect for the law crumbles-even among those sworn to uphold it-true justice is the only thing that can prevent the death of another innocent man.

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Never a dull moment

A senseless carjacking/murder by a black gang banger begets a mob lynching of a black lawyer and the city on the bay explodes into a race riot.

Against this violent background John Lescroart unleashes a cast of unforgetable characters.

Kevin Shea - the good Samaritan who tries to stop the lynching and is made to look like evil incarnate.

Loretta Wager - the over ambitious US senator looking for a quick ride to re-election and beyond.

Abe Glitski - a man battling his own demons and a political tidal wave threatening to swamp.

Wes Farell - a disenchanted lawyer trying to drink himself to death and fotget the law.

It is all here and more in another winner.

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A wholly improbable premise salvaged by terrific story and commentary

San Francisco is simply not a credible locale for the lynching of a black man no matter what the circumstances. Lescroart attempts to create a credible scenario for the eventual lynching of a black man, but I was unable to overcome my skepticism throughout the book. But despite this egregious flaw the book still works and works very well.

Kevin Shea attempts to stop the lynching of a young black lawyer who just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He fails to stop the lynching despite his heroic efforts but is captured in an ambiguous photograph trying to stop the lynching and is cast as the villain by the media. Kevin Shea becomes the embodiment of evil and is vilified by every major organ of the media, the entire race baiting establishment, all of the elected politicians, and nearly the entire law enforcement establishment. So much is invested in his guilt and status as poster boy for racism that the question of his guilt becomes entirely incidental.

Abe Glitsky, an old friend Wes Farrell and Shea's girlfriend are the only characters that resist the rush to judgment. This book works on many levels. The romantic story between Shea and his girlfriend is well told and worked very well for me. But the level upon which the book works best for me is as a social commentary. Lescroart is no Tom Wolfe, but his insights and commentary are powerful and well drawn.

Dismas Hardy plays only a very minor role appearing seldom only enough to qualify as a "Dismas Hardy" novel. But Abe Glitsky plays a major role and of course San Francisco, though maligned by the author as the site of a modern day lynching, plays of course a central role as the setting for the book.

I would heartily recommend this book despite its incredible central premise. The remainder of the book and the behavior described by the characters are 100% believable.

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The Wrong Man

The innocent man wrongly accused: it's a story idea strong enough that Alfred Hitchcock made many of his movies based on it. In John Lescroart's A Certain Justice, we get a different take on this theme; although this is well-traveled ground, Lescroart is creative enough to add a couple new things and make an entertaining page-turner.

In San Francisco, after a white man is brutally killed during a carjacking, a black man is arrested. Although it is almost certain he is the killer, he is released for lack of conclusive evidence. During a wake for the CPA, the anger at the suspect's release, fueled by plenty of alcohol, creates a mob mentality that turns on an innocent black man. The leaders of the mob attempt to lynch him.

Kevin Shea tries to intervene, getting out his pocket knife and trying to free the man from the rope around his neck. He fails, the man dies, and an unfortunately timed photo makes him look like a killer. The nature of the hate crime sparks riots and soon Shea is a wanted man. While Lieutenant Abe Glitzky tries to investigate - and has his doubts about Shea's guilt - many others have already tarred him as a brutal killer. Certain politicians - including a U.S. Senator and the District Attorney - have spoken so certainly of Shea's guilt that they will not allow the possibility of his innocence: to do so could injure their own reputations and careers.

At times a crime novel, at times a political one, this story generally succeeds well, although I think occasionally some of the characters are a bit over-the-top. If Lescroart has a statement to make, it is a condemnation of people in responsibility who create or promote agitation for their own personal gains. But, any political statements are actually secondary; the main purpose of this novel is to entertain, and Lescroart has put together a good enough story to merit a high four stars. As a thriller, this is a success.

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Hot & Cold

The first quarter of the book is excellent, the last quarter pretty good. The other half is where I found myself skimming the pages for relevant and interesting material but didn't find much.
Perhaps I expected too much after this good start. Social issues underlying the story are relevant and well presented in my view.
Read it, just get over the rather boring part without quitting.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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