Synopses & Reviews
In a multiple murder case plagued by lies and deception, there is one terrible secret that defense attorney Dismas Hardy is duty-bound to protect. Even if the price is his client's life. When Dylan Vogler, the charming manager of the popular Bay Beans West coffee shop in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, is gunned down near the store, inspectors are shocked to discover that his knapsack is overflowing with high-grade marijuana. It soon becomes clear that San Francisco's A-list flocked to Bay Beans West for more than a pricy caffeine fix. Maya Townshend is the absentee owner of the shop?and the beautiful and extremely wealthy socialite niece of the city's mayor. When she becomes Dismas Hardy's client, he thinks it will be a simple hand-holding exercise until the police identify a suspect. But then another of Maya's past acquaintances turns up murdered, and the newspapers begin to reveal the names of the coffee shop's celebrity, political, and even law-enforcement clientele. Hardy begins to question how much his client knew about what was actually going on inside her business?and whether she was also Vogler's lover.All the while Hardy's best friend, homicide lieutenant Abe Glitsky, sick with worry over his severely injured youngest child, barely functions at his job. Without his supervision, his inspectors are prey to the machinations of the many power brokers with interests in the case. Ambitious prosecutors close in on Maya, and as her trial gets under way, Hardy discovers that his client harbors an explosive secret. A secret that Dismas Hardy is privilege-bound to protect. Perceptive, fast-paced, and masterfully plotted, A Plague of Secrets represents John Lescroart working at the absolute top of his game.
Synopsis
The first victim is Dylan Vogler, a charming ex-convict who manages the Bay Beans West coffee shop in San Franciscoa (TM)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 Franciscoa (TM)s A-list flocked to Bay Beans West not only for their caffeine fix.
But how much did Maya Townshend a the beautiful socialite niece of the citya (TM)s mayor, and the absentee owner of the shop a know about what was going on inside her business? And how intimate had she really been with Dylan, her old college friend?
As another of Mayaa (TM)s acquaintances falls victim to murder, and as the names of the dead mena (TM)s celebrity, political, and even law-enforcement customers come to light, tabloid-fueled controversy takes the investigation into the realms of conspiracy and cover-up. Prosecutors close in on Maya, who has a deep secret of her owna a secret she needs to protect at all costs during her very public trial, where not only her future but the entire political landscape of San Francisco hangs in the balance, hostage to an explosive secret that Dismas Hardy is privilegebound to protect.