The First Law (Dismas Hardy, Book 8)

One of mystery fiction's most enduring and affecting male buddy teams--San Francisco defense attorney Dismas Hardy and police lieutenant Abe Glitsky--are back in Lescroart's newest thriller. Glitsky's been kicked upstairs (or sideways) to a desk job and warned off his usual homicide beat even though it's his father's best friend who's been murdered in a robbery-slaying, and it's Hardy's pal and client, John Holiday, who's been targeted as the killer. When two more killings follow, no one in the department believes that Hardy's client was set up. They don't believe Abe, either--the harder he tries to get at the truth, the more his ex-colleagues are convinced that he's a rogue cop who wants his old job back and will stoop to anything to get it. They got that idea from the well-bribed police brass who are protecting the real killers from prosecution and putting Abe and Dismas's nearest and dearest in their cross-hairs, too. But that's not quite enough to call our heroes off the case, even though the talented author manages to maintain the tension and ratchet up the suspense long enough to make the reader wonder. --Jane Adams