The Oath

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Authors: John Lescroart

Tags: #Mystery, #Thriller, #Suspense

BOOK: The Oath
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“A particularly strong plot.”


Los Angeles Times

 

“Topical and full of intrigue.”


Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

 
 

THE OATH

 

When HMO excutive Tim Markham is hit by a car during a morning jog through his exclusive San Francisco neighborhood, he has the bad luck to be transported to one of his own hospitals…and winds up dead in his ICU bed. But in spite of the rumors about his company’s substandard care, this death appears to be a case of malice, not of malpractice—especially after Markham’s entire family is gunned down in their home.

Lt. Abe Glitsky has strong suspicions about a doctor with opportunity, means, and motives to spare. But working up a case against Eric Kensing might not be easy, especially when Glitsky has to rely on two bumbling rookies to gather the evidence. When defense attorney Dismas Hardy takes Kensing on as a client, both Glitsky and Hardy have to worry not only about losing the case, but about losing a best friend as well. And as the investigation leads to something bigger than they expected, they may both be in danger of losing their lives….

“Skillfully researched and executed…. The reliably excellent Lescroart carries on, delivering yet another winner.”


Publishers Weekly

 

“[A] master yarn spinner…a stellar novel.”


Booklist

 

“Hardy and Glitsky are like good wine, improving with time.”


The Orlando Sentinel

 

“Lescroart skillfully balances his story, blending the action of the plot with the satisfying details of Hardy’s and Glitsky’s personal lives. The minutiae of marriages, children, and domestic routines not only round out the characters but provide a smart counterpoint to the cops-and-lawyer stuff. And unlike so many other authors, Lescroart handles social commentary with a deft touch.”


The Cleveland Plain Dealer

 
 
PRAISE FOR JOHN LESCROART’S PREVIOUS NOVELS
 
 

The Hearing

 

“A spine-tingling legal thriller.”

—Larry King,
USA Today

 

“Highly entertaining.”

Chicago Tribune

 

“Excellent stuff.”


The San Jose Mercury News

 
 

Nothing But the Truth

 

“The novel’s pacing is reminiscent of classic Ross MacDonald, where a week’s worth of events is condensed into a few hours….[A] winning thriller.”


Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

 

“Riveting…one of Lescroart’s best tales yet.”


Chicago Tribune

 

“A rousing courtroom showdown.”


Kirkus Reviews
(starred review)

 
 

The Mercy Rule

 

“A thought-provoking and important novel…. Well written, well plotted, well done.”

—Nelson DeMille

 

“Readers of
The 13th Juror
will already be off reading this book, not this review. Join them.”


The Philadelphia Inquirer

 
 

Guilt

 

“Begin
Guilt
over a weekend…. If you start during the workweek, you will be up very, very late, and your pleasure will be tainted with, well, guilt.”


The Philadelphia Inquirer

 

“A well-paced legal thriller…one of the best in this flourishing genre to come along in a while.”


The Washington Post Book World

 
 

A Certain Justice

 

“Lescroart swings for the fences with a West Coast take on
The Bonfire of the Vanities
…. A richly satisfying thriller.”


Kirkus Reviews

 

“A gifted writer with a distinctive voice. I read him with great pleasure.”

—Richard North Patterson

 
 

The 13th Juror

 

“Fast paced…sustains interest to the very end.”


The Wall Street Journal

 
 

Hard Evidence

 

“A hefty, engrossing legal thriller…compulsively readable, a dense and involving saga of big-city crime and punishment.”


San Francisco Chronicle

 
 

Praise for John Lescroart

 

“Raymond Chandler once wrote that the test of a first-rate murder mystery is whether you would keep reading it if the last chapter—and the revelation of whodunit—were missing. In the matter of John Lescroart, I would keep reading any of his books, even without that last chapter.”


Fort Worth Star-Telegram

 
ALSO BY JOHN LESCROART
 

The Hearing

 

Nothing But the Truth

 

The Mercy Rule

 

Guilt

 

A Certain Justice

 

The 13th Juror

 

Hard Evidence

 

The Vig

 

Dead Irish

 

Rasputin’s Revenge

 

Son of Holmes

 

Sunburn

 
THE OATH
 
JOHN LESCROART
 

A SIGNET BOOK

 

SIGNET

Published by New American Library, a division of
Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street,
New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.
Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand,
London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road,
Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia
Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2
Penguin Books (N.Z.) Ltd, Cnr Rosedale and Airborne Roads,
Albany, Auckland 1310, New Zealand

Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices:
Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England

Published by Signet, an imprint of New American Library, a division of Penguin
Putnam Inc. Previously published in a Dutton edition.

ISBN: 1-4295-2623-8

Copyright © The Lescroart Corporation, 2002

Excerpt from
The First Law
copyright © The Lescroart Corporation, 2003

All rights reserved

REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales isentirely coincidental.

 

This one’s to Pete Dietrich,
Bob Zaro,
and, as always, to Lisa—
Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief

CONTENTS
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

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