Let's get this straight, I was not always on board with The Ophelia Cut by John Lescroart but I felt that I had a duty to read it since I will be reading The Keeper soon. Not to mention, I'd also won it in a Goodreads giveaway a year ago and attempted to read and complete it then, but to no avail. I just wasn't interested in this novel. It begins promising but then become endlessly boring, going on and on about... nothing really. But finally after having finished it, I'm glad I could push through the muck to find what an awesome read it was.
The Ophelia Cut is the 14th novel in the Dismas Hardy series. Hardy is a successful defense attorney who's latest trial has him fighting for the life of his good friend Moses McGuire. McGuire's daughter Brittany finds herself involved with a man for appearances sake is charming, handsome, and successful. The reality of the matter is that Rick Jessup is a monster. He's violent and sadistic, unable to control himself at times. He becomes increasingly violent towards Brittany.
The bulk of this novel centers around the Moses McGuire trial where he's been accused of being Jessup's killer. There is a buttload of evidence that suggests that he could in fact be the culprit. Hardy really has his work cut out for him if he wants to get an innocent verdict for his client.
I haven't followed this series since inception but am aware of how popular the Dismas Hardy series is. When I got word (a year ago) that I'd won this book, I did my happy jig and settled down to read it. The Ophelia Cut is gripping from page one. There are secrets, lies, and videotapes. Oh yes!!! Videotape. But as I continued on, the book just became boring. It seemed like it took forever to get to the plot. Really, I read legal thrillers for the trial. The trial is why I can spend hours on end watching Law & Orderepisodes. The trial is where it's at.
Once Lescroart finally gets to the trial, I became interested again. Sure, I appreciated the effort in the background and character development that Lescroart provided, I still wanted more suspense. By the end of this novel, I was no longer on the fence about why this author or this series is so popular. The characters are all faced with having to do some deep introspection and decide what they will do for the person (people) they love. What secrets will they keep? What shillelagh is better to use? What lies will they tell?
In retrospect, I should have given the The Ophelia Cut a fair shake from the beginning. I could have already been neck deep in The Keeper by now if I'd had just a little more patience. Sure it's a little slow at times but... well worth the journey in the end. There are some ties that need to be closed up but I'm hoping that future installments will satisfy closing up the holes. Fans of this series won't want to miss this one and new fans, such as myself, won't want to miss anymore novels by John Lescroart.
Copy provided by Simon and Schuster via a Goodreads Giveaway
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