John Lescroart

John Lescroart (/lɛsˈkwɑː/;^[1] born January 14, 1948) is a New York Times bestselling author known for his series of legal and crime thriller novels featuring the characters Dismas Hardy, Abe Glitsky and Wyatt Hunt. His novels have sold more than ten million copies, have been translated into twenty-two languages in more than seventy-five countries, and sixteen of his books have been on the New York Times bestseller list.

Lescroart was born in Houston, Texas, and graduated from Junípero Serra High School, San Mateo, California (Class of 1966). He then went on to earn a B.A. in English with Honors at UC Berkeley in 1970. In addition to more than twenty novels, Lescroart has written several screenplays, and appeared as a contestant on the game show Tic Tac Dough in 1979, as well as on Joker's Wild, Blank Check and Headline Chasers. Under Crow Art Records, Lescroart has released several albums, including a cd of piano versions of his songs performed by Antonio Gala. He has for some time been writing and living in Davis, California.^[2]

He is an original founding member of group International Thriller Writers.

Career

Before becoming a full-time writer in 1994, Lescroart was a self-described “Jack of all trades,” who worked as a word processor for law firms, as well as a bartender, moving man, house painter, editor, advertising director, computer programmer, and fundraising executive.

Through his twenties, he was also a full-time singer-songwriter-guitarist, and performed under the name Johnny Capo, with Johnny Capo and his Real Good Band.

Awards and Honors

Lescroart’s first novel, Sunburn (1981), won the San Francisco Foundation’s Joseph Henry Jackson Award for best as yet unpublished novel by a California author, beating Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire. Dead Irish (1989) and The 13th Juror (1994) were nominees for the Shamus and Anthony Awards for Best Mystery Novel, respectively; additionally The 13th Juror is included in the International Thriller Writers publication “100 Must-Read Thrillers Of All Time.” Hard Evidence (1993) is named in The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Ultimate Reading List. His novel Guilt (1997) was a Readers Digest Select Edition choice. The Mercy Rule (1998), Nothing But the Truth (2000), and The Suspect (2007) have been major market Book Club selections. The Suspect was also the 2007 One Book Sacramento choice of the Sacramento Library Foundation, and was chosen by the American Author’s Association as its 2007 Book of the Year. Damage (2011) made Entertainment Weekly’s “Must List.”

In 2007 Lescroart was awarded the American Author Medal for The Suspect. And in 2008 he was part of the California Library Laureates, in association with the California State Assembly. He has twice been the spotlighted guest at the International Thriller Writer’s Thrillerfest, and in 2012 he was the guest of honor at Left Coast Crime.

In 1998 he appeared in The Best American Mystery Stories, edited by Sue Grafton, for "The Adventure of the Giant Rat of Sumatra".

Libraries Unlimited has included Lescroart in its publication “The 100 Most Popular Thriller and Suspense Authors.”

Guilt was a "Readers Digest Select Edition" choice.

Sixteen of John Lescroart’s novels have been New York Times Bestsellers.

Bibliography

• Sunburn (Pinnacle, 1981) ISBN 0-523-41187-1

Auguste Lupa series

[It is strongly hinted in these books that Lupa (the son of Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler) later becomes Nero Wolfe, although Wolfe is never mentioned by name.]

1. Son of Holmes (Donald I. Fine, 1986) ISBN 0-917657-64-0
2. Rasputin's Revenge (Donald I. Fine, 1987) ISBN 1-55611-011-1

Lescroart's most popular works are a series of legal and crime dramas taking place in and around San Francisco, beginning with the thriller Dead Irish. They center around the adventures of ex-cop and lawyer, Dismas Hardy, and his best friend, officer Abe Glitsky, among many other friends and associates. His newest works introduce Wyatt Hunt, working as a private investigator. Although they are often performing together in the story, the books can be distinguished by which character is the main protagonist.

Dismas Hardy (featured protagonist)

1. Dead Irish (Donald I. Fine, 1989) ISBN 1-55611-159-2
2. The Vig (Donald I. Fine, 1990) ISBN 1-55611-221-1
3. Hard Evidence (Donald I. Fine, 1993) ISBN 1-55611-344-7
4. The 13th Juror (Donald I. Fine, 1994) ISBN 1-55611-402-8
5. The Mercy Rule (Delacorte, 1998) ISBN 0-385-31658-5
6. Nothing But the Truth (Delacorte, 1999) ISBN 0-385-33353-6
7. The Hearing (Dutton, 1999) ISBN 0-525-94575-X
8. The Oath (Dutton, 2002) ISBN 0-525-94576-8
9. The First Law (Dutton, 2003) ISBN 0-525-94705-1
10. The Second Chair (Dutton, 2004) ISBN 0-525-94775-2
11. The Motive (Dutton, 2004) ISBN 0-525-94844-9
12. Betrayal (Dutton, 2007) ISBN 978-0-525-95039-4
13. A Plague of Secrets (Dutton, 2009) ISBN 978-0-525-95092-9
14. The Ophelia Cut (Atria Books 2013) ISBN 978-1476709154

Abe Glitsky (featured protagonist)

1. A Certain Justice (Donald I. Fine, 1995) ISBN 1-55611-445-1
2. Guilt (Delacorte, 1996) ISBN 0-385-31655-0
3. Damage (Dutton, 2011) ISBN 0-525-95176-8

The events of A Certain Justice happen chronologically between Parts IV and V of Guilt. ^[3] Lescroart wrote A Certain Justice before Guilt, and in the course of writing it, he came up with Wes Farrell's account of the trial that made him lose faith in the law. After finishing Justice, he decided Guilt would go both backwards and forwards and tell the whole story of Mark Dooher.

Wyatt Hunt

1. The Hunt Club (Dutton, 2005) ISBN 0-525-94914-3
2. Treasure Hunt (Dutton, 2010)
3. The Hunter (Dutton, 2012) ISBN 0-525-95256-X

Gina Roake

• The Suspect (Dutton, 2007) ISBN 978-0-525-94998-5

References

External links

• Official website
• Official Facebook