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Book Club: The Mercy Rule
Presented by Patrick Anderson
Special to the Washington Post
Thursday, Nov. 21, 2002; Noon ET
Welcome to the online meeting of The Washington Post Book Club, a monthly program presented by the editors and writers of Washington Post Book World.
This month Patrick Anderson will be leading a discussion on this month's selection, "The Mercy Rule" by John Lescroart. Read this month's review of "Silence."
The transcript follows.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Patrick Anderson: Good afternoon and welcome to Book World's discussion of John Lescroart's "The Mercy Rule." This is popular fiction, a legal thriller, and Lescroart's biggest obligation is to entertain us, to keep our interest, which I think he does very well. What I admire most about JL (as I'll call him from now on) is his ability to combine effective, suspenseful plots with a rich world that includes many believable characters. When you're writing a novel, there's always a pressure to cut nonessentials, to keep things moving, lest you lose the reader. JL has the courage to stop and show us his people's lives and, for me, it works because I care about their lives. In "The Mercy Rule" he kept me wondering for 600 pages whether Graham Russo was the nice, innocent young man he seems to be, or if he had killed his father and was fooling everybody. I'll be curious to learn if the plot and the characters worked as well for others as they did for me.
Lenexa, Kan.:
Mr. Anderson: Alzheimer's, as sad as it is, seems an excellent lit device--even a nice fit in the plot as the old man starts reliving and betraying old confidences, thereby threatening....The stream of consciousness flashbacks--that Arthur Miller-like day at Candlestick, looking forward to cioppino at Bruno Giotti's (gone decades), trying to piece together his third grade and his Little League team (sparked by an obit), recalling that first time with Helen at Ocean Beach....
AD like lit is mostly about reliving the memories (the "ache" as Dirda puts it). It even seems literary when one thinks of the great Iris Murdoch spending her last days watching the Teletubbies. Anyway, your thoughts? Thanks.
Patrick Anderson: I thought Sal and the flashbacks worked very well and gave the book an extra dimension. I don't recall seeing Alzheimer's used that well in other novels.
Vienna, Va.:
Is this your favorite Lescroart book? If not, what other books by him do you recommmend?
Patrick Anderson: Besides this one, I've read four others and liked them all more or less equally. I chose this one because it was the one I'd just finished when I was asked to do this discussion. Before this one, he wrote "The 13th Juror" about a doctor's wife who may or may not have killed her husband and son -- Dismas Hardy represents her -- and "Guilt" about a very successful lawyer who is also a psychopath and a killer. It's certainly one of the best.
I also liked "The Hearing" last year, in which the dead woman proves to be Abe Glitsky's daughter by a woman who married someone else, and "The Oath," about a murder in a hospital and the seamy side of the medical world.
Lenexa, Kan.:
Thanks. It had me guessing too. I've never been any good at solving crimes--fall for all the red herrings. I thought he kept a nice circle of suspects going. I agree about Graham (charming, handsome, top-notch law student, athlete), might prove a kind of "Primal Fear" Edward Norton. (He quickly charmed the pretty investigator into a "secret handshake..", didn't he?) The judge's wife hadn't even made my list. Oh, well.
Patrick Anderson: I agree. Any of several people could have been the killer, including Graham's brother and sister. I wonder if people think they were prepared for the eventual killer. It sort of came out of left field but I thought it made sense. If you go back, there's a scene that sets it up, when the judge and his wife discuss the case over lunch.
Somewhere, USA:
I just read the first chapter on the Book World page and was wondering if it was a good idea for the author to set up the mystery or the crime in the first chapter?
washingtonpost.com:
Read the first chapter of The Mercy Rule (washingtonpost.com, Nov. 1)
Patrick Anderson: I think it's a good idea in a thriller to grab the reader as soon as possible. In the first chapter of this book, you get the picture of a very confused old man, and then when someone knocks on the door, you know that he probably didn't kill himself, although you don't know who it was knocking on the door. I thought it was a very effective opening.
Arlington, Va.:
Do you know if there's been any attempt to adapt this novel as a film? I'm wondering if you think it would work as well on screen as it does on paper.
Patrick Anderson: I don't know of any movies of JL's work, although I think they good be good movies. Proably it will happen eventually.
Washington, D.C.:
I really like Patricia Cornwell mysteries. Do you think that I would like Lescroat?
Patrick Anderson: I really don't know Cornwell's work. But I urge you to give JL a try. I find him immensely readable. There were a lot of interesting ironies in this book. For one, Graham's best defense seemed to be to admit to a murder he hadn't done and hope the jury would forgive him for a "mercy killing."
And I thought JL makes a very damning case that many cops and prosecutors are eager to try an innocent man on flimsy evidence or for political reasons.
Lenexa, Kan.:
I do recall that lunch scene where she quotes legal history and seems an exceptional person--making sure her brilliant husband doesn't tire of her.
Just wondering, I didn't know the Hemingway allusion that Judge Giotti made. Were you able to connect? Also, I looked in VideoHound and there are three matches of his titles to films (although nothing that would indicate they were from his work). He's also not listed in the writer's index. Has any of his novels been filmed? The "Mercy Rule" would certainly be a fun movie. Thanks.
Patrick Anderson: As I recall, he quotes the "Isn't it pretty to think so?" line from the last scene of "The Sun Also Rises."
New York, N.Y.:
One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the "Law and Order" perspective from by the characters of Dis and Abe. Do his other books you've read share this lawyers AND cops dynamic? And do you know--which was JL before he started writing--a lawyer or a cop?
Patrick Anderson: JL is not a lawyer. He tended bar and sang in a rock band in his twenties. I watch "Law and Order" and it's almost all from the prosecution's POV. One thing I like about JL is that he gives the defense perspective. Obviously, JL does a lot of research/handing out in the SF legal world.
College Park, Md,:
I thought the hatred Draper and Soma had for Graham was seemed unrealistically extreme. They would accuse someone of murder just because they quit a law practice?
Patrick Anderson: I wondered about that too. I'm willing to assume that JL has some basis for it. But it did seem strange.
Washington, D.C.:
Mr. Anderson,
How does Lescroart rank among your other thriller and myster writers?
Also what did you mean in your review about Lescroart caring aobut them all? washingtonpost.com:
Read Anderson's review on 'The Mercy Rule' (Post, Nov. 3).
Patrick Anderson: I think his legal thrillers are as good as any I've read.
Other, non-legal thriller writers I enjoy include Michael Connelly, John Sandford, Sara Peretsky, and the spy thrillers of Alan Furst and Robert Littell. I discover really talented writers all the time -- you just have to look for them. JL is a good example. The first of his novels I read was his 12th.
Lenexa, Kan.:
Thanks on "The Sun..." Should have known.
Lescroart writes early in the novel: "There was something compelling about this old man who sold fish and his family who hated him." Herb "Heaven's nice, but it's not San Francisco" Caen labels him very believably as "Salmon Sal." Lescroart must be clear at the top of his genre in the souled, indelible characters he creates. I cared about many of them. I also enjoyed the novel's S.F. milieu. Also, have you read Steven Thayer?
Patrick Anderson: Thanks. I agree w/ all that you say. No, I'm afriad I haven't read Thayer.
Bethesda, Md.:
Is this Lescroart's latest book and if so, can I find it on the bestseller list?
Patrick Anderson: No, this one is four or five novels back. The most recent, "The Oath", came out early this year and was on some bestseller lists. But I prefer him to a lot of people who sell more books.
Arlington, Va.:
I know this is off-topic, but do you have any great ideas for book fiend gifts for the holidays?
Patrick Anderson: Next week I'm reviewing the reissue of Robert Littell's first spy novel, The Defection of AJ Lewinter, and I think it's sensational. A true classic. You might try Karin Slaughter's first two novels, thrillers set in a (rather violent) small town in Georiga.
Maryland:
How does Lescroart do his legal research if he is not a lawyer? Surely, he has to get access to some legal resources.
Patrick Anderson: My impression is that he spends a lot of time talking to lawyers. And in other research. For "The Oath," which is set in a hospital, he learned a lot about doctors and hospitals. He does his homework.
Vienna, Va.:
It's always interesting to me how writers use medical illness in their characters -- whether to justfiy the characters actions or to inform the reader more about the illness. Do you know much about Lescroart's history? Do you know if Lescroart himself or a close relative or friend of his has Alzheimer's?
Patrick Anderson: I don;'t know. Maybe he just did his research. I remember after reading Emma's death in "Terms of Endearment" I thought someone close to Larry McMurtry must have died of cancer. But when I asked Larry, he said no. The point is, anyone can gather the basic facts, but the magic is in the writing.
Washington, D.C.:
Have any of Lescroat's novels been adapted for screen?
Patrick Anderson: Not that I know of, but they should be.
Lenexa, Kan.:
I do know Michael Connelly's "Void Moon"--Cassie Black's nice crime romp in Las Vegas. I'm going to read Littal's masterpiece you mentioned. You might try Thayer's "The Wheat Field" sometime. Thanks.
Patrick Anderson: I liked Void Moon, but his Harry Bosch novels are his best. There's a new one coming in the spring. His current Chasing the Dime is non-Bosch, entertaining enough, but non his best.
Patrick Anderson: Thanks to everyone for taking part. I hope you'll give Lescroart a try. Good afternoon.
Charlottesville, VA:
I realize I'm probably too late here, but just wanted to thank you for giving John Lescroat a plug - I've followed him since 'Dead Irish' (went back and found 'The Vig') and have enjoyed the progress of Dismas, Abe, et. al., over the years. I think he deserves a lot more attention and sales than he gets, glad to see you giving him at least the former! Thank you!
Patrick Anderson: One more before I go. Thanks for your comment and I agree entirely!
washingtonpost.com:
That wraps up today's show. Thanks to everyone who joined the
discussion.
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