The American legal system is complicated and fascinating. It is not surprising, then, that its intricacies have given rise to a vast number of legal mysteries and courtroom dramas. I love this genre and have read extensively in it. If I have to name my favorite courtroom drama, however, the choice is extremely easy. Normally, this is not the type of book that you want to reread because, once the mystery is solved, there is not much point to revisiting the book. Guilt by John Lescroart stands out because I have reread it several times even though I remember the plot in great detail. This, too, is unusual given that I erase all of the non-essential readings from my mind completely almost immediately after I finish such a book.
Guilt was published in 1998 and there is something to it, an ambience, a flavor that is so perfectly the 1990s in a way that could not possibly be recreated today. It’s like Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl but for men and about men. At this point I know parts of it almost by heart but I still want to drop everything and go reread it. Aside from the deeply enjoyable legal intricacies, this novel introduces several different male types that are fascinating to observe. One might say that the novel is a study of different ways of being a man.
Like all of Lescroart’s novels, Guilt is set in San Francisco. This is, of course, the San Francisco of 30 years ago. Even then, though, San Francisco was way ahead down the road that we all walked since then. I don’t want to say more because I’d rather not spoil the pleasure of reading for those of you who decide to attempt this novel. I do want to reiterate that this is an outstanding representative of the courtroom drama genre.
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