Betrayal by John Lescroart

A simple pleasure is when you stumble across a book written by an author in your power rotation that you have previously overlooked… such is the case for me with John Lescroart’s Betrayal, the 12th in his Dismas Hardy/ Abe Glisky series.

Hardy is asked by a judge to clean up the caseload of an attorney, Charlie Bowen who has recently disappeared.  Most of the work is routine but one case involves the appeal of Evan Scholler, a local police officer and National Guard reservist convicted of killing Ron Nolan, an ex-Navy SEAL and private contractor employee.

 

Scholler and Nolan first meet each other in Iraq.  Nolan has been discharged from the Navy and is working for Allstrong Security, a company that works for the U.S. government to protect building contractors as Iraq’s infrastructure is being rebuilt. Scholler’s unit is assigned to protect Allstrong’s personnel from Iraqi insurgents.  At this time in Iraq, a private company like Allstrong stands to make millions of dollars in government contracts for little effort.  But Allstrong’s tactics are many times not legitimate.  Ron Nolan, for example, seems to specialize in solving Allstrong’s problems by using his Navy SEAL training to intimidate or eliminate anyone in their path, whether in Iraq or in the U.S.

 

But Evan is unaware of this about Nolan and they become pals and drinking buddies while off duty in Iraq.  Scholler confides in Nolan that his ex-girlfriend, Tara is not answering his letters.  The couple broke up over differences in opinion of the U.S. involvement in Iraq and Evan’s sense of duty, but he still wants to stay in contact with her.  Nolan who is headed back the San Francisco on Allstrong business (wet work) agrees to check in on Tara and hand deliver Evan’s latest letter.  Nolan delivers the letter but uses the opportunity to begin a romantic relationship of his own with Tara.  Upon returning to Iraq, Nolan causes an incident which nearly wipes out Scholler’s unit and leaves Evan with a serious head injury.  Tara by now has lost contact with Evan and knows about him only from the lies Nolan is feeding her.

After months in rehab and numerous operations, Evan returns home and is reinstated on the police force.  Meanwhile, Nolan is transferred to Allstrong’s state side office and his relationship with Tara continues.  But when Tara realizes what a liar Nolan is, she breaks off their relationship and starts seeing Evan again.  Then an innocent Iraqi couple is murdered in San Francisco and Evan suspects Nolan is responsible but has no proof.  He breaks into Nolan’s condo and finds the evidence he needs to implicate Nolan.  Unable to use the illegally attained goods, Evan reports his suspicions about Nolan to the FBI.  Upon questioning, Nolan manages to point suspicion for the murders toward Scholler.  Evan, in a drunken stupor, goes to Nolan’s condo to confront him and a fight ensues.  Evan remembers nothing from that point until three days later when Nolan is found beaten and shot to death.  Ultimately, Evan is sentenced to life in prison for Nolan’s murder.  Now three years after Evan is incarcerated, it is up to Hardy and Glisky to unearth the truth about Evan Scholler and Ron Nolan and what could be as many as eight unsolved murders.

Only about a third of Lescroart’s Betrayal is devoted to his favorite protagonists, Dismas Hardy and Abe Glisky.  That leaves two thirds of the book for the author to show off his story telling skills… and show off he does.  From the most treacherous war torn streets of Iraq to the intensity of the courtrooms in the San Francisco Bay area, Lescroart leads us through an alluring tale of love, war, murder, betrayal, revenge and justice… a very satisfying read.