Author's Spotlight-"DAMAGE" Author John Lescroart

Having twenty-one bestselling books under your belt is a tricky place to be; how can you continue to reinvent and challenge yourself while still remaining true to your loyal audience who wants to see more and more of their beloved character? With his twenty-second book, DAMAGE (Dutton; On sale January 4, 2011), John Lescroart has more than lived up to that challenge. While still featuring many of his series characters and centering on the legal profession (though to this day Mr. Lescroart has never had any formal legal experience), this time he takes his thriller outside the courtroom. A more intimate, darker novel of suspense, DAMAGE is a look at what goes on behind-the-scenes; how the application of justice is often determined unfairly outside the courtroom, especially when a powerful family can intimidate law enforcement, the media, and the district attorney. John Lescroart introduces us to the Curtlees, the kind of excessively wealthy and connected family that we all know exists in real life. In the San Francisco of DAMAGE, you’d be hard pressed to find an important pocket that’s not lined with Curtlee money. So when heir to the Curtlee dynasty, Ro, was convicted of rape and murder a decade ago, the fallout for those who played a role in that case—the jury foreman, the lead prosecutor, the head homicide detective—was grave. All of their careers and lives were damaged in some vicious and permanent way. Now Ro’s lawyers have won him a retrial and he is out on bail. Within 24 hours, a fire destroys the home of the original trial’s star witness. Her abused body is found in the ruins, and she’s only the first victim. When a second fire claims another participant in the case, everyone is convinced that Ro is out for revenge. But with no hard evidence and with the Curtlees able to get to everyone, the major players for the prosecution find themselves frustratingly powerless. Chris Treece