"The Suspect" by John T. Lescroart. New York, Dutton 2007.

The entire story takes place between the time Stuart leaves Lake Tahoe and returns to his home in the Bay Area, only to discover his wife has drowned in their hot tub, and the grand jury hearing at which he is accused of her murder. With exquisite detail, Lescroart draws a bead on first one character then another, as the attorneys battle it out before the judge.

I was not totally enamoured of his writing; however, this is the "One Book" title that will be discussed in October as part of the Sacramento Public Library's sesquicentennial celebration this year. Because I fell in love after the fact with a previous One Book title, "Epitaph for a Peach," and regretted missing the author talks, I thought I'd get a head start on this year's book.

"The List of Seven" by Mark Frost. W. Morrow, 1993.
This is an implausible novel built around the outline of Arthur Conan Doyle's life before Sherlock Holmes. In it, Doyle has written a book partially lifted from the writings of Madame Blavatsky and submitted it to a publisher. Unfortunately for Doyle, the plot mimics a real plot involving the publisher, zombies, spiritualism, and a tantalizing link to Nazism. Thinking Doyle is on the verge of exposing the plot, an elaborate trap is laid: he is invited to a seance where a murder takes place, and he is launched into a chain of sinister events which threaten his life and the succession of the British monarchy.