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thriller
Series · legal thriller
Abe Glitsky
The Abe Glitsky series by John Lescroart has 3 known books (3 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with A Certain Justice (1995). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is Damage.
- Books
- 3 known books (3 novels)
- Published
- 3
- First published
- 1995
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Thriller
- Last checked
Start here: A Certain Justice (1995) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
A Certain Justice
A Certain Justice opens John Lescroart's Abe Glitsky series in 1995 at 527 pages with a wrongful lynching that exposes San Francisco's racial fault lines, pushing Glitsky -- Dismas Hardy's oldest friend, a Black and Jewish homicide cop -- to the center of his own investigative and moral struggles rather than the courtroom-focused role he plays in the numbered Hardy novels.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Certain Justice - Book 2:
Guilt
Guilt is the second book in John Lescroart's Abe Glitsky series, published in 1997 at 500 pages, following Glitsky's pursuit of a prominent, seemingly unimpeachable attorney he's certain committed murder. It sits between A Certain Justice and Damage, published over a decade later.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Guilt - Book 3:
Damage
Damage is the most recent entry in John Lescroart's Abe Glitsky series, published in 2011 at 671 pages. It follows Guilt as the third book in a series that began in 1995.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Damage
About the Abe Glitsky series
Abe Glitsky -- Dismas Hardy's oldest friend, a Black and Jewish homicide cop who rises to become chief of San Francisco's homicide detail -- takes the lead role in his own three-book strand within John Lescroart's wider San Francisco legal-thriller universe. Where the numbered Dismas Hardy novels usually pair courtroom defense work with police investigation, these three books push Glitsky's own investigative and moral struggles to the centre: A Certain Justice opens with a wrongful lynching that exposes the city's racial fault lines, Guilt follows Glitsky's pursuit of a prominent, seemingly unimpeachable attorney he's certain committed murder, and Damage, published over a decade later, brings back a wealthy, dangerous family from Glitsky's past for a case that endangers his own family directly.
Frequently asked questions
How many Abe Glitsky books are there?
Three: A Certain Justice (1995), Guilt (1997), and Damage (2011).
Is this the same character as in the Dismas Hardy series?
Yes -- Abe Glitsky is Dismas Hardy's best friend and a major recurring character across the numbered Dismas Hardy novels; these three books simply put him at the centre of his own cases.
Do I need to read Dismas Hardy first?
No, each of these three books works as a standalone entry point into Lescroart's San Francisco, though reading the Dismas Hardy series adds context for Glitsky's relationships.
If you like the Abe Glitsky series
Reading order last verified .