First, thanks to NetGalley for providing an advanced review copy of this book.

A great read, but not as good as many of the ones from the past, in my opinion. But I still had trouble putting it down toward the end.

I'm a big fan of this series, and already knew most of the characters, and also the back story from The First Law. I'd advise anyone to at least read that book before this one for maximum enjoyment. Reading more of the previous books, or all, would be better.

I think this is the first book to feature Hardy's secretary, Phyllis, as more than a butt of Hardy's jokes or complaints, and she's shown to have a somewhat surprising secret life - surprising because she's usually such a no-nonsense, business-only character. This part of her private life explodes in a way that causes many unforseen consequences, resulting in her arrest as an accessory to murder, and almost to the arrest of Hardy and some of his friends.

It was a pretty exciting story, but I believe there was also a political motive to the story, which was to highlight some of the problems facing undocumented aliens in the US, especially the younger ones who were brought here as infants and have no life or knowledge of their legal homes. One was even born in the US, but didn't have proof of any kind. These people are all, in their minds at least, as American as any of us, and would suffer greatly if deported. So they try to keep a very low profile, and are totally unprotected by our normal laws. If they accidentally get noticed somehow, their only choice is to go into hiding. I think the author did address some of the related issues, such as criminals who might get deported instead of arrested for their crimes, etc.

One thing I didn't like so much is that the characters seemed a little too one-dimensional in this book. The bad guys were really bad, the good guys were really good, and there wasn't much gray area. Also, there wasn't as much of the humorous bantering, it seemed, although there was some.

I hope there will be another in the series, now that Hardy's firm has collected a few old friends such as Wes Farrell and Gina Roake back as active partners, and Phyllis has been shown to have an actual life. ( )

The Rule of Law was to political for me. The courtroom and other parts of this book lacked the tension & suspense that John Grisham excels in. ( )

Have read all the Dismas Hardy series; this one was unfortunately the least entertaining and enjoyable. There social politics discussed by some reviewers is not the issue; I just found some chapters and plot devices uncomplying. ( )

A newly elected corrupt D.A. crosses Dismas Hardy when he has Hardy’s secretary arrested. When the police prove the D.A. wrong he is determined to bring Hardy down and turns to the Dock Yard Massacre to do so. Lescroart says he wrote this book to tie up some loose ends. It works for those of us who have read the series but will be difficult for others. Not his usual high quality read. ( )

This is going to probably be the shortest review I have ever written in my entire life. It was a decent criminal story but had entirely too much political opinion. Everyone is entitled to theirs but pick a different venue. ( )