John Grisham

I first published this review on May 28, 2010

John Grisham has always been one of my favorite authors. I enjoy a good lawyer book and he is one of several that puts out a good  story.  I would have to say, among "lawyer book lovers" A Time to Kill is one of the best. He has written over 20 books. Most but not all have been about lawyers. I believe A Painted House was his first book about something other than law. I have heard many great reviews about it but I was really disappointed because I was expecting a lawyer in there somewhere! However he has several books now that aren't about lawyers and I've learned to enjoy them as much as the others.

 
My personal favorite Grisham is The Partner. I really like books that have a twist in the end and this one has a great one!! 

   
ThePartner is about Patrick Lanigan a partner in a law firm and he is killed in a car crash. He is burned beyond recognition and is cremated. Several weeks later, 90 million dollars goes missing from his law firm. He becomes the chief suspect. Four years later, they find him in Brazil!  But I'm stopping there. It wouldn't be fair to give anymore away! It would be a great summer read for you. It's suspenseful - it's entertaining - it's totally unbelievable!! But it sure makes a great story!


I have a friend from high school that teaches in the East. She's a professor of Creative Writing. I have complained to her for many years that there are not enough good books for pre-teen and teen boys. I have raised two boys and have two grandsons and I struggle to find good books for them. I seem to be able to find books for the girls. I told Cheryl she should require her students to write a story for boys!!! :)

I was thrilled to see that John Grisham has started writing a series (I hope) about a 13 year old boy for young readers, Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer. I'm excited to read this book. I am putting great expectations on it for youth. I know he's a family man and a dedicated father so I feel as if it will be age appropriate.

I have all of John Grisham's books in Hardback and they are all first editions. HOWEVER: My nephew has all of his books - hardback - first editions AND some of his are autographed!!!! I love having a book collector as a nephew!!!

The Racketeer by John Grisham

I am a John Grisham fan. I know, I know, many readers say his books are all alike. I don't agree, I like them all. Of course, I love lawyer books, lawyer movies, lawyer tv shows! When I was a young girl, I would watch Perry Mason, sitting at the coffee table pretending to be the lawyer! But, no, I really have never had the desire to be a lawyer - I just like stories about them!!

Grisham's new book did not disappoint me. It even surprised me a couple of times!

"Given the importance of what they do, and the controversies that often surround them, and the violent people they sometimes confront, it is remarkable that in the history of this country only four active federal judges have been murdered.

Judge Raymond Fawcett has just become number five.


Who is the Racketeer? And what does he have to do with the judge’s untimely demise? His name, for the moment, is Malcolm Bannister. Job status? Former attorney. Current residence? The Federal Prison Camp near Frostburg, Maryland.

On paper, Malcolm’s situation isn’t looking too good these days, but he’s got an ace up his sleeve. He knows who killed Judge Fawcett, and he knows why. The judge’s body was found in his remote lakeside cabin. There was no forced entry, no struggle, just two dead bodies: Judge Fawcett and his young secretary. And one large, state-of-the-art, extremely secure safe, opened and emptied.

What was in the safe? The FBI would love to know. And Malcolm Bannister would love to tell them. But everything has a price—especially information as explosive as the sequence of events that led to Judge Fawcett’s death. And the Racketeer wasn’t born yesterday . . ."

It kept my attention and was a fast read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it. - If you are a Grisham fan or just like reading about lawyers!

John Grisham has a very interesting biography and you can read about him H.E.R.E.

Reading in 2011

I remember going to Hastings one time with some "gift" money. I was shopping for books. Some new reading material that could be used for Book Club and just some good reading for me. I hit the jackpot. I purchased around five books. I hadn't read reviews, I just searched the shelves until I found some books I thought I would enjoy reading.

I love my Kindle and the convenience of it. But there is just something special about spending 2 to 3 hours browsing the shelves in a bookstore. - Of course, to do that, you need to have a wad of money in your pockets!

Let's see, the day I hit the jackpot, I purchased "Still Alice"  (review here)    "The Jane Austin Book Club"  (which I just discovered I never reviewed on my blog... go figure. I loved that book) anyway, "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" (review here)  "American Wife" (I was SURE I had reviewed this one!!) and I believe  the last book was "The 19th Wife"  
(review here)  - or wait - No, it was "The Zookeeper's Wife" (review here)  ( I know it was another one with the word "wife" in the title!!)

I liked all the books I purchased that day, as I said I felt as if I had hit the jackpot!! However, I have not had that much luck since.  :(  

It seems as if it has been f.o.r.e.v.e.r. since I have read a really good book. I've read some good ones. Just not any REALLY good ones. I read 2 about BTK (true crime books that were based here in Wichita) but lets face it, If I hadn't just moved to Wichita, I probably wouldn't have liked them. 

I've read Evanovich and Grisham - which were both very good - but nothing unusual in their story lines. 

I've read a Christmas book and I've tried reading a couple of other books that I didn't even finish... Which is very unusual for me.

So, I have got to get serious about my book search. I need to read some quality books with interesting story lines.

I want to pick up reviewing books and to do that, I'm just going to have to find something worth reading! So....

For 2012, I hope to give you some reviews to help you choose some good reading material. 

Happy Reading, Friends.

The Litigators by John Grisham

*****

Ever since I was a young girl, I have loved watching TV shows about lawyers. I remember as a young girl, when Perry Mason would come on I would get my small suitcase - which became a rather dignified briefcase! mounds of paper, a card table and would become a lawyer while helping him with his case. I'm not sure he would have ever won without me in Oklahoma helping him along. 

So, when John Grisham started publishing his books about lawyers, I was hooked. I scoff at critics who say if you've read one Grisham - you've read them all.  NOT SO. Each case is individual, each case is important! And I enjoy a world where the good guy always wins! - another proof of "fiction".

November, Grisham came out with his 25+ book, The Litigators. Several of his books aren't about lawyers - I've enjoyed those, too, but my favorites are the ones where Grisham weaves a case and I get to watch the lawyers battle it out.

The Litigators did not disappoint me. David Zinc quickly became one of my favorite Grisham characters. -  The good guy winning.

David, a young but already burned-out attorney, walks away from his fast-track career at a fancy downtown firm, goes on a serious bender, and finds himself literally at the doorstep of Finley and Figg. 

Finley and Figg, Attorneys of Law, often refer to themselves as “a boutique law firm.” Boutique, as in chic, selective, and prosperous. They are, of course, none of these things. What they are is a two-bit operation always in search of their big break, ambulance chasers who’ve been in the trenches much too long making way too little. Their specialties, so to speak, are quickie divorces and DUIs, with the occasional jackpot of an actual car wreck thrown in. 

I really enjoyed reading this book. It's a typical Grisham novel but if you enjoy reading about lawyers as much as I do - it's a winner!