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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
A slightly madcap story of rushing around that only slowly reveals itself (we don't really know why Mal is doing something until he starts doing it, and even then sometimes not until later). Some fun storytelling and an enjoyable read.
I'm counting this as read although I had a disc and a half left when I had to return it to the library. I ended up reading spoilers online. I'm not a huge fan of books where I don't have the slightest hint or clue why the character is doing anything. I though this book was eh, and like always, had almost no likeable characters.
Malcolm Bannister is halfway through a ten year prison sentence for money laundering, a crime he only technically and innocently committed. When a federal judge is murdered, he senses an opportunity to obtain his freedom, because he knows who committed the crime and why. Rules 35 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure allows for a prisoner to be pardoned or have their sentence reduced if they can solve another crime. His first challenge is getting the attention of the FBI, but eventually he is successful in negotiating his release from prison if the man that he accuses of the murder is indicted. What appears to be a reasonably straightforward and only moderately interesting story becomes a lot more interesting when it becomes apparent that Malcolm has an entirely new agenda of his own and that his release from prison is only the first step of the plan.
This had the potential to be a very interesting story but it is let down by the absence of characters that we care about and by the padding that stretches it out significantly longer than the storyline warrants. There is a low level of suspense throughout, but not enough to maintain our interest as we follow Malcolm's everyday activities. Malcolm himself - the narrator for the majority of the book - is never anyone who came to life for me. The early chapters establish his back story and arouse our sympathy for him, but after that he just becomes a bit of a cipher who narrates everything with a sense of detachment. His love interest (who emerges in the second half of the book) is equally bland - long legged, big breasted and good at running errands.
The book held my interest, but only just. Started very well but then got bogged down too deep for too long.
This had the potential to be a very interesting story but it is let down by the absence of characters that we care about and by the padding that stretches it out significantly longer than the storyline warrants. There is a low level of suspense throughout, but not enough to maintain our interest as we follow Malcolm's everyday activities. Malcolm himself - the narrator for the majority of the book - is never anyone who came to life for me. The early chapters establish his back story and arouse our sympathy for him, but after that he just becomes a bit of a cipher who narrates everything with a sense of detachment. His love interest (who emerges in the second half of the book) is equally bland - long legged, big breasted and good at running errands.
The book held my interest, but only just. Started very well but then got bogged down too deep for too long.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Legal/crime thriller that plays out like a heist movie. Fast read with a steady drip of plot reveals; found myself in just-one-more-chapter mode all the way through.
While the initial setup feels realistic, the story drifts into more farfetched territory where every detail has to go just right to make it work. It's fun watching smart characters come up with clever schemes and then executing them, but there are no real challenges, only a few minor setbacks that are quickly resolved. The good guys will triumph and the bad guys will get duped; the dramatic tension is that the reader doesn't know who is who.
While the initial setup feels realistic, the story drifts into more farfetched territory where every detail has to go just right to make it work. It's fun watching smart characters come up with clever schemes and then executing them, but there are no real challenges, only a few minor setbacks that are quickly resolved. The good guys will triumph and the bad guys will get duped; the dramatic tension is that the reader doesn't know who is who.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Interesting book. Some jabs at the current state of our justice system. Interesting twist in the story the line.
A return to the twisty excitement of his earlier books, like "The Firm" and "The Pelican Brief" that I really enjoyed. I loved that I had no idea where the story was going next.
Recommended!
Recommended!
Totally reliable, always entertaining. I needed a little mental dental floss after the mindboggling Thrust by Lidia Yuknavitch (worth a read) and Mr. Grisham delivered.
The plot is an elaborate scheme meant to enrich the participants while exacting revenge on the federal legal system for ruining one specific life, and many lives in general, by over-active, and over (some would say under) imaginative prosecutions.
We've got a wily lawyer (the ruined life in question,) his small band of miscreants, assorted shysters, federal agents who use less than exactingly legal methods to coerce confessions, and the federal bureaucracy, in a quick though complicated story in the lifestyles of the soon-to-be-rich, and hopefully never to be famous.
Turn those pages.
The plot is an elaborate scheme meant to enrich the participants while exacting revenge on the federal legal system for ruining one specific life, and many lives in general, by over-active, and over (some would say under) imaginative prosecutions.
We've got a wily lawyer (the ruined life in question,) his small band of miscreants, assorted shysters, federal agents who use less than exactingly legal methods to coerce confessions, and the federal bureaucracy, in a quick though complicated story in the lifestyles of the soon-to-be-rich, and hopefully never to be famous.
Turn those pages.
This review is for the audio book - this was just okay. Typical Grisham stuff but without a main character to really root for. Maybe it's because it was an audio book but I just never felt connected to the main character. It was a decent way to spend a work day but nothing I would go out of my way to read.
Very entertaining. There are some loopholes (scenes that make you go - do you really expect me to believe that, you got to be kidding me!) but if you don't care too much about such things and want to read something fast-paced, go for it.