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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
"Beautiful, brilliant, I love it! We gotta hire this guy because he's a lot smarter than we are. Talk about a set of balls. He gets his dear friend indicted for the capital murder of a federal judge and he knows the entire time he can get it unraveled and walk him out. Are you kidding me? We look like a bunch of fools."
Precisely what ran through mind when I got through the first half of this book. What makes it even more hilarious is the fact that it is uttered by the Director of the FBI.
Malcolm Bannister is sentenced 10 years in jail against some bogus charges that he cannot defend against because he's a crappy lawyer. But we are expected to believe that the same douchebag is able to come up with some crackpot scheme to get himself and a random jailmate out of prison by outsmarting the FBI who are even bigger idiots than the protagonist.
Besides the dumbed down FBI, the book is filled with a TON of monologue.
The only good portion is the interrogation sequence and Grisham messes that up as well by dragging it for too long. Reading the book is like trying to riding a bicycle along a steep hill where you are struggle to reach the top.
What's worse, the view from up there ain't too good.
Precisely what ran through mind when I got through the first half of this book. What makes it even more hilarious is the fact that it is uttered by the Director of the FBI.
Malcolm Bannister is sentenced 10 years in jail against some bogus charges that he cannot defend against because he's a crappy lawyer. But we are expected to believe that the same douchebag is able to come up with some crackpot scheme to get himself and a random jailmate out of prison by outsmarting the FBI who are even bigger idiots than the protagonist.
Besides the dumbed down FBI, the book is filled with a TON of monologue.
The only good portion is the interrogation sequence and Grisham messes that up as well by dragging it for too long. Reading the book is like trying to riding a bicycle along a steep hill where you are struggle to reach the top.
What's worse, the view from up there ain't too good.
Malcolm Bannister was a promising and upcoming attorney with a beautiful wife and son. But when a federal judge convicted him on racketeering charges and sends him to prison for 10 years, his whole world falls apart. When an opportunity presents itself for Malcolm to get out of prison early in exchange for information regarding the death of that very judge, it's time for Malcolm to deliver some payback.
Well, this one was certainly different...
A very strange book. I found myself reading to find out what was going on. It was clear there was more tot the story, but I had no clue where it was heading. To great lengths of implausibility it turns out.
Grisham obviously had the film rights in mind, with his choice of locations and some fairly gratuitous scenes where an actress can bring the sexy.
Still, it was enjoyable if ridiculous.
A very strange book. I found myself reading to find out what was going on. It was clear there was more tot the story, but I had no clue where it was heading. To great lengths of implausibility it turns out.
Grisham obviously had the film rights in mind, with his choice of locations and some fairly gratuitous scenes where an actress can bring the sexy.
Still, it was enjoyable if ridiculous.
I got bored so I looked up the ending and damn, that shit is dumb. Boo. I like the courtroom stories Grisham tells. Not this shit.
It's a fictional story of how corrupted and flawed US legal system is. The second half of the book feels almost like Money Heist and you just can never know what's next. The Racketeer makes you wonder how many innocent lives are wasted in prison due to corruption and false verdict not only in US, but all over the world. The prison system in underdeveloped, developing and developed countries influenced their treatments towards the inmates and it also raises the question of human rights of those in prison.
More like 3.5...an okay read, but not my fav John Grisham
A winding road
John has paved a winding road with twists, turns and a few disguising road signs to create an ingenious novel.
John has paved a winding road with twists, turns and a few disguising road signs to create an ingenious novel.
What a fun and quick read! It's as implausible as it is entertaining, and I enjoyed this legal caper from Grisham.
NOTHING IS HAPPENING. I'm almost halfway through the book and nothing beyond the blurb provided for the book has happened. OK, here's the book summary:
"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 . . ."
The judge is killed and Malcolm Bannister starts telling the reader about how he ended up in prison and how he knows who killed the judge right from the beginning. He finally told the FBI 1/3 of the way through. He's narrating the entire book. That means that there is so much empty filler in this book, it's unreal. I am not happy. I keep thinking it's going to pick up, that John Grisham is going to swoop in and write some actual plot points to keep us entertained, and this boring crap is just a long lead-in, and my reaction to that is, as always, this meme:
So far, it has NOT paid off. Judging by other reviewers, it does NOT pay off, and I have about 5 million other books I want to read. I have to end it here, John Grisham. We've had some good times (remember the Brethren? Wonderful), but I just can't do this anymore. I have to say goodbye.
"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 . . ."
The judge is killed and Malcolm Bannister starts telling the reader about how he ended up in prison and how he knows who killed the judge right from the beginning. He finally told the FBI 1/3 of the way through. He's narrating the entire book. That means that there is so much empty filler in this book, it's unreal. I am not happy. I keep thinking it's going to pick up, that John Grisham is going to swoop in and write some actual plot points to keep us entertained, and this boring crap is just a long lead-in, and my reaction to that is, as always, this meme:
So far, it has NOT paid off. Judging by other reviewers, it does NOT pay off, and I have about 5 million other books I want to read. I have to end it here, John Grisham. We've had some good times (remember the Brethren? Wonderful), but I just can't do this anymore. I have to say goodbye.
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes