CRIME THRILLER REVIEW: Rogue Lawyer - John Grisham

Release Date: 20/10/15
Publisher:  Hodder

SYNOPSIS:

I'm not a typical lawyer. I don't maintain a pretty office filled with mahogany and leather. I don't belong to a big firm, prestigious or otherwise. I don't do good works through the bar association. I'm a lone gunman, a rogue who fights bad systems and hates injustice . . .

Sebastian Rudd takes the cases no one else wants to take: the drug-addled punk accused of murdering two little girls; a crime lord on death row; a homeowner who shot at a SWAT team.

Rudd believes that every person accused of a crime is entitled to a fair trial - even if he has to cheat to get one. He antagonises people from both sides of the law: his last office was firebombed, either by drug dealers or cops. He doesn't know or care which.

But things are about to get even more complicated for Sebastian. Arch Swanger is the prime suspect in the abduction and presumed murder of 21-year-old Jiliana Kemp, the daughter of the assistant chief of police. When Swanger asks Sebastian to represent him, he lets Sebastian in on a terrible secret . . . one that will threaten everything Sebastian holds dear.

Gritty, witty, and impossible to put down, Rogue Lawyer is the master of the legal thriller at his very best.


REVIEW:

John Grisham is one of those authors that feels to a reader like he has a new book out every few months and whilst I don’t read him all that often, I am more than aware of his sheer volume of work. Wanting something different to a lot of the other books I’ve been reading recently, I picked up this latest offering and was given what felt like a ton of short stories tied together that were quickly written and ended just as abruptly.

All round it felt like a book that was just churned out to trade upon the authors name and rather than presenting a solid story with a lot of twists that his earlier titles gave me. A great shame and one that will leave me cool to his work for some time to come.

YOUNG ADULT CRIME THRILLER REVIEW: Theodore Boone: The Activist - John Grisham

Release Date: 27/03/14
Publisher:  Hodder

SYNOPSIS:

Theodore Boone, young lawyer, has had a lot to deal with in his thirteen years, everything from kidnapping to murder. But he's come through it all and, with the law on his side, justice has always prevailed. Sometimes, though, the law doesn't seem so just. His friend Hardie Quinn is about to have his family home bulldozed to make way for a bypass. Hardie is not the only one affected: other homes, businesses and schools lie in the path of the road. Theo has to tell his friend the bad news: for once, the law isn't on his side, and there's very little anyone can do to end the destruction. Theo joins the campaign to stop the road. But when he stumbles on a terrible secret about the corrupt men behind the plan - a secret it is illegal for him to know - Theo must figure out how to keep the developers from breaking the law...without breaking it himself.


REVIEW:

Another Young Adult story from an established adult author that goes to prove that their skills are just as captivating for a younger audience as they are for older fans. The tale does what Grisham does best bringing cracking characters to the fore as the investigation wends its way with wonderful touches that young readers will more than identify with.

Back this up with wonderful prose and a high octane pace all round gives you something special to savour. Definitely a cracking book and my favourite JG title to date.