This was my first John Grisham novel. It won't be the last since I've heard a few good things about The Testament, but that one might be my last if there isn't some improvement on a few things.I have to compare this one to the movie a bit since that flick is a fave, and I think this is one of the rare cases where I like the movie better than the book. The character of Reverend Roy Foltrigg was much different in the book, much more obnoxious, much dumber, and just doesn't stand up to the awesomeness that is Tommy Lee Jones in the movie. The movie seemed to merge a few characters from the book into the movie Foltrigg, actually. It's like Grisham took the stereotype of the conservative blowhard, and that was it for Foltrigg. Foltrigg wasn't the only character that lacked depth, though. Two-dimensional characters was the order of the day for a lot of the secondary characters, and only a couple of the minor ones went through any character development by the end of the book. Several weren't all that believable at all.But that's not the case for the main characters. Mark Sway was rather awesome, and so was Reggie Love. As for Judge Harry Roosevelt, who is underplayed in the movie, he was frocking kick-a in the novel. What's even better is that all three were believable, and didn't completely fit one particular mold like other characters.As for writing style: eh... He seems to get a bit preachy about things, and goes out of his way to make certain 2-D characters look even shallower, especially Foltrigg. He kind of writes in the 3rd person with a character's point of view, but that character can change at any instant, sometimes in the middle of a sentence, and it gets rather confusing at times. At one moment you're at a table in a restaurant listening to two guys talk, getting one of those guys' thoughts, and occasionally the other guy's thoughts as well (confusing enough), and with the very next sentence a waiter in the kitchen is saying something completely unrelated to the conversation going on at the table in the dining area. This was not an isolated incident, and thus the action was sometimes hard to follow. In fact, it was such a distraction throughout the book that I wanted to give it 2 stars.So, what gave this book an extra star from me? The story itself! Style and character deficiencies aside, this man knows how to put together a good bundle of yarn; he's just not the most adept at spinning it. Having looked at a couple other reviews of this book, I've noticed some others have pointed out one major gaping plot hole: Why didn't Reggie suggest an anonymous phone call from someone to the FBI, it wouldn't even have to be Mark, or made in Memphis. It's a very simple and common idea, and could've been suggested when Mark and Reggie first met before the mob started threatening Mark. Even if it had been brought up and shot down for some reason, any reason, would've been better than not exploring it at all in the lawyer's office at the first meeting. Or maybe it was mentioned in a throw-away sentence, and I missed it? At any rate, that bothered me. Of course, if that had occurred, then 300 pages would've been shaved off the book, and the story would be very boring indeed.Another nit-pick: As for denouement, well, aside from the very main plot point, there isn't any, and even the main plot one is kind of loose. I'd like to know whether or not Foltrigg had his ass handed to him by Harry, and what happened to Barry. In the movie, you can infer pretty easily what happens to him, but in the book it's not even remotely explored. Also, does the mob want to pursue the Sways, or are they just going to cut their losses (and get rid of Barry the Blunderer) and leave that whole thing alone? And most importantly, was Detective Klickman able to eat all those pizzas and Chinese food lunches he didn't order? I guess we'll never know.
Caution: spoiler.I always like Grisham's books in spite of the cartoonish political spin (Republicans uniformly evil; Democrats caring, sensitive, kind). This, his fourth book, was surely not one of his best, but only because there is a mile-wide hole in the plot. The solution to the dilemma of little Mark -- who possesses the secret of where the Senator's body is buried -- was so overwhelmingly clear within the first 100 pages that each successive machination of Reggie's, each attempt to protect and shield him variously from the mob, the FBI, and the evil Republican prosecutor, became more and more frustrating (but funnier) as the book wore on. How could a clever writer like John Grisham have missed it? How could his clever editors not have noticed?It's simple: When Mark first dumped his secret on Reggie, she could have (and should have, and any smart lawyer would have) simply said, "Mark, you don't need a lawyer. And you don't have to talk face to face with the police or the FBI. All you have to do is make an anonymous phone call to the FBI (or the New Orleans police, or the Attorney General's office, or all three), and tell them where the body is buried. They will ask you who you are. You will tell them that you won't say because you are afraid the mafia will kill you. Then just hang up. (Alternatively, if Reggie is afraid that police might connect the young voice of the anonymous caller with the young boy who saw the suicide and was being interviewed by them, she could simply have had her secretary, Clint, make the call -- or make it herself). No law-breaking; no obstruction of justice; no detention; no court proceedings, nada.Of course, there is no book either if Reggie does the smart thing. But then there would also not have been a million readers who saw the obvious hole in the story and said, "What was John Grisham thinking of?"
What do You think about The Client (2010)?
There are so many books I want to read that I seldom read a book a second time. I read this book in the early 1990's about the time it was published before I had spent any time in the south. My husband has just started reading Grisham. We have lived in Memphis for 8 years and have visited New Orleans every year. My husband suggested that I re-read this book since I am now familiar with the two locations where the action in the book takes place. The second reading was more interesting when I was able to picture the places described in the book. I have always been a Grisham fan. Recently three friends and I were in Oxford, MS and we drove by Grisham's house just for fun. Unfortunately, we did not catch a glimpse of the author.This is one of Grisham's best books. I remember seeing the movie when it came out and as I was reading I kept picturing Susan Sarandon as Reggie Love. It was fun seeing a female attorney in a small one-lawyer firm outfox powerful men. It was also fun to see Mark Sway, an 11-year-old boy caught in a terrible situation through no fault of his own, outsmart these same powerful men.If you like courtroom drama, this is an interesting read.
—Sidna
So I'm ashamed to admit my copy of this book was sitting on my shelf for the past eighteen years when I stole it from my sister who was the ripe old age of thirteen at the time. It's clear we were both prolific readers from an early age. I honestly don't know if I've read it before but if I have I don't remember it so I said I'd take it out and give it a go. It was good, it was definitely good. Was it the instant amazing classic that I kind of expected? I'm not sure. John Grisham just has that name, doesn't he, of being an amazing author. I'll admit I've never read anything from him before so I probably shouldn't have been so presumptuous. Basically the book centres around Mark, an 11-year-old boy, who unwittingly becomes involved in a huge crime involving the Mafia. He witnesses the lawyer of a Mafia killer commit suicide but before the suicide takes place the lawyer divulges some important info to Mark. The location of the body the FBI so desperately need to nail the Mafia for the murder of a U.S. senator. So ensues drama upon drama for poor Mark and his little family. I liked the characters of Mark and Reggie. They were instantly likeable and had just enough emotional baggage to be interesting. I had a slight problem with Marks obvious knowledge of a lot of things I don't think eleven year olds should really have knowledge of. There was a huge amount of 'I know because I saw it in a movie once' phrases in this book. How many violent, Mafia-based movies can a tween have seen? It was fast paced and exciting though and I never once got bored. However it wasn't ground breaking. Maybe it was when it was first written but my main feeling after finishing this book was yes this is a good novel but it's nothin I haven't read before.
—Laura Crosse
It's been years since I've seen the movie and even longer since I read the book, so I decided on a whim the other day to pick up the book. I can't be the only one who read the book, read the description of Reggie Love and still kept seeing Susan Sarandon. Go figure.I enjoyed the book. It's pretty good on suspense, though some of it is a little far-fetched, bordering on jumping the shark territory. The ending of the book was a real let-down, since we have no idea what became of the characters, how the trial went for Muldanno, what his sentence was, if they got anybody else, or if Reggie was forced into the Witness Protection Program because of the knowledge Mark passed on to her, since we all know with the Sway family in the wind, Reggie is left behind to deal with the fallout. We don't even know if Ricky ever truly recovered. Again, I enjoyed the book, as I enjoy most of Grisham's work. He knows how to weave a pretty good legal thriller. And the book was a decent way to pass the time. But the ending left too many unanswered questions to make it feel like the story was complete.
—Jennifer Boyce
