Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham

Reviewed by Gerti

“Rogue Lawyer” is John Grisham’s newest offering, and while I love the author, I couldn’t help finding it derivative. Another author in the genre named Michael Connelly created a character called “The Lincoln Lawyer” who’s shtick is that his office is a Lincoln Continental. That’s similar to what Grisham has going on with his protagonist, Sebastian Rudd, a defense attorney driven around (at the start) in a customized black van. They are not the same, but they are very close.

Both protagonists are criminal defense attorneys who have problems with their ex-wives (both ladies also attorneys), and have a hard time seeing their children, who live with the women. Both men use the excuse of “someone has to defend them” to describe why they go to bat for serial killers, rapists, cop killers, etc. And they are right, of course. But taking those clients to court comes with a price, so both protagonists have to deal with flak from their families, as well as the general public. And they both sometimes fear for their lives.

In this book, Grisham has Rudd defend a guy whom everyone thinks is guilty because he has been framed by the cops, and another guy who is just guilty as hell. So guilty, even Rudd is afraid of him. The first client is Gardy, a punk kid accused of doing terrible things to a pair of sisters. Rudd goes the extra mile (of course breaking a few laws) to prove that Gardy’s not guilty, and then implicates the true pervert. In the process, Grisham shows how his super lawyer manipulates the legal system by making nice with the clerks who decide which judges get which cases, so Rudd can get his adjudicator of choice.

A second major storyline involves a small-time mobster named Link who is angry when Rudd can’t set him free. Of course, Link has killed a judge, and as Rudd explains to him, other judges don’t take kindly to that behavior. As a result, Link is on death row, but just hours before he’s supposed to get the needle, bombs go off, one every hour, at locations Link would naturally resent, like the courthouse where he was convicted, or the appeals court which refused to grant him a reversal. These events scare the folks at the US Supreme Court, but by that time, the prison riot has started. Link is one of the most interesting characters in the book, and I know it will please you when I say the state does not put him to death. You’ll have to read the book to see how Link escapes, though.

Several other major cases swirl into the plot, including one in which a man is put on trial for defending his home against cops who think he’s dealing drugs, and another where a cop’s daughter has been abducted by a sex trafficking group. Through it all, Rudd is the guy in the know, and that makes him an interesting fellow to read about, even if you’ll get the feeling you’ve read it all before. “Rogue Lawyer” is a fun read, easy to digest, but Connelly’s “Lincoln Lawyer” is more memorable, charming and original.

The Associate

The Associate by John Grisham
Review by Gerti

John Grisham is famous for writing legal dramas. Some, like "The Last Juror," are amazing. While not up to the the genius of that book, "The Associate" is still class "A" storytelling. Grisham's effortless writing is a joy to read, even is his storyline here, about a group of college friends who may/may not have committed a rape, is not the most palatable. Kyle McAvoy is the protagonist, and his is the Tiger Woods of law students. The son of a small-town lawyer, Kyle grew up around the law, and therefore excelled at it in college, even becoming the editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Review. While his father and girlfriend want him to do some pro bono work for a few years in order to give back to the community after graduation, McAvoy is also being courted by some big name law firms from New York, and one of them just made him an offer he can't refuse.

Some cell phone video of the rape just surfaced, and someone, we're never sure who, is using it to force McAvoy to join the largest law firm in the world and become part of a lawsuit they are putting together for a defense contractor. McAvoy is being forced to discover secrets in order to save his own reputation and that of some college buddies, including Baxter Tate, a drug-swilling trust fund baby. Another college buddy tries to help McAvoy figure out who is behind the blackmail attempt, but it is never clear whether it's the opposing law firm, the government itself, or some characters with an even shadier agenda.

There is of course a little sex with a cubicle mate named Dale at the law firm, but McAvoy doesn't tell her about the trouble he is in either. Finally, when McAvoy is on the brink of doing something illegal, he comes clean to his father and another lawyer, who get government officials they can trust involved. Still, the setup for his handler doesn't net the suspect, and McAvoy has to go into hiding, because he knows he just made somebody's hit list, too.

"The Associate" is a good book with enough twists and turns to keep it interesting. The only thing I didn't like about it was that although we know that McAvoy never committed rape, which is good, the truth about who exactly is manipulating him is never revealed to the reader, and even after all that effort and investment in the plot and character, we are left with fewer answers than we'd like. As a result, reading "The Associate" is a little like a date with a cute guy who never calls you again. You are left wondering why, and spend your time, dissatisfied, going back over what happened to see what you missed.

I Hunt Killers

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
Teen Fiction

Meet Jasper "Jazz" Dent. His claim to fame in his hometown of Lobo's Nod is being the son of serial killer Billy Dent. Billy is safely in prison, but a string of recent murders is casting doubt on Jazz. Could the son be following in the father's footsteps? Join Jazz as he starts his own investigation, hoping to clear his name and answer some of the questions in his own mind.

And then read Game and Blood of my Blood to see the series through to its surprising conclusion!