![]() ![]() In the beginning - it was possible to connect/engage but by the end -not really. I never really felt as if I cared about the characters. While the story was readable and the premise different, it was almost forgettable. I just never felt as engaged as I'd expect to for a "grisham novel". I don't know I almost felt more of a spectator to the action in the book rather than a participant or even as a willing supporter of the main character. Perhaps it is the sign of a good storywriter that he didn't need to research and that this story just flowed but it almost left me wondering if he's such a powerhouse author that the public will acclaim anything he writes regardless of the effort put into it. I just found that afterwards it left a sour feeling to read his comments. I don't mind fiction and in fact read a lot of it and have enjoyed Grisham's work in the past. At the end after reading the book, I found the author's note saying that none of it was real and that he had not done a lot of research on the topic. □Ĭertainly an interesting story but one that almost seemed too pat. I almost can't believe John Grisham wrote this book. The characters are two-dimensional and uninteresting. This book is slow, boring, and poorly plotted. Moreover, Bannister is an unlikable character who - though he claims to be bereft by his divorce and loss of his son - completely forgets about the boy, making no attempt whatsoever to see or contact him once he's out of prison. I will say, however, that Bannister's scheme is completely unbelievable - to the point where I consider this almost a fantasy novel. This happens, and once he is free Bannister, with help from a woman he met in the visitor's room at prison, embarks on an elaborate scheme to enrich himself. When Judge Fawcett - a federal judge in Virginia - is murdered, Bannister contacts the FBI, claiming he will name the killer in exchange for immediate release from prison. There he became a 'prison lawyer' helping other convicts with their appeals. Malcolm Bannister was an attorney in a small firm when he was inadvertently caught up in a money laundering scheme, convicted under the RICO statutes, and sent to federal prison. You can get more entertainment staring at a blank wall. I am writing this review to warn you not to waste your time reading this book. The whole time I was hoping that something would happen to change my opinion but it never did. If you are wondering why I kept reading this book it is because it doesn't become obvious how useless this story is until more than halfway through the book. ![]() There is nothing remotely interesting in these 350+ pages. I actually almost quit with 50+ pages to go because they were so pointless.Ĥ.) No plot twists, no drama, no climactic moment. I didn't know her or care about her and if she had suddenly died the story wouldn't have changed a bit.ģ.) The outcome is obvious half way through the book. The mysterious woman who suddenly appears as Bannister's lover halfway through the book is given no personality. He really is a deadbeat dad who can't take two minutes off from perpetrating a huge fraud to go see his son or his father.Ģ.) There is absolutely NO character development. ![]() A man who was beaten down by the federal government. Grisham presents Bannister as a character we should root for. Here is a short list of the problems with this book:ġ.) The main character is an unlikable hypocrite. I will start by saying that I have loved every one of John Grisham's books until this one. I'm not going to waste my time with an extensive review of this book because I have wasted enough time reading it. I found myself repeatedly hoping something bad would happen to him and his co-horts (I am not proud of those feelings, but since this is a fictional character, I stand by them). This is my take on Mal/Max: he is a thief, a deadbeat dad, a hypocrite, a liar, a con man, a manipulator, a murderer (if not by his own hand), a whiner, and a horrible lawyer since he couldn't even defend himself against bogus charges. Mal/Max is self righteous and preachy of others, but somehow justifies his behavior as acceptable. The people we are supposed to be cheering on (I assume) are drug dealers, thieves, and in general just bad people. Turns out Mal/Max is just a thug, and robs other thugs to help yet other thugs get wealth that they don't deserve, and haven't earned. The guy that fights the system for the wronged, that avenges his mistreatment by making sure the system works for the next underdog. In this story I kept waiting for Mal/Max to become the good guy. I don't even care if the little guy wins as long as he puts up a good fight. The reason I have read all of John Grisham's legal novels is that I like the idea of the little guy taking on the big guy, the bully, the "man" in general. ![]()
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