Book ~ "Rogue Lawyer" (2015) John Grisham

From Goodreads ~ On the right side of the law. Sort of.

Sebastian Rudd is not your typical street lawyer. He works out of a customized bulletproof van, complete with WiFi, a bar, a small fridge, fine leather chairs, a hidden gun compartment and a heavily armed driver. He has no firm, no partners, no associates and only one employee, his driver, who’s also his bodyguard, law clerk, confidant and golf caddy. He lives alone in a small but extremely safe penthouse apartment and his primary piece of furniture is a vintage pool table. He drinks small-batch bourbon and carries a gun.

Sebastian defends people other lawyers won’t go near: a drug-addled tattooed kid rumored to be in a satanic cult, who is accused of molesting and murdering two little girls; a vicious crime lord on death row; a homeowner arrested for shooting at a SWAT team that mistakenly invaded his house. Why these clients? Because he believes everyone is entitled to a fair trial, even if he, Sebastian, has to cheat to secure one. He hates injustice, doesn’t like insurance companies, banks or big corporations; he distrusts all levels of government and laughs at the justice system’s notions of ethical behavior.

Sebastian Rudd is a lawyer who takes on cases that other lawyers won't.  The police are corrupt and cover up when they screw up and he doesn't think that's right.  Rudd doesn't have an office ... he operates out of the back of a van so he's always on the move and has just one assistant, Partner, who also doubles as a bodyguard.

Rudd's clients in this book include a guy who is accused of killing two young girls because he had tattoos and likes metal music, a crime lord who ends up on death row but escapes in the last hour and then wants his fees back from Rudd, an elderly man who was suspected of dealing drugs and his wife was killed by police officers when they invaded his house at 3am, a man who is suspected of kidnapping and murdering a young woman and then taunts Rudd, and a cage fighter, who Rudd owns a piece of, who is charged with murder when he beats up a ref after he loses a fight.

In addition to all that, Rudd's ex-wife is constantly challenging him about the visitation he has with his son, Starcher.

It's been a while since I've read a book by Grisham.  I liked this one.  I liked the writing style.  I found that it started off a bit weird ... it was more like a collection of short stories about Rudd's clients.  But it came together and seemed to become a novel.

Book ~ "Calico Joe" (2012) John Grisham

From Goodreads ~ It’s the summer of 1973 and Joe Castle is the boy wonder of baseball, the greatest rookie anyone has ever seen. The kid from Calico Rock, Arkansas, dazzles Chicago Cubs fans as he hits home run after home run, politely tipping his hat to the crowd as he shatters all rookie records. Calico Joe quickly becomes the idol of every baseball fan in America, including Paul Tracey, the young son of a hard-partying and hard-throwing New York Mets pitcher. On the day that Warren Tracey finally faces Calico Joe, Paul is in the stands, rooting for his idol but also for his dad. Then Warren throws a fastball that will change their lives forever.

Warren Tracey was a pitcher for the Mets and wasn't a nice guy.  He was an old school player who believed that it was okay to hit players with a beanball when needed.  He was a drunk and womanizer who beat his wife and kids.  After he and his wife finally split up, his kids saw him occasionally over the years and could care less. Thirty years and four wives later, Warren is dying of cancer.  His son, Paul, wants him to make amends before he dies for what happened to the promising ball player, Calico Joe Castle.

I like John Grisham books and I liked this one ... it was a different kind of book for him to write.  The story is written with alternating chapters in the past and today so we learn what happened about thirty years ago and how it impacts today.

Though I like baseball, I found there was a lot of details of games and stats that I skipped over so I could get back to the actual story.

Book ~ "The Litigators" (2012) - John Grisham

From Goodreads ~ The partners at Finley & Figg—all two of them—often refer to themselves as “a boutique law firm.” Boutique, as in chic, selective, and prosperous. They are, of course, none of these things. What they are is a two-bit operation always in search of their big break, ambulance chasers who’ve been in the trenches much too long making way too little. Their specialties, so to speak, are quickie divorces and DUIs, with the occasional jackpot of an actual car wreck thrown in. After twenty plus years together, Oscar Finley and Wally Figg bicker like an old married couple but somehow continue to scratch out a half-decent living from their seedy bungalow offices in southwest Chicago.

And then change comes their way. More accurately, it stumbles in. David Zinc, a young but already burned-out attorney, walks away from his fast-track career at a fancy downtown firm, goes on a serious bender, and finds himself literally at the doorstep of our boutique firm. Once David sobers up and comes to grips with the fact that he’s suddenly unemployed, any job—even one with Finley & Figg—looks okay to him.

With their new associate on board, F&F is ready to tackle a really big case, a case that could make the partners rich without requiring them to actually practice much law. An extremely popular drug, Krayoxx, the number one cholesterol reducer for the dangerously overweight, produced by Varrick Labs, a giant pharmaceutical company with annual sales of $25 billion, has recently come under fire after several patients taking it have suffered heart attacks. Wally smells money.

A little online research confirms Wally’s suspicions—a huge plaintiffs’ firm in Florida is putting together a class action suit against Varrick. All Finley & Figg has to do is find a handful of people who have had heart attacks while taking Krayoxx, convince them to become clients, join the class action, and ride along to fame and fortune. With any luck, they won’t even have to enter a courtroom!

It almost seems too good to be true. And it is.

I used to read a lot of Grisham's books but got away from them for a few years. I picked this one up because it's his latest.

There are three main characters (four if you count their receptionist, Rochelle) and I liked them. They are all so different with various goals. Oscar is nearing retirement and wants to spend his golden years without his wife, who is he hoping will die from the drug they are suing about (how's that for a conflict??). Wally is nearly fifty and is battling the bottle and is always looking for the latest get rich scheme. And David is in his mid-thirties and has no idea what his future will bring now that he's walked away from a high paying/high stress job with a law firm ... but he feels happy and free. Rochelle doesn't take any crap from anyone ... she turns away business from the struggling law firm if it means extra work for her.

I didn't really understand the mechanics of the how the courts work so let it go over my head.

You suspect you know how the drug case is going to go ... and you go along for ride on the train wreck you think is going to happen. I was cheering for them regardless.

I enjoyed the story and the writing style and would recommend this book.

Book ~ "The Confession" (2010) John Grisham

From Amazon ~ In 2007, almost on the eve of the execution of Donté Drumm, an African-American college football star, for the 1998 murder of a white cheerleader whose body was never found, Travis Boyette, a creepy multiple sex offender, confesses that he's guilty of the crime to Kansas minister, Keith Schroeder. With Drumm's legal options dwindling fast and with the threat of civil unrest in his Texas hometown if the execution proceeds, Schroeder battles to convince Boyette to go public with the truth - and to persuade the condemned man's attorney that Boyette's story needs to be taken seriously.

A lot of Amazon reviewers crapped on this book, saying it was boring. The handful of Chapters Indigo reviewers loved it.

Well, I enjoyed it. I liked the writing style and I cared about the characters. I was cheering for Donté.

There was a fair amount of legalize explaining how the Texas legal system works but I found it blended in well.

It's been a while since I've read a Grisham suspense novel and this reminded me to catch up on his novels I've missed.

Book ~ "Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer" (2010) ~ John Grisham

From Penguin ~ In the small city of Strattenburg, there are many lawyers, and though he’s only thirteen years old, Theo Boone thinks he’s one of them. Theo knows every judge, policeman, court clerk—and a lot about the law. He dreams of being a great trial lawyer, of a life in the courtroom.

But Theo finds himself in court much sooner than expected. Because he knows so much—maybe too much—he is suddenly dragged into the middle of a sensational murder trial. A cold-blooded killer is about to go free, and only Theo knows the truth.

The stakes are high, but Theo won’t stop until justice is served.

Brimming with the intrigue and suspense that made John Grisham a #1 international bestseller and the undisputed master of the legal thriller, Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer will keep readers guessing and pages turning.

I like John Grisham's books and have read a lot of them.

When I started reading this book, the writing seemed odd ... so I checked and discovered it's for young adults, ages 9 to 12. So I carried on with this in mind. I had read the Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden books when I was a kid.

The plot and the pace move fairly quickly. A lot of stuff is explained in detail in conversations like, for example, what a foreclosure is. As adults, we know what it is but kids might not. So topics are brought down to a kid's level.

I found that Theo is too perfect. He's is very polite and smart. He and his parents volunteer at a soup kitchen every Tuesday night where Theo mentors two Hispanic kids to help them learn English and math. He gives other kids correct legal advice and is able to hack into bank records. I don't know any 13-year-old kids like that. And the language used by the kids is too mature. There is one Hispanic 12-year-old who can barely speak English yet is using words like "ventured" and "throughout".

The book ends rather abruptly ... I assume so there can be a sequel or the book was too long so they cut it in half. Great for Grisham and his young fans!

I received a copy of this ebook at no charge in exchange for my honest review. 

Book ~ "Playing for Pizza" - John Grisham (2007)

From Chapters.ca ~ Rick Dockery was the third-string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. In the AFC Championship game against Denver, to the surprise and dismay of virtually everyone, Rick actually got into the game. With a 17-point lead and just minutes to go, Rick provided what was arguably the worst single performance in the history of the NFL. Overnight, he became a national laughingstock and, of course, was immediately cut by the Browns and shunned by all other teams. But all Rick knows is football and he insists that his agent, Arnie, find a team that needs him. Against enormous odds, Arnie finally locates just such a team and informs Rick that, miraculously, he can in fact now be a starting quarterback. Great, says Rick — for which team? The mighty Panthers of Parma, Italy. Yes, Italians do play American football, to one degree or another, and the Parma Panthers desperately want a former NFL player — any former NFL player — at their helm. So Rick reluctantly agrees to play for the Panthers — at least until a better offer comes along — and heads off to Italy. He knows nothing about Parma — not even where it is — has never been to Europe, and doesn’t speak or understand a word of Italian. To say that Italy — the land of opera, fine wines, extremely small cars, romance, and Football Americano — holds a few surprises for Rick Dockery would be something of an understatement.

Not a great book. And I don't understand football so I skimmed over the details of the games. Kind of a cop-out ending. Rick was extremely shallow when he arrived in Italy and I didn't see much growth, which didn't make him very likeable.