• The Racketeer

  • By: John Grisham
  • Narrated by: JD Jackson
  • Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (10,787 ratings)

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The Racketeer  By  cover art

The Racketeer

By: John Grisham
Narrated by: JD Jackson
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Publisher's summary

Given the importance of what they do, and the controversies that often surround them, and the violent people they sometimes confront, it is remarkable that in the history of this country only four active federal judges have been murdered.

Judge Raymond Fawcett has just become number five.

Who is the Racketeer? And what does he have to do with the judge’s untimely demise? His name, for the moment, is Malcolm Bannister. Job status? Former attorney. Current residence? The Federal Prison Camp near Frostburg, Maryland.

On paper, Malcolm’s situation isn’t looking too good these days, but he’s got an ace up his sleeve. He knows who killed Judge Fawcett, and he knows why. The judge’s body was found in his remote lakeside cabin. There was no forced entry, no struggle, just two dead bodies: Judge Fawcett and his young secretary. And one large, state-of-the-art, extremely secure safe, opened and emptied.

What was in the safe? The FBI would love to know. And Malcolm Bannister would love to tell them. But everything has a price—especially information as explosive as the sequence of events that led to Judge Fawcett’s death. And the Racketeer wasn’t born yesterday....

Nothing is as it seems and everything’s fair game in this wickedly clever new novel from John Grisham, the undisputed master of the legal thriller.

©2012 Belfry Holdings, Inc. (P)2012 Random House Audio

Featured Article: The Essential John Grisham in Audio


John Grisham is best known for his fast-paced legal thrillers and mysteries, many of which have been adapted for television and film. Because he’s so prolific and has been writing for decades, it can be difficult to know where to begin when selecting a title from his impressive back catalog. And Grisham is definitely a jack-of-all-trades: he’s written not only legal thrillers, but nonfiction, a series for kids, some humorous novels, and recently, a new mystery series outside of the legal thriller genre. To help you decide which Grisham gem to download next, we’ve compiled a list of the very best.

What listeners say about The Racketeer

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Both Dull and Not Belivable

Usually a novel is either full of unrealistic action, suspense and over the top plot twists or it is very realistic, believable and boring. But this book manages to both.

Spoiler Alert -- If two Americans who are traveling alone on a private jet deplane in Jamaica, the first one gets caught with 2 kilos of cocaine and a fake passport and the second one vanishes before anyone can question him, how is it that we are suppose to believe the second one is not going to be immediately suspected by the Jamaican authorities of having been involved or at least be sought for questioning?. Of course this is the somehow the best scheme the main character could come up with to get the first one in trouble but the second one who is the main character, while somehow not even being concerned that it might not work.The plane, the cocaine and even Jamaica all had nothing to do with anything except to fulfill this ridiculousness plan. It took half the book to set this up and this is the payoff?

Anyways, this read is very disappointing. I will definitely think twice before buying another Grisham novel again.

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14 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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What happened?

What was most disappointing about John Grisham’s story?

What happened to my - until now - favorite author? I only hope he did not write this book himself. Because it's a scary thought that he did. It could only mean that with age a man's humor and common sense, no matter how compelling, become as frail as his muscles and reading his new books turns into one big yawn, on a par with watching him lifting weights.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Another Grisham nail-biter!

Where does The Racketeer rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I haven't read a Grisham book in a long time and discovered when I listened to this that I really missed him!

What does J.D. Jackson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The freedom to do my art work and get lost in a fantastic book.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not all one sitting but every time I was in my art room, it went on.

Any additional comments?

I LOVED it!

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13 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z

Is this "the' John Grisham? had to check my player for the speed it was using. Nope, it was 1x and the guy was just s-l-o-w. And the material slower. I like Grisham, but this is a dog. Got one half way there and then put it to sleep.

Normal deficiencies of a poorly written book. Weak characters, trite plot.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Me
  • 10-28-12

Good gripping Grisham

Another riveting story by a master story teller. This is sit in your drive-way good. The best Grisham? I don't know. But wonderfully fun, fast paced with a satisfying conclusion. Five Huzzahs.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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It was good

I'll start by saying like John Grisham. While this wasn't one of his better books, it still kept my attention all the way through and was entertaining. The story did seem a little far fetched, but that's why it's called fiction.

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9 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Wish this were better!

Stultifying narrator
Wildly impossible plot
Conclusion that let's a gang of drug pushers come out on top.
All this from a big John Grisham fan, too!

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8 people found this helpful

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Not Worth Your Time or Credit

I was very disappointed in this book. I did not like the characters at all, they were dull. The narration was blase. Overall, there was no passion, no interesting characters, no gripping story line.

This book struck me as the 3rd book in a 3 book contract. Just get it done so that the author has completed his obligation.

I know that Grisham has the talent, and that Jackson has a great voice. I believe that their future projects will be better.

Don't let The Racketeer tempt you, just pass on this one.

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7 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Awful

Seriously, this book is crap. If John Grisham actually wrote this, he should either be ashamed or just quit writing. It's pedestrian, predictable and silly. I have vowed NEVER to buy another book by him as in addition to having no real story to tell, he appears to be adding useless details to increase his word count. If you like books in this genre read Gone Girl which actually has real twists and suspense. This has a dull, ponderous generic narrative. Don't bother.

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Disappointing

What could have been a fascinating story about race, the law, and personal identity goes....nowhere. Unrealistic plot and uninteresting characters. Hard to believe that a Grisham book could be this tedious.

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7 people found this helpful