The Rainmaker

A Novel

By: John Grisham

Narrated by: Frank Muller

Length: 16 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • Grisham returns to the courtroom and weaves a riveting tale of legal intrigue and corporate greed.

Grisham's sixth spellbinding novel of legal intrigue and corporate greed displays all of the intricate plotting, fast-paced action, humor, and suspense that have made him the most popular author of our time.

In his first courtroom thriller since A Time To Kill, John Grisham tells the story of a young man barely out of law school who finds himself taking on one of the most powerful, corrupt, and ruthless companies in America -- and exposing a complex, multibillion-dollar insurance scam. In his final semester of law school Rudy Baylor is required to provide free legal advice to a group of senior citizens, and it is there that he meets his first "clients," Dot and Buddy Black.

Their son, Donny Ray, is dying of leukemia, and their insurance company has flatly refused to pay for his medical treatments. While Rudy is at first skeptical, he soon realizes that the Blacks really have been shockingly mistreated by the huge company, and that he just may have stumbled upon one of the largest insurance frauds anyone's ever seen -- and one of the most lucrative and important cases in the history of civil litigation. The problem is, Rudy's flat broke, has no job, hasn't even passed the bar, and is about to go head-to-head with one of the best defense attorneys -- and powerful industries -- in America.

Don’t miss John Grisham’s new book, THE EXCHANGE: AFTER THE FIRM!

©1995 John Grisham (P)1995 Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, A Division of Random House Inc.

Critic reviews

"Great fun to read.... The complex plotting is Grisham's major accomplishment." (Los Angeles Times)

"A taut and terrific page-turner." (Entertainment Weekly)

loved the story but....

loved the story but the ending was weak and disappointing. Also this narrator drives me nuts. It's as if he is hissing out his word.

Couldn’t put it down!

Frank Muller was by far the best choice for this narration! The story itself was amazing! But what story isn’t by John Grisham? The flow of the storyline set forth a smooth ride, with delightful bumps here and there. And then came the swell! Never to disappoint! Delivery superb by Mr. Mueller I found myself laughing out loud at his underlying jokes so cleverly written in by Mr. Grisham. This book was a pure delight! I rate it 5, but there should be a 10!

It has a weak ending.

It's hard to believe that a rookie lawyer can pull out such a big win on his first trial. But even if that happened, he would receive a barrage of hiring offers which it not happened at the end.

good story, lousy narration

the narrorator is really smarmy...he reads it like the main character is being a smart a** the whole time. it's really annoying. also, there are some glitches in thw audio where it repeats a sentence. otherwise, ot is a fun good story.

Excellent writing, as always

Grisham is the ultimate master at storytelling and there’s none better than Muller in narration.

Just OK

What made the experience of listening to The Rainmaker the most enjoyable?

The performance of this book is what actually kept me interested since I didn't find the story necessarily compelling or intriguing.

Would you be willing to try another book from John Grisham? Why or why not?

I might choose another book by this author if I wasn't looking for a rich, involved story if this is representative of the type of story that this author develops. But if I just wanted an easy read while on the beach, I may turn to him.

Which scene was your favorite?

Although the story line was somewhat level without an aha moment, I think that I liked the squirming of the defense panel when an unexpected witness was brought into the courtroom.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

An unethical insurance company under fire.

Any additional comments?

This was just an "ok" story, that would probably be good to listen to while performing a mindless function - maybe painting a room or doing housework for example.

Happy ending. ..?

liked the book much more than the movie. Much more involved. The movies always end happy.

Great story and performance, some technical issues

I've seen the movie several times, so I already knew the outcome, but I thoroughly enjoyed this, nonetheless. I can't wait to listen to the other John Grisham book that I downloaded, also read by Frank Muller.

My only complaint is that someone needs to clean up the recording. Several times, it would repeat what it just played. And at one point, I was told to insert the next disc to continue listening.

Excellent reading.

The actor managed to make each role sound distinct despite everyone being from TN. Well done.

Great story, some technical issues with the recording

Story was transferred from the CD set - one part asks you to put in disc 8 and the end has a few repeat tracks (30 seconds) but overall a great story, well narrated, and excellent listen.