The Client

A Novel

By: John Grisham

Narrated by: Blair Brown

Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's Summary

In a weedy lot on the outskirts of Memphis, two boys watch a shiny Lincoln pull up to the curb....

Eleven-year-old Mark Sway and his younger brother were sharing a forbidden cigarette when a chance encounter with a suicidal lawyer left Mark knowing a bloody and explosive secret: the whereabouts of the most sought-after dead body in America. 

Now Mark is caught between a legal system gone mad and a mob killer desperate to cover up his crime. And his only ally is a woman named Reggie Love, who has been a lawyer for all of four years. Prosecutors are willing to break all the rules to make Mark talk. The mob will stop at nothing to keep him quiet. 

And Reggie will do anything to protect her client - even take a last, desperate gamble that could win Mark his freedom...or cost them both their lives. 

©1993 John Grisham (P)1993 Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, A Division of Random House Inc.

Abridged or Not

Very unhappy with Audible. This recoding must be abridged. Why do they not offer an unabridged copy. Don’t waste your credit or money. I’m going to return this title now.

Great story but..............

What did you love best about The Client?

The story line was good and the characters were well described and fun to get to know.

What did you like best about this story?

The characters and the fact that it was based on a child (Mark) as the main character.

What three words best describe Blair Brown’s voice?

clear, pleasant, appropriate for the story

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me smile often due to the character traits of Mark. He's a cool kid.

Any additional comments?

I listen to quite a few audio books and the only thing I did not like about this one was the music that continued to play over the narration. It was distracting and did not add to the story. I would not have minded hearing some music between chapters or before a turn in the story line for emphasis, but music should never be playing while the narrator is speaking. It was annoying and almost made me stop listening to this book.

White Noise

Novel is great - story is a fun ride. BUT - this recording has some pretty distracting background white noise.

Very Disappointing!

"The Client" is one of my favorite books but this audio version leaves too much out!

First, it's abridged! I HATE abridgements. No where did I find the words "Abridged edition" on the store listing. I assure you that, had I known , I would NEVER have purchased it.

Some of what was left out add dimension, humor, and/or pathos to the story. You could have kept some of it in if you didn't spoil the plot with unnecessary musical interludes.

All in all, I feel cheated.

Music unnecessary and distracting.

Story great like most John Griaham books. Music unnecessary and distracting. Drowned out speaker at times.

The Client

I was not satisfied with the book, it was to unbelievable, it did not hold my interest like other Grisham Novels.

Great story but recording flaws

I believe this to be an early audible recording. Background hiss is heard throughout and a lot of unnecessary music at the beginning and end of each chapter.
Still a great story however and the performance of the narrator was good as well.

Decently abridged, but not Grisham's most exciting

For once, a decently abridged book. While there are still bits of the story not perfectly explained, and a few characters missing some background, the story almost flows like a regular book - far better than any other book I've heard. The narrator is easy to understand.
On the down side, it's not Grisham's most exciting book. A little slow based and unusually predictable. And the annoying music between chapters and occasionally in the background doesn't help.

Thin storyline, jarring music

This is one of the worst Grisham books I've listened to. Very thin storyline, little action, no suspense. Maybe it's because I listened to the abridged version, which is something I never do. Still, I was grateful when it was over. I don't know if I could have listened to the entirety of the unabridged version.

The characters were tired caricatures, especially the cranky judge. No substance to any of them.

This reading also had some loud, obnoxious musical interludes sprinkled in. The music didn't fit the story and was quite annoying.

I'm not a big fan of Blair Brown but she was okay in this instance.

The Client

I am a HUGE fan of John Grisham books and listen to audio versions and read hard copies of his work. This audiobook was disappointing in that there was frequent background music. The music was distracting and often so loud that I could not hear the text because the background music was louder than the spoken text. If the background music was removed, this audio book would be much much better.