The Litigators

By: John Grisham

Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris

Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's Summary

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.

©2011 Belfry Holdings, Inc. (P)2011 Random House

Typical Grisham, entertaining

One of Grisham's better books. While I wouldn't say I couldn't stop listening, the story was certainly entertaining. This was a new narrator for me and he did a pretty good job. Although he didn't have a different voice for each character, the characters were easy to follow and the story moved along at a good pace. If you're a Grisham fan, you'll enjoy this one.

70 of 71 people found this review helpful

Another great legal story

This had a lot of similarities to other JG books, but the storyline had a few different conclusions. Excellent characters and very well read. The story has a good pace and I listened to it in three sittings. In my view, one of the best JG books I have read.

66 of 68 people found this review helpful

Not Totally Grisham

I have often noticed, as the Grisham books have been published over the years, that the stories and characters seem a bit more exaggerated with each new release. What audible does not mention is that his recent books have been produced in collaboration with another writer, which probably helps his turnout rate and thus $$$ for the publisher. The collaboration is mentioned on a hard copy of any recent book - it's clearly indicated. So there's the reason for the subtle changes, and I miss the more nuanced and detailed writing of the earlier books. Now I am picking up a more "popular fiction" vibe, and noticing a few characters that seem almost cartoonish, which I lament, even though the books, this one no exception, are always entertaining. However, some of the introspection is lost, and so too is my identification with the characters and situations.

I really like this narrator, and actually prefer him to the "southern lite" reader who usually does the books that are located in the deep South.

89 of 93 people found this review helpful

no 'heartstopping suspense', but an easy, fun read

This is an entertaining story, but not exciting or suspenseful like the early Grisham novels. Certainly no 'heartstopping suspense' here. Just an entertaining story with some pretty humorous moments. It's worth a credit, for sure, just don't expect a great novel, because it isn't.

27 of 28 people found this review helpful

Not a thriller

I was looking forward to The Litigators and I was hoping that Grisham was back into writing Legal Thrillers again. The book was entertaining, kind of interesting and it may be worth a credit but it just never took off...no suspense what so ever . I would say this book is more like a legal drama you would see on TV but no way could it ever be made into a movie.
I also think they should have had 2 different people narrating this book. there was not enough distinction between the 2 older lawyers and the younger lawyer

25 of 26 people found this review helpful

One of Grisham's best post 2000 novels

John Grisham has not released a great legal thriller since the year 2000, but this one comes as close as any even though it does not create intense suspense. The novel deals with class action lawsuit against a large drug manufacturer. Dennis Boutsikaris' narration is superb!

11 of 11 people found this review helpful

Fun light story.

The story is entertaining. I listened to it on a long day of driving and when I arrived home, there were only a few chapters left. I walked into the house, put on my earphones and threatened the children with death if they didn't let me finish it.

The character development was on the light side. I liked the protagonist but I didn't really form any kind of strong feelings one way or another. Findley and Figg were buffoons but entertaining. Kind of. There were a lot of good laughs.

It's a fun story and will keep you entertained on a long drive but it's not that deep. If you're looking for a thought provoking novel on tort reform you won't get it here. But the next time you see a television ad for lawyers on television or on the side of a bus, you will laugh and remember this book.

The narrator was pretty good but he didn't significantly change his voice for each character so if you like that kind of narration you won't find it here. But honestly, sometimes that's preferable to the screechy histrionics of some narrators.

22 of 23 people found this review helpful

Another excellent book

Well developed characters, and the story keeps you glued to the ipod. The narrator has an excellent voice, and did well changing voices. One could feel the emotion of the jury trial and outcome. Absolutely excellent book.

30 of 32 people found this review helpful

a 3.5 if it could be

I have listened to/ read all of J. G. 's books; I'm a fan. However for me this book was a slow listen for the first half and then became much more interesting in as the story progressed. The narrator did a fine job, and yes a bit of inflection to differentiate characters would have been nice, but I think his work was better than okay.
Overall I did enjoy this book, certainly worth the credit.

30 of 33 people found this review helpful

Good story, reader struggled

Grisham wrote a pretty good book here. I liked the story and while not his best, still worth the listen. However, I didnt like Dennis Boutsikaris much at all. His tone was pleasant enough but his delivery speed seemed much too quick for my liking. Also, he makes it tough to discern between characters....he makes all of the characters sound alike which makes you really have to concentrate while listening. With Boutsikaris there is no day dreaming and then coming back to Earth and being able to identify which chartcter is talking. I found myself often hitting my 30 second playback.

61 of 68 people found this review helpful