The Litigators

By: John Grisham

Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris

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

Grisham is back in the courtroom

This book is a fun read with a message about product liability and how two companies handled the problem differently. There is some humor, outrageous behavior with very little drama. For Grisham this is a light weight story that is an easy read that leaves you feeling good but leaves you with no major issues to mull over. Not to the standards of his first few books but is enjoyable to read. The Narrator Dennis Boutsikaris did a good job and I enjoyed the description of Chicago.

a real disappointment

I don't think I have listened to a more poorly written story...especially regarding the trial and the results. The author's other books were much better.

Loved it!

John Grisham is one of my favorite authors and his new book does not disappoint. I was disappointed when it ended. Can't wait for his next!

Solid read, fun and entertaining

I almost didn't get this book after the soapbox comic book scenarios his last book used. But I was pleasantly surprised that Grisham went back to telling an entertaining story. The characters were real, and the scenarios were plausible. I really enjoyed the book, and best of all he stays away from politics (pet peeve of mine, regardless if I agree or not).

Absolutely the greatest

I just couldn't put it down I wanted to know what was going to happen next. The characters fix together so well. OMG the reader was excellent. We need another one like this one.

Great book!

As usual, John Grisham does a great job of keeping you interested in the story line.

Good fun

Good fun, like all Grisham books. Maybe a little disjointed and too many dis-likable characters but the main character makes it worth it.

Slow narrative and weak characters

Story doesn't pick up steam and no character feels worth caring about until well into the second half of the book.

Why I love Grisham

How could I have forgotten how fun it is to read Grisham? Love this David Zinc and got the Grisham payoff of that "found a golden ticket" feeling. Narration was great. Highly recommend.

Not Impressed

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Enough already! We got the point -- over and over and over.

Would you ever listen to anything by John Grisham again?

Yes

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No

Any additional comments?

Although we have really enjoyed other JG novels, we don't recommend this one. Two sad characters who have no redeeming qualities. A storyline that emphasizes this over and over and over until the very end when the third character changes things and the first two fade into oblivion. Unimaginative. Boring.