The Racketeer

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

Very Enjoyable Grisham

I really enjoyed this book. It was different in that we started off with a convict who happened to be a lawyer. I also enjoyed the fact that Grisham took the liberty to write entire sections using his imagination and did not rely heavily on researching real court cases. This was the first time I have listened to J.D. Jackson and I have to say he really brought this character to life. I would not have any problems listening to any of his other narrations.

52 of 59 people found this review helpful

Garbage

I have been disappointed by the last few Grisham books. However, the reviews that stated that "Grisham was back" convinced me to give him another try. Well, I'm done with him -- for good this time.

The "author's note" at the end of the book says that "this was a work of fiction, more so than in other cases" because he fully admits that NO research went into the writing of this novel. Well, Mr. Grisham, it shows. The plot is totally unbelievable. I don't mind that -- as long as the implausibility doesn't make the story stupid, which happens here. The story is, indeed, stupid.

The main character -- a lawyer who was unjustly imprisoned (for circumstances under which NO ONE would have EVER been imprisoned) manages to get himself set free by convincing the FBI that he knows who killed a federal judge. How does he know this? Well, while the murderer was in prison he had confided in the main character that he INTENDED to kill the judge as soon as he got out. And the FBI goes along. Er...yeah.

That, by the way, is the entire first half of the book. Nothing else happens. If you read the publisher's review, you might as well skip to the second half of the download. There, the story gets even more ridiculous. Diverting into what appears to be another (equally stupid) story. A guy with 8 million dollars stashed somewhere chooses to follow our main character on a ridiculous trip merely because he is lured by the promise of South Beach and girls. Er, I think that with $8 million dollars he could have gone to South Beach on his own...

The two stories do merge in the end, but who cares? Mr. Grisham extends what could have been a short story into a very BORING novel, full of characters who are two-dimensional and unlikeable. Even the main character seems to be a jerk who drinks copiously and leaves behind his kid, father, and family after two sentences of mild regret.

The guy who wrote The Firm and some of the other early works is no more. That's too bad. But I wasted a credit and several hours. My advice: pass on this one. It will probably be an OK movie if the right director takes it on -- and hires a decent screenwriter.

113 of 131 people found this review helpful

OH I REALLY WANTED IT TO BE BETTER

Okay the good news... this book has a fairly interesting plot, although one must suspend belief to go along with the story as other reviewers have mentioned. And overall the book held my interest, mostly..... And on the other hand, nothing was noteable about this book. The narrator over enunciates every word to a fault.
And the plot although somewhat interesting, is forgettable. This is a shame because the author has given us many wonderful novels. Perhaps like some other successful writers the push to put out a book a year is maybe an unreasonable goal for the truly talented. Maybe a good book comes when it should and not on a predetermined schedule?

40 of 46 people found this review helpful

All is Forgiven

I was real ticked off at John Grisham after "The Broker". That was one bad novel, and I thought he was just trying to cash in on his name. With "The Racketeer" I'm happy to say that the real John Grisham is still alive and kicking.

The book is not exactly a legal thriller, although there is quite a lot of legal res gestae. It's more man-against-the-system, and the outcome is very satisfying. The protagonist, Mal Bannister (aka Max Baldwin) comes off as a very real and believable character. Grisham gives him plenty of depth and charisma, and you'll soon find yourself rooting for him.

The plot has plenty of twists. As the book unfolds explanations of things previously described come out in the narrative, like pulling the strings of a package to wrap it up nice and tight. You may be able to figure out a good bit of what's really going on, but there will be enough left to keep you turning pages (so to speak).

I though J.D. Jackson did a great job. As for his pacing, the narrative made clear that he had made an attempt to change his identity, and part of that change involved speaking more deeply and more slowly.

There were a few stretches required of my imagination. Like, if some hardened criminals wind up with a whole lot of money, are they really going to turn into good guys? And, can an ex-con own a bar? You'd think that would place him in contact with other convicted felons from time to time, which sounds risky to me.

On the whole this was a very good book, and well worth your time.

74 of 86 people found this review helpful

Boring

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Don't really know where the 5's are coming from on this book. Mal or Max is not a very likable guy. The story is hard to follow but still very predictable and the narrator sounds like he's getting payed by the minute. I almost wish they would have put Max back in prison.

21 of 24 people found this review helpful

Grisham Light

This story had lawyers, criminals, victims, bad guys, good guys and the usual cast found in Grisham novels. But it wasn't typical Grisham. I think the story was so far fetched that it seemed like the work of another author. Everything had to fall into place and, of course, everything did. What I liked about the story is that I wasn't able to guess what the blazes was going on until Grisham slowly revealed it. Thus my interest was piqued throughout. But the aspect that I liked was also the aspect I disliked. There was no way to really do any sleuthing with this one. You simply had to wait it out to see what would happen. Not great literature but an enjoyable listen.

34 of 40 people found this review helpful

By the end, I was sorry I had wasted my time

I agree with most of what Cristina from Somerville, MA has written, so I'll keep my review brief. I did find this audiobook entertaining through much of it (perhaps thanks mainly to the performance from JD Jackson), but by the end, I was mainly annoyed. The plot is unbelievable and it switches gears massively about halfway through. Somewhere in the second half, I began to really hate the main character and his complete disregard for anyone else. Once I started rooting against him, the book became really intolerable and I gave up altogether 30 minutes or so from the end. I have really enjoyed Grisham books in the past, but this one felt very slapped together.

28 of 33 people found this review helpful

Simply Awesome

I loved The Racketeer. I have always felt John Grisham is the best at this type book and he seems to prove it with each new book. I have to say when I got this book I was in a slump. I have not been able to find a book that just grabbed me. Instead I have been reading good stuff but not great. listened to the book in one night and had to suffer the next day but boy was it worth it.

The Racketeer is vintage Grisham, with legal wrangling, murder, theft, and a story line to amaze. The main character Max was another super smart lawyer that has been wrongly convicted of a crime. Max and several other convicts spend two years planning the revenge on the federal government. Oh, and there is also millions of dollars at stake. Grisham uses the plot to fool you into the anticipating what the conclusion will be. By the time you realize the plot is not moving in the way you thought it would, boom the book is almost over. Grisham ends the book by telling you what happens to the main chracters and that really works for me. I cannot stand a book that leaves you wanting an explanation. I did think Grisham left out the ending for the unlikely bad guy. Did he die or go to jail, I do not know but would have liked to have known.

J.D. Jackson was the narrator and as always did a great job. I truely like to listen to his voice and it always makes the book better.

36 of 43 people found this review helpful

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.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Listen to this one at 2 x speed

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

Grisham is always top notch and like so many listeners, once I start, I can never put down his stories. But while J.D. Jackson is the pitch-perfect narrator for this audiobook, playing it at 2 x speed really helped me stay with his otherwise over-comtemplative pace.

35 of 44 people found this review helpful