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The Associate

by John Grisham (Goodreads Author)

3.56 of 5 stars 3.56 · rating details · 29,231 ratings · 2,618 reviews

Kyle McAvoy possesses an outstanding legal mind. Good-looking and affable, he has a glittering future. He also has a dark secret that could destroy his dreams, his career, even his life. One night that secret catches up with him. The men who accost Kyle have a compromising video they’ll use to ruin him–unless he does exactly what they say. What they offer Kyle is something...more

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Published March 16th 2010 by Dell (first published January 1st 1999)

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Feb 02, 2009 Stephanie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was so disappointed in Grisham's latest work. He took more than half the book to create this wonderfully detailed plot and then three chapters to close the book. Three chapters in which he untwisted some of the elements of the plot, didn't resolve anything, and quit to early. I felt so unfulfilled at the end.

It kills me that his latest books haven't been up to par with his earlier works. In the beginning, his books were well-crafted and well-executed. After he began seeing his books turn into...more

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Oct 01, 2012 babyhippoface rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: grown-up-stuff

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

11 likes · like · see review

Mar 02, 2009 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2009

Good books don't necessarily have to provide all the answers to every plot thread introduced into them. We want our characters to feel like they have lives beyond the confines of the printed page and that their story exists before, during and after the book we're reading. But a good book should at least provide the reader with some sense of closure and not the feeling like an editor was standing over the writer, pointing out that he or she had x-number of pages left or he or she was slowly reach...more Good books don't necessarily have to provide all the answers to every plot thread introduced into them. We want our characters to feel like they have lives beyond the confines of the printed page and that their story exists before, during and after the book we're reading. But a good book should at least provide the reader with some sense of closure and not the feeling like an editor was standing over the writer, pointing out that he or she had x-number of pages left or he or she was slowly reaching the word count for the novel and that wrapping up the book soon would be a good idea. There should be some sense of closure, not just a sense of wrapping things up.

There's a distinct lack of closure to John Grisham's new novel.

"The Associate" spents 275 pages setting up the situation Kyle McAvoy faces. Years ago, his roommates at a frat party took advantage of a young woman, while she may or may not have been passed out. The young girl had a reputation and when she tried to press charges for rape, the investigation hit a quick dead end and the matter was dropped. Or so it would appear. While Kyle wasn't one of the participants, he was in the room when it happened. Now, years later video from a camera phone has surfaced in the hands of men who want Kyle to do thier bidding. He is to accept a job with a high-prestige law firm and spy on them for these men.

This mysterious group seems to have their fingers in a lot of pies an a lot of power, though it's never explained why or if they're manipulating certain aspects of Kyle's life and that of his friends. They hold the tape over Kyle's head throughout the story, saying that while it may not lead to charges it will certainly ruin the life of Kyle and his friends.

Kyle is pressed into service in an impossible situation and slowly begins to try and find a way out of it. By reading spy novels, he routinely sheds those tailing him and begins to slowly fight back, forming a plan of his own. Meanwhile, he's got the soulless first year job at a law firm and maybe a connection with a fellow female associate.

It's a lot to take in and Grisham does a nice job of keeping the plot moving for the first 300 or so pages. But it's right around a huge turning point in the novel that things slowly being to unravel. I won't say the turning point, but if you've read the book, you can probably peg it. It involves one of the group of the accused who went to Hollywood seeking his fame and fortune. Suddenly, things kick into a different gear and Kyle makes some decisions. These are things that could and should change the story and ratchet things into a higher gear, adding to the suspense and making the pages turn faster. And they do...except these things all happen 30 or so pages before the novel ends.

And the novel just wraps up. In one of the more unsatisfying endings I've read in a while, Grisham just finishes the story. In the end, justice isn't really served and you can see how Grisham is trying to create a morally ambigious ending, but yet it just doesn't feel satisfying. Kyle isn't a purely innocent character, but it'd be nice if it felt like some or any of the bad guys got what was coming to them in the end. Instead, it's one of those--hey, life sucks but what are you going to do? endings that left me frustrated and wondering where the rest of the book was.

We could at least know that Kyle got the girl or something. A hint, anything besides what we go.

And that's a shame. Because Grisham works hard in creating Kyle and allowing us to identify with him and feel sympathy for him as the net closes in around him.

This could have been great Grisham. Instead it's just mediocre Grisham. (less)

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Mar 02, 2009 Jeffrey rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Grisham fans, legal thriller fans

Shelves: thriller, read-in-2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This novel is not precisely a reworking of Grisham's famous first huge bestseller "The Firm", but some might jump to that conclusion because the setting is similar. If you recall, in The Firm, the partners were mobsters. In this novel, the firm in question is merely an oppressive giant New York law firm, probably no different in its treatment of first year associates than many of the giant white shoe firms in New York now. As an aside, Grisham is sure to throw in his usual barbs about the law pr...more This novel is not precisely a reworking of Grisham's famous first huge bestseller "The Firm", but some might jump to that conclusion because the setting is similar. If you recall, in The Firm, the partners were mobsters. In this novel, the firm in question is merely an oppressive giant New York law firm, probably no different in its treatment of first year associates than many of the giant white shoe firms in New York now. As an aside, Grisham is sure to throw in his usual barbs about the law practice, in this case having one of the more decent partners reveal to the young Kyle that he "estimates his billing", overcharges clients for meals and treats his young colleagues as chauffers, but these are only petty comments about the book.

The real story in this novel is that an unscrupulous spy involved in industrial espionage has found a way to make Kyle, follow his orders. Kyle, the main character, is in his final year of law school at Yale. He is the son of a local lawyer (who as is typical is lauded by Grisham), and is the prestigious editor of the Yale Law Review. As a second year law student he worked for the giant New York law firm, which has offered him a job, but Kyle has no interest in this position as he intends to join a smaller firm where he can help people. However, he is approached by some men who appear to be agents of the FBI who want him to meet a Pittsburgh police officer Bennie, who they claim has a video showing that Kyle witnessed and/or participated in a rape on campus when he was a senior at his fraternity during his last year at college. Kyle sees the video which appears to be condemning.

Bennie, the fake cop, tells Kyle that if he does what Bennie wants, Kyle will not be indicted and the video will not be released. What Bennie wants is for Kyle to provide him with sensitive material that is being held as an exhibit in a pending law suit about a supersonic jet. He orders Kyle to back out of his planned next law job and take a job with the large New York law firm. Of course, Kyle, the underdog ingeniously plans out a way to escape this nefarious scheme. The ending is a little too pat for me, but the fun in this book is following Kyle's adventures in spydom, his life and the life of his fellow first year students and the hell that is a first year associates lot in a huge law firm.

Except for the ending, this novel is not bad and frankly is a lot better than his baseball novel set in Italy.(less)

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Feb 01, 2009 Carol rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There must be a lot of pressure on authors who've had a series of best-sellers of a similar popular genre. Some authors come up with decent fresh ideas for the next adventure of their hero or hero-type, and some struggle after the first few books. Grisham seems to be struggling. He's back with one of his early formulas, young lawyer trapped into a compromising situation by a bad guy. This time, the set-up is less plausible than in the early novels. Sure, we readers suspend disbelief, but we don'...more

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Feb 05, 2009 Nick rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: authors_john_grisham, fiction, thriller, read-2009

No spoiler alert needed because there are no spoilers. Every aspect of this novel has been done in earlier works of 'legal fiction' by Grisham, and sections bolted together for this new novel. It was enjoyable and a prototypical Grisham read, but there was absolutely nothing new under this literary sun...

Grisham should parody the creation of the next Grisham novel, where a bright young legal graduate is coerced into a secretive law firm. On his first day, he is spirited into a basement vault, wh...more

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Feb 10, 2009 Shannon rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you like Grisham's earliest works (the Firm, the Pelican Brief, etc.) you'll probably like this one too. It's fast paced, about a young lawyer in big firm who is in trouble. However, I didn't like this one as well as some of the others because I thought the ending was VERY unsatisfying. Grisham didn't tie up the ends the reader is dying to find out at the end of the novel. Darn! I'll be interested in what others say about it

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Feb 14, 2009 Leah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In most circumstances, the "quick reads" or "beach books" are so lame-brain and cornball that I skim the book in a half-hour (i.e. James Patterson) However, I have read (really read, not skimmed) every one of Grisham's books. I enjoy Grisham because his stories are the same. You have the same kind of characters, the same dialogue, but it's always suspenseful. You always want to know what's going to happen next. I am comforted by his predictability, for some odd reason.

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Mar 08, 2009 ☮Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was thoroughly caught up in this book from page 1 and could barely put it down until the last page. Very exciting even though at times I wanted to yell at Kyle, the main character, not to fall for the blackmail scheme laid out before him. For anyone who has been to a few too many drinking parties in college, this will bring back those memories of regrets and situations that could have gotten out of hand. Kyle was involved in the latter, and thought it was all behind him, until he is approached...more

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Feb 05, 2009 Roberta rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: legalthriller

The book read fast as do most of Grisham's novels. I enjoyed most of the book except for the ending. I felt that Grisham could have tied things up a bit better with about 50 more pages.

The main character in this novel is a Yale law student who is blackmailed into taking a job with a huge New York law firm because of a mistake he made in college. We find out exactly how he does his best to avoid breaking the law in this book. Written in the vein of the Firm, but not as good.

Still if you like Gris...more

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Apr 05, 2011 Nyra rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

SINOPSIS:

"Kyle Mc Avoy creció prácticamente en el pequeño bufete de su padre, en la tranquila ciudad de York, Pennsylvania. Saco excelentes notas durante toda la carrera de Derecho y fue elegido editor jefe del Yale Law Journal. Le esperaba un brillante futuro profesional.
Pero Kyle tambien tiene un secreto, un episodio de su vida de estudiante que le gustaria olvidar. Un secreto que acaba en manos de gente que le presiona para que acepte un puesto que no le gusta, aunque se trate de un trabajo...more

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Feb 08, 2009 Sesh rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

With every book, Grisham gets worse. I keep telling myself I should stop reading the garbage he his dishing out, but I keep going back just to find out how bad it can get. What can I say? I give one star because for effort, just to type the words in. Otherwise there is not much to recommend in this book. The plot is weaker than Bud Lite, the ending is anti-climactic.

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Feb 06, 2009 Jim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As usual with Grisham, I can't put a book down for very long until I've picked it up again. I would hope that there might be a follow-up to this one so I can learn about what happens to the "bad guys".

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Feb 09, 2009 Jim rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the slowest Grisham book I've read -- and I've read them all. It's tedious. It does not read like Grisham. There's almost no action until the end of the book, and then there's not much. What a disappointment.

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Feb 17, 2009 Betty marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Can't wait to read this - I've read all of his other books and saw him interviewed on the Today show the other morning. Looks like a good one!

1 like · like · see review

Feb 22, 2009 Terrie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-law

The most anti-climactic book ever. What happened to the Grisham I used to love?

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Jan 08, 2013 Dave marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: calibre, fiction

SUMMARY: If you thought Mitch McDeere was in trouble in "The Firm," waituntil you meet Kyle McAvoy, "The Associate" Kyle McAvoy grew up in his father's small-town law office in York, Pennsylvania. He excelled in college, was elected editor-in-chief of "The Yale Law Journal," and his future has limitless potential. But Kyle has a secret, a dark one, an episode from college that he has tried to forget. The secret, though, falls into the hands of the wrong people, and Kyle is forced to take a job h...more

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Aug 08, 2011 John Mcconahey added it · review of another edition

Grisham built his reputation by giving readers a reason to cheer for his protagonists. Intriguing tales focused on complex plots and were described in artful narrative. That happens with this book too and gives us a peek at the life facing some corporate attorneys fresh from prestigious schools.

Kyle McAvoy was an undergraduate at Duquesne University when a party in his apartment resulted in rape accusation against him and several of his roommates, but the police found insufficient evidence to pr...more

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Mar 12, 2009 Claire Grasse rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Although I only gave this two stars (for its two-dimensional quality), that's twice as many as I've BEEN giving John Grisham for his last decade of writing). I'm hopeful that this means that Grisham is on a climb back up to the quality of plot he used to write in his earliest days (quality that seemed to grind to a painful halt soon after The Testament).

*****SPOILER ALERT*******

This book is really The Firm, reworked. The first 3/4 of the book has the protaganist Kyle hemming and hawing about h...more Although I only gave this two stars (for its two-dimensional quality), that's twice as many as I've BEEN giving John Grisham for his last decade of writing). I'm hopeful that this means that Grisham is on a climb back up to the quality of plot he used to write in his earliest days (quality that seemed to grind to a painful halt soon after The Testament).

*****SPOILER ALERT*******

This book is really The Firm, reworked. The first 3/4 of the book has the protaganist Kyle hemming and hawing about how NOT to compromise himself by handing over the documents. There is a lot of time wasted here when not much really happens, except that Kyle slams a lot of doors and attends a lot of ball games where he speaks out of the side of his mouth to his friend Joey, who eventually walks away from the whole mess and is not even involved in the final solution. IMHO, this kind of "filler character" and "filler activity" (think: the big gambling angle in the The Summons) is a waste of the reader's time, as it accomplishes very little toward the end result.

Kyle's anger too, is unconvincing. His relationships with Olivia and Dale are two-dimensional and unconvincing. Also unconvincing is why he is so worried about the "rape video." The video in no way implicates him in the rape, and if he's really planning on going into "public defense" type of law, he's not exactly going to be the kind of high-roller who has to worry about his image. One expects Kyle, even as a 3rd year law student, to know enough law to realize that shouting "extortion!" would put a quick end to the matter. He'd suffer a bit of public embarassment, but then again, he didn't DO anything in the video to implicate himself.

Meh. Frustrating!

The end of the book is just as frustrating. Kyle doesn't really do anything clever to extricate himself from mess he's in. Remember Mitch, in the The Firm? He really stuck it to the b******s who had him in a corner, and left the reader cheering. Kyle just runs to daddy, who bails him out by talking nice to the other side.

Jeepers, Mr. Grisham, I'm starting to lose faith in you.(less)

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Mar 07, 2009 Darbyscloset rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Mystery Lovers

Shelves: mystery

The Associate

John Grisham’s latest book is “The Associate”, which I just finished reading. I always enjoy Grisham’s work and so I was eager to read this book once it was released to the public.
Grisham’s previous release was “The Appeal”. The first part of this book I was a little disappointed, for I thought he was rewriting the same story as in “The Appeal”, yet with different characters. I should of known better for just as the background was being laid out for the reader in the first couple of...more

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Mar 02, 2009 Chuck rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the best Grisham in years. It gets back to what he did well in his earlier fiction, but it is still fresh.

Kyle McAvoy is about to graduate from law school, and had planned to work in the non-profit world and reject corporate law. But two men appear who have manufactured an "incident" from his past--not true, but a public accusation would have been enough to ruin his life. So Kyle is forced to accept a job at a law firm which is embroiled in a law suit over who owns the patent on the US l...more

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Feb 20, 2009 Randy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Gosh, it seems like so long ago since I bought this novel called A Time To Kill by John Grisham. Now, some 20 novels later, he's penned some I'd rather forget but he remains one of the few I buy hardbound.

The Associate is the usual Grisham. By that I mean, the guy is always a helluva writer, he's always got a character you love, a way with a story that compells you to read on, an interesting setup. Any Grisham is worth a read. Even a bad Grisham is hands a feet above most of the law schlock out...more

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May 03, 2013 Stuart Fujisaki rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I grabbed this book off the shelf after coming across a blurb regarding this story’s protagonist. It said something like, “if you thought Mitchell McDeere had problems in The Firm, wait ‘til you see what happens to Kyle McAvoy in The Associate. “ What a crock of….. well, you know what.

I love The Firm - the book, that is – the movie was stupid. I return to it every two to three years. Somebody obviously grabbed me with the right hook to pick up this new Grisham story, but it sorely disappointed m...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Thom Swennes rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Kyle McAvoy was on the top of his game and was about to graduate at the head of his class. His last few months of law school was only routine and then the world would open up for him. He literally held his future in his hand; or so he thought. A few years earlier he had been present at a party at his fraternity house and an alleged rape was committed. At the time the charges were dropped for lack of evidence and all those connected to it put it behind them and went on with their lives. The past...more

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Feb 03, 2013 Jr Bacdayan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you loved The Firm, you'll certainly like this. The plot is quite similar to Mitch McDeere's thrilling story. Kyle McAvoy, like Mitch is fresh from law school and gains employment to the law firm of his dreams - his nightmares. Only, Kyle's situation is much more complicated. He has a secret that could ruin his life and ambitions. This secret is found out by the FBI and uses it to blackmail him into working for them, against the biggest firm in the world. It's a page-turning thriller that's f...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Kevin Rubin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A typical John Grisham lawyer novel... Nothing great, but nothing too terribly horrible, either. Fast paced and mostly forgettable, and leaving an unfulfilled feeling at the end.

Sort of like "The Firm" this has the fresh, young, brilliant law school student, Kyle McAvoy, beginning his career by being blackmailed into doing what he'd rather not do. Except in this case the blackmailers use something showing pretty bad judgement from Kyle's own hard-partying undergrad days that's been caught on vid...more

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Oct 22, 2012 Seth rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Every couple of years, I like to remind myself why I stopped reading his books. And this one was a really good reminder.

I was a big fan back in the nineties, when he first came out. I read all the books, watched most of the movies. But the stuff he writes now is so. . . different. In the last couple of books of his I've read, it seems like when the time comes for the crap to hit the fan, he just flushes the crap instead. Sure, it's nice and clean, but not nearly as exciting. Nowadays, he seems f...more Every couple of years, I like to remind myself why I stopped reading his books. And this one was a really good reminder.

I was a big fan back in the nineties, when he first came out. I read all the books, watched most of the movies. But the stuff he writes now is so. . . different. In the last couple of books of his I've read, it seems like when the time comes for the crap to hit the fan, he just flushes the crap instead. Sure, it's nice and clean, but not nearly as exciting. Nowadays, he seems far more interested in preaching his ideals on the legal profession than in writing actual thrillers.

The Associate is Kyle McAvoy. A different name, but basically the same character that stars in every Grisham novel. A wet-behind-the-ears kid, fresh out of law school, who has to take on the world and figure out how to outsmart everyone. He's Mitch McDeere, he's Darby Shaw, he's Rudy Baylor.

Kyle is just finishing up law school at Yale and is planning to work for a public-interest firm after graduation when a bad guy surfaces with a video, secretly taken by a cell phone, which reveals the bawdy details of a drunken frat party five years earlier. The video contains evidence that a couple of Kyle's buddies had relations with a girl who may have been unconcious at the time. Although the video contains no evidence than Kyle did anything worse than dancing in the nude, he's shaken that the evidence exists.

The bad guy offers Kyle a deal. In exchange for keeping the video and the potential rape allegation under wraps, Kyle must accept a position in New York City with the largest law firm in the world and steal documents related to a gigantic lawsuit between two defense contractors. High-stakes blackmail!

The first few pages of this book are great, and I admit that I was immediately sucked into the plot. The pace slows as the book progresses. The bad guys patiently wait for the chance to have Kyle make a move. Meanwhile, Kyle spends most of his time trying to figure out how to outsmart them while also being the hardest working first-year associate at the firm.

I don't know that the bad guys were actually super hard to outsmart. They actually seemed a little lame to me. When Kyle started his job, they demanded a look at his company-issued laptop and phone. He refused to do so, and they never bothered him about it again. Seems like pretty lame surveillance to me.

***SPOILER ALERT (IF YOU CARE)***
Somehow, Kyle manages to hire a lawyer, who notifies the FBI. They organize an operation to catch the bad guy when Kyle brings stolen files to him. But the bad guy somehow gets wind of it and disappears. And that's it. They don't catch him. So, who was this bad guy? Who was he working for? Why did they want the files? Where did he get the cell phone video? How did he know the FBI was coming for him?

NONE of these questions get answered. Grisham suggests a bunch of possibilities, but I guess decides to let the reader ponder them eternally. It seems like maybe he wrote himself into a corner and said, "Ah, screw it, I can't figure this out either. The end."
***END OF SPOILER ALERT (IF YOU CARE)***

I'm not the only one who feels this way. Many other readers are furious about this one. They can't figure out why he would just decide not to write the end of the book. There won't be a sequel, because who would buy it? Most people seem to think that Grisham is so rich he doesn't really care about pleasing the reader anymore. Others are speculating that The Associate was (gasp) ghostwritten.

I'm glad that I checked this out at the library. Some folks actually paid full cover price to read it. (less)

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Sep 03, 2012 Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, action-adventure, suspense-mystery, non-erotic

Originally posted at: http://lasrmystery.blogspot.com/2012/...

Danger comes in the unlikeliest forms.

I know when I pick up a novel by John Grisham, I'll be transported to a new world. Okay, so that world looks a lot like mine, but still. The writing is tight and I'm immersed in the plot, trying to figure out who did it, why and how they're going to be caught. The Associate gripped me.

The thing I liked the most about this book was the main character of Kyle. Maybe it's because I could see a lot of...more

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Aug 12, 2012 Sandie rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-books, legal-thrillers

Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza would have loved John Grisham's novel, THE ASSOCIATE. The Seinfeld/Costanza dynamic duo conceived and pitched a television show about meaningless events in everyday life - a show that was basically about nothing. While their idea did have a modicum of merit Grisham, it seems, has stolen their premise and has written a plodding book about the same subject. The lack of substance, both in character development and plot makes reading this novel an experience akin t...more

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Aug 08, 2012 Alain Burrese rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I hadn't read a John Grisham novel in a while, so I picked up "The Associate" for a quick fun read. If you are a Grisham fan, and I am, you know that his books are quick, light, fast paced, reads. This was no different in that realm. Grisham is a good story teller, and being an attorney myself, I enjoy his tales about the law. I especially enjoyed the big firm atmosphere in this story, because it made me glad that I never pursued that kind of practice. It definitely portrays a kind of life and w...more I hadn't read a John Grisham novel in a while, so I picked up "The Associate" for a quick fun read. If you are a Grisham fan, and I am, you know that his books are quick, light, fast paced, reads. This was no different in that realm. Grisham is a good story teller, and being an attorney myself, I enjoy his tales about the law. I especially enjoyed the big firm atmosphere in this story, because it made me glad that I never pursued that kind of practice. It definitely portrays a kind of life and working conditions that don't appeal to me, but that I enjoy reading about. With all of that said, this was not my favorite of Grisham's and I wanted a bit more wrap up and explanation at the end than was delivered.

Yes, I know many things go unanswered in real life, and adventures and stories are not always wrapped up tidily in the last fifty pages. However, reading a Grisham novel, just like going to a summer blockbuster movie, isn't real life. It is escapism thriller reading. Nothing deep, just some precarious predicament that the hero must wrangle out of so that he can live happily ever after. These books don't require a lot of thinking, just pure pleasure reading. Most often, part of the pleasure is having all come to a satisfying conclusion. Bad guys get theirs, good guys win. You don't necessarily get that in this tale. There is a conclusion, but it isn't as satisfying as it could have been.

What I did like is that the story came from a simple night in a young college student's life, where being young and dumb, combined with too much alcohol, creates a situation that almost ruins his life. Again, I also liked the descriptions of life in a huge firm as a first year associate. I liked that it was easy to read, and it did keep my attention and I wanted to keep reading to see what would happen. I just wasn't as pleased with the conclusion.

The book is out in paperback now, and it can easily be found in many used bookstores. If you like Grisham, and you like stories about law, blackmail, and especially about the the life of a first year associate in the large corporate law firms, you might enjoy this quick read. Just be warned that all the loose ends are not tied up at the conclusion, and it's not as satisfying as when all the bad guys get theirs.
(less)

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About John Grisham

"Long before his name became synonymous with the modern legal thriller, he was working 60-70 hours a week at a small Southaven, Mississippi law practice, squeezing in time before going to the office and during courtroom recesses to work on his hobby—writing his first novel.

Born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to a construction worker and a homemaker, John Grisham as a child dreamed of...more "Long before his name became synonymous with the modern legal thriller, he was working 60-70 hours a week at a small Southaven, Mississippi law practice, squeezing in time before going to the office and during courtroom recesses to work on his hobby—writing his first novel.

Born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to a construction worker and a homemaker, John Grisham as a child dreamed of being a professional baseball player. Realizing he didn't have the right stuff for a pro career, he shifted gears and majored in accounting at Mississippi State University. After graduating from law school at Ole Miss in 1981, he went on to practice law for nearly a decade in Southaven, specializing in criminal defense and personal injury litigation. In 1983, he was elected to the state House of Representatives and served until 1990.

One day at the DeSoto County courthouse, Grisham overheard the harrowing testimony of a twelve-year-old rape victim and was inspired to start a novel exploring what would have happened if the girl's father had murdered her assailants. Getting up at 5 a.m. every day to get in several hours of writing time before heading off to work, Grisham spent three years on A Time to Kill and finished it in 1987. Initially rejected by many publishers, it was eventually bought by Wynwood Press, who gave it a modest 5,000 copy printing and published it in June 1988.

That might have put an end to Grisham's hobby. However, he had already begun his next book, and it would quickly turn that hobby into a new full-time career—and spark one of publishing's greatest success stories. The day after Grisham completed A Time to Kill, he began work on another novel, the story of a hotshot young attorney lured to an apparently perfect law firm that was not what it appeared. When he sold the film rights to The Firm to Paramount Pictures for $600,000, Grisham suddenly became a hot property among publishers, and book rights were bought by Doubleday. Spending 47 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, The Firm became the bestselling novel of 1991.

The successes of The Pelican Brief, which hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list, and The Client, which debuted at number one, confirmed Grisham's reputation as the master of the legal thriller. Grisham's success even renewed interest in A Time to Kill, which was republished in hardcover by Doubleday and then in paperback by Dell. This time around, it was a bestseller.

Since first publishing A Time to Kill in 1988, Grisham has written one novel a year (his other books are The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Chamber, The Rainmaker, The Runaway Jury, The Partner, The Street Lawyer, The Testament, The Brethren, A Painted House, Skipping Christmas, The Summons, The King of Torts, Bleachers, The Last Juror, and The Broker) and all of them have become international bestsellers. There are currently over 225 million John Grisham books in print worldwide, which have been translated into 29 languages. Nine of his novels have been turned into films (The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, A Time to Kill, The Rainmaker, The Chamber, A Painted House, The Runaway Jury, and Skipping Christmas), as was an original screenplay, The Gingerbread Man. The Innocent Man (October 2006) marks his first foray into non-fiction.

Grisham lives with his wife Renee and their two children Ty and Shea. The family splits their time between their Victorian home on a farm in Mississippi and a plantation near Charlottesville, VA.

Grisham took time off from writing for several months in 1996 to return, after a five-year hiatus, to the courtroom. He was honoring a commitment made before he had retired from the law to become a full-time writer: representing the family of a railroad brakeman killed when he was pinned between two cars. Preparing his case with the same passion and dedication as his books' protagonists, Grisham successfully argued his clients' case, earning them a jur(less)

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