Brief summary: One of the richest men in the world writes his idiot descendents out of his will and leaves everything to Rachel, an illegitimate daughter no one knew about, a missionary somewhere in South America. Mainly, the book is about the emotional journey of Nate the Lawyer, fresh from rehab, who has to search for Rachel in the jungle. While Nate rides a slow boat through a swamp, the idiot descendents and their lawyers run about in a frenzy to contest the will.
Why I liked this book:
1. It was free. My considerate husband found it near the garbage bins.
2. I am a fan of the literary genre "watching people blow lots of money." This genre makes me feel better about splurging on a bottle of Arizona Iced Tea.
3. At the risk of writing a spoiler, there may have been at least some likable characters of whom at least some may have been alive and happy at the end of the book. (I am paranoid about spoilers.)
4. The book didn't end with someone flying off into the witness protection program. This was an exciting surprise, since the other Grisham books I can remember reading did.
5. One of the magazine-review-blurbs in the book said it delivers the most powerful message of any Grisham book. I therefore read the book looking for enlightenment. I don't think I really got much from the book itself, but the search caused me to think a little so I may have become wiser anyway.
6. While interesting, the book was put-downable, which is a good thing, since I still had a lot of Passover cleaning to do at the time we found it next to the garbage bins.