Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “The Rooster Bar” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

The Rooster Bar

John Grisham (Goodreads Author)

3.62 · Rating details · 77,981 ratings · 6,717 reviews

Mark, Todd, and Zola came to law school to change the world, to make it a better place. But now, as third-year students, these close friends realize they have been duped. They all borrowed heavily to attend a third-tier, for-profit law school so mediocre that its graduates rarely pass the bar exam, let alone get good jobs. And when they learn that their school is one of a ...more

Get A Copy

Hardcover, 368 pages

Published October 24th 2017 by Doubleday

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about The Rooster Bar, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

2018: What the Over-35s Are Reading

2,791 books — 297 voters

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

I wish I could read it for the first time again

3,670 books — 2,527 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 3.62 ·

Rating details

· 77,981 ratings · 6,717 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of The Rooster Bar

Nov 01, 2017 Joanne R. rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Very disappointing

Horrible unlikable idiotic criminal main characters; barely fleshed out plot; I had to force myself to finish it. I cannot believe John Grisham wrote this. Total waste of time (and money!).

flag 339 likes · Like · see review

Nov 01, 2017 Linda rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, john-grisham

Oh, Grisham......

You are like the gentleman caller who promises wine and roses, but in the aftermath, there's a bit of a dull headache and the barb of the thorn.

My legs are dangling off a barstool in the ol' Rooster Bar. There's plenty to ponder here. Fellow occupants Mark, Todd, and Zola are in their third year of law school at Foggy Bottom (Yep). Many an individual drowns their sorrows here. But these law students, along with their buddy Gordy, are drowning in student loan debts. Just like the Oh, Grisham......

You are like the gentleman caller who promises wine and roses, but in the aftermath, there's a bit of a dull headache and the barb of the thorn.

My legs are dangling off a barstool in the ol' Rooster Bar. There's plenty to ponder here. Fellow occupants Mark, Todd, and Zola are in their third year of law school at Foggy Bottom (Yep). Many an individual drowns their sorrows here. But these law students, along with their buddy Gordy, are drowning in student loan debts. Just like the crotchety bartender tops off your drink, Foggy Bottom adds another layer of debt each year.....only there's no delightful buzz involved.

Promises of employment after graduation fizzles much like flat beer. Now desperation sets in and Gordy takes it to another level. He is becoming undone at a fast rate. His behavior is sporatic and he obsesses over details. There are papers tacked to the wall and scattered onto the floor in heaping piles in his apartment. Gordy is on to something big. But exactly what? His three friends keep a vigil over him. What to do about Gordy.....

But when you fall off that barstool, don't get back on. Look for another bar. And that's exactly what Mark, Todd, and Zola intend to do. It's time to scam the scammers. When your back is against the wall, you don a more steely personality and you deal with it. And there's plenty of wheeling and dealing going on here.

John Grisham seems to be re-creating himself in these later years. He tended to peter out a bit in The Whistler, but redeemed himself well into Camino Island. Grisham grabs text from daily headlines and circles the wagons around them. You'll see evidence of just that in The Rooster Bar. There are gaps in some of the premises that he throws into this one. But we are a forgiving lot and move along with the flow of the storyline. The Rooster Bar does entertain which is why I ratcheted it up to 4 stars. It delivers, but not at the 101 proof shot of Wild Turkey bourbon as in the past. There's still a kick to be had though.
...more

flag 216 likes · Like · see review

Sep 28, 2017 Matthew rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017, legal-drama, audio, library

More disgruntled lawyer-types from Grisham doing questionable lawyer-type stuff. While not quite the same, I am reminded of The Litigators. If I ever really need a lawyer, I hope I don't end up with one from a Grisham novel!

This book was like watching a trainwreck and was actually quite enjoyable. His recent efforts have been both good (Camino Island) and disappointing (The Whistler). Luckily this one falls into the good category. While the series of events within are far fetched (as they often ...more

flag 155 likes · Like · see review

Dec 04, 2017 Marialyce rated it it was ok

Well this book certainly irritated me. I can not hold with the idea of would be pseudo lawyers pulling a scam on both unsuspecting clients and also corporations even if they are not on the up and up.

Perhaps my attitude toward this book is influenced by the fact that my eldest daughter is an attorney. She worked hard through law school while holding a full time job, passed the bar in both NY and DC, and is paying back her student loans and oh by the way, she has a job.

This book seemed to glorify ...more

flag 111 likes · Like · see review

Oct 27, 2017 Marcia rated it did not like it

I was so looking forward to this book. I usually love reading John Grisham’s legal thrillers. The Rooster Bar started slowly and soon was all over the place. The social issues , which the author is known to address , were also all over the place and there were too many plot diversions along the way. The characters were shallow and I didn’t like any of them. I understood their plight and empathized for a while until I just couldn’t stand any of them. When good people use victimization as an excus ...more

flag 96 likes · Like · see review

Dec 04, 2017 Matt rated it liked it

Shelves: audiobook

Let’s call it 3.5 stars

John Grisham is back with yet another new take on the legal profession, shining lights where there has only been darkness, while entertaining readers in equal measure. Law school is a tough beast that only the fittest can survive. However, when Mark, Todd, and Zola arrived, they felt that their determination would help them sail through. Perusing the land into their last semester, all they can see are mountains of debt and a soon-to-be useless diploma from Foggy Bottom Law Let’s call it 3.5 stars

John Grisham is back with yet another new take on the legal profession, shining lights where there has only been darkness, while entertaining readers in equal measure. Law school is a tough beast that only the fittest can survive. However, when Mark, Todd, and Zola arrived, they felt that their determination would help them sail through. Perusing the land into their last semester, all they can see are mountains of debt and a soon-to-be useless diploma from Foggy Bottom Law School, one of the lesser (lowest?) schools, located in the DC area. Armed with few paths to success and crippling financial ruin, they try to find an out. A fourth musketeer shines light on a potential grand scam, but has not taken the initiative to act on it. Tragic circumstances force Mark, Todd, and Zola to rethink their futures and the wheels begin to turn. Seeing hucksters on every corner, the three agree to create their own law firm and run it, without completing school or holding valid licenses. As long as they can stay one step ahead of the process, nothing can go wrong, right? Listing their firm out of the top floors of a bar, the three begin perusing the vulnerable at hospitals and in the courthouse. It takes guts, but there may be some return, as long as no one catches on. When a few larger cases get caught in their flimsy net, it’s time to weight the options between being caught and a massive payout. Greed trumps sense most times, but all three soon learn that legal matters can be as fragile as spun glass and lives are irreparably changed with one false move. As the cock crows on their legal (and personal) futures, The Rooster Bar may not be as fortuitous as they once hoped. Financial ruin may be the least of their worries, should all those who want their pound of flesh succeed in filing legal grievances. Grisham does a masterful job of painting an interesting legal picture while pulling on the heart strings of the reader. Fans of his work will like this one, as another one-off analyzes the wonders of the legal world, pitfalls and all.

While some feel the need to take Grisham with a grain of salt, I like his varied approaches to the legal profession and feel that he has a firm grasp on many aspects that are forgotten in the genre. Grisham’s unique approach is what makes me come back for more, though the characters and story found herein are also quite entertaining. It is a wonderful collection of personalities that make the story all the more exciting. Three core law students who are trying to dodge their creditors and attempt to see above all that is crippling them helps lay the groundwork for the great bamboozling that is this novel. Varied in their backstories, Mark, Todd, and Zola all bring a strong core belief system to the story. The past they bring helps to individualise them, as well as injects some humour into what can sometimes be a string of serious aspects. Touching not only on the law, but on the struggles of students, Grisham does not candy-coat anything and wants only to offer the reader some insight into how horrid law school can be beneath the surface, when it comes to loans and repayment. The collection of other characters remain stellar, as Grisham brings even more to the table and forces the reader to go through all the ups and downs that accompany Russian Roulette legal practice. The story itself is intriguing, even if it does not tap into the core of legal conundrums (as Grisham has done in the past). There is something here that cannot be dismissed and building on all the varied aspects of the story to create a checkerboard of drama and entertainment, Grisham keeps the reader in the middle of all the action. Between the DC issues and those across the world, there is little time for the reader to sit back and relax, though there is also little interest in remaining passive. Perhaps not his most gripping story, but Grisham is sure to pack a punch when the reader invests the needed time getting to the root of the issues here. I can only hope that there are more flashy stories like this to come.

Kudos, Mr. Grisham, for all you do. I know it must be tough, up to your twenty-fifth legal novel now, but you do it all so well.

Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/... ...more

flag 96 likes · Like · see review

Apr 15, 2019 Kevin Kuhn rated it liked it

Let me start by saying I’m a big fan of John Grisham. He caught me with “The Firm” and I’ve appreciated his novels and movie adaptions ever since. His stories have an authentic feel due to his background and he writes taut and compelling action. Let me continue by saying this was my least favorite Grisham book so far. It’s good subject matter which I appreciated. It covers the trap of high-end college degrees such as law schools, where lower-middle class kids build gigantic student loan debts at Let me start by saying I’m a big fan of John Grisham. He caught me with “The Firm” and I’ve appreciated his novels and movie adaptions ever since. His stories have an authentic feel due to his background and he writes taut and compelling action. Let me continue by saying this was my least favorite Grisham book so far. It’s good subject matter which I appreciated. It covers the trap of high-end college degrees such as law schools, where lower-middle class kids build gigantic student loan debts at sub-par law schools only to find their chance of passing the bar and landing a decent paying gig at a law firm are very long odds. It also some what timely hits on the challenges that immigrates find themselves trapped in. It mostly follows a very successful formula that Grisham has often explored – unfairly treated underdogs overcoming great odds to topple evil men and corporations.

However, I struggled with this one. Two of the three underdogs, weren’t quite the underdogs I was used to, walking very shaky moral ground throughout the story. They also make very bad decisions. Grisham spends significant effort (the first hundred pages at least), building up the case for their decisions and desperate actions. Most of the rest of the novel, the protagonist spent their time digging themselves a deeper and deeper hole. While this builds plenty of tension, I struggled to fully root for them and felt more angst than enjoyment. I won’t spoil the ending, which Grisham does well to leave in the balance until the very end, but it was slightly satisfying. However, it wasn’t the same underdog story where I was able to cheer like a crazed Leichester City F.C. supporter in 2016, which I have done in many of his other books. I spent more time questioning their decisions and wondering if they should pay a price or not. Maybe that’s what Grisham wanted, to mix it up a bit, and make the reader more uncomfortable.

A lesser effort from a master storyteller, which explores some relatively important themes with strong tension, but fails to build the same rabid underdog enthusiasm, that his best previous works have delivered. ...more

flag 81 likes · Like · see review

Oct 29, 2017 Gareth Otton rated it it was ok

Shelves: legal, frustrating, dissapointing

How sad is it that Mr Grisham has fallen so far that he can't even identify the interesting elements in his own stories anymore? (Warning, this review contains spoilers)

(view spoiler) How sad is it that Mr Grisham has fallen so far that he can't even identify the interesting elements in his own stories anymore? (Warning, this review contains spoilers)

(view spoiler)[
I was so excited at the start of this novel because it felt like old school John Grisham. We are presented with four student friends who have all been tricked into taking out massive student loans for a law degree from a joke of a law school that will end up leaving them jobless and over a quarter of a million in debt. One of their friends, already struggling with bipolar disorder, is so stressed out by this that it leads him down a spiral that eventually ends in him taking his own life. However, before he did so he had spent hours pulling together a lot of evidence that proves that though what their law school was doing was legal, it was also a massive scam that was making some people very rich.

At this point, I start rubbing my hands together in anticipation of an underdog story of three friends, united by the suicide of another friend, deciding that it's time to take action against this institution. As failed law students and barely aware of the law, there's not much they can do about it, but they are so tenacious in their search for justice for their friend, that they just won't take no for answer. Sound interesting? I thought so. Sadly that's not what we got.

Instead, we move onto a new case, this one a deportation case. Zola, one of the three friends, faces an awkward situation where her mother, father and brother face deportation because they came to the US illegally before Zola was born.

Not quite as interesting as the first case maybe, but I was still intrigued. Maybe these 3 law school dropouts had decided that they had already suffered one great injustice this year, and it was long past time to put another one to rights. So maybe they were going to team up to fight the deportation of her parents.

Again, sadly, no.

Instead, we get a story about how these three students decide to drop out of law school just one semester before graduation and start practising law illegally. They assume false identities and chase what they think of as easy cases, all the while deliberately defaulting on their loans. It's at this point that I was muttering "What the F***?" over and over. What possible logic could there be in illegally doing something that, if they just waited one semester, they could actually do legally? It just didn't make any sense and was guaranteed to end badly.

The large majority of the novel is basically my prediction playing out and it was not in the slightest bit interesting. Now, there is a third act twist where they try to pull all this together, but it just didn't fly and it was too little too late. By this time I already severely disliked all 3 main characters and was not at all rooting for anyone in this story.

Basically, it was a confused novel that was extremely tedious by the end. Worse, it didn't even feel competently told. The three main characters in the book were so bland that I often struggled to tell the two main male characters apart and often forgot who was who, and Zola might as well have not been in the book. She puts in zero effort throughout the entire novel, contributes nothing other than the deportation subplot, and just felt completely out of place.

At so many points in this novel, I was scratching my head and asking, "Wait. What's happening? I'm lost." This is because the many story threads that were supposed to be tied together by the main characters were barely held together and just seemed to float there as separate entities that it was just hard to keep track of.
(hide spoiler)]

Overall, I'm going to have to give this one a 2-star review because it was okay at best. This is sad being as this is from an author that I once consistently gave 4 and 5-star reviews. It seems like at some point over the last 5-10 years, Mr Grisham has lost his nack.

Enough said. It's a 2-star review that was b0rdering on being a 1. ...more

flag 65 likes · Like · see review

Mar 16, 2018 Stacey rated it really liked it

The Rooster Bar is a tale of four friends attending law school when they figure out the loans they took out for the second rate school is somewhat of a scam. They devise a plan to expose the shady lenders. They're going to pretend to be lawyers working for a firm. Nothing is real, it's all made up. A few of the characters have their own challenges going on. In the end it all ties together and it's good fun lawyer reading. Grisham can be hit or miss for me. This was a hit. ...more

flag 48 likes · Like · see review

Mar 30, 2018 Suzanne rated it liked it

Not bad at all. The three characters were amusing in their shenanigans and their banter was entertaining. I was hesitant to read this because as a doctoral student, student loan debt hits home. But in the end it is a John Grisham novel so for me, a need to read. Most are going to admit wasn’t very thrilling as some of his legal thrillers but it offered a quick, entertaining story. I remember reading some stuff on how some people are considering law school to be a Ponzi scheme and also the Atlant ...more

flag 43 likes · Like · see review

Feb 29, 2020 Jonathan K rated it really liked it

It's difficult not to enjoy stories by Grisham. Characters we can relate with, plots filled with surprises and pacing done to perfection. Similar in some ways to The Rainmaker, he twists the concept using frustrated students attending a questionable law school. Early in the story the trio decides to form as an illegitimate firm praying on drunk drivers and insurance cases. As the plot unwinds they elevate their game taking risks seasoned criminals would avoid. As momentum builds so does the dang ...more

flag 40 likes · Like · see review

Nov 28, 2017 Diane rated it liked it

Shelves: mysteries-thrillers

John Grisham takes on for-profit law schools, and wins!

"The Rooster Bar" is about a group of law school students who realize they've been scammed, and then try to do something about it. They each owe about $200,000 in debt, and the job market for new lawyers is so bad they don't have any hope of finding a professional job. Besides, they doubt they could even pass the bar exam because their law school has such low standards.

I don't read a lot of Grisham, but I picked up this one because I was int ...more

flag 38 likes · Like · see review

Oct 25, 2017 Judy D Collins rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobook, books-read-in-2017, 2017-releases, john-grisham, legal-thriller

4.5 Stars #1 New York Times bestselling author, John Grisham returns following Camino Island with his 25th novel THE ROOSTER BAR — a legal thriller exploring conspiracies inside for-profit law schools and the lives it destroys in this modern-day scandal ripped from today’s headlines.

Inspired by an article in the Atlantic called “The Law-School Scam,” a lengthy investigation of for-profit law schools, the author takes off an inside look at corruption in the legal field and student loans.

Gordy, ...more

flag 36 likes · Like · see review

Aug 27, 2017 Fred rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mystery, legal-thriller

John Grisham - Group

NYT #1 - 2017/11/12 (Hawes.com)

This is another great Grisham book with a easy theme to follow & one of today's greatest legal crime - "For-Profit Law Schools". NY times & John Grisham's CBS interview links at the bottom of this review you must visit!

John Grisham link below, talks of the book in a great “Youtube” discussion. I feel the book could be made into another of his great movies easily.
This book is new, why are aren't more of us reading it?!

The ...more

flag 33 likes · Like · see review

Jun 04, 2018 Jenny rated it it was ok

I like John Grisham books. They are like going to your favorite diner or regular restaurant, you know what you are going to get, it’s familiar and comforting. I describe these meals as pleasant, food has the same taste, same waiter/waitress. Generally the only time that meal isn’t good is when you decide to try something else and it’s not as good, you leave feeling unsatisfied and fulfilled.
Grisham’s book, “Rooster Bar” left me unfulfilled. I finished it and two things came to mind, glad I got i ...more

flag 34 likes · Like · see review

Dec 01, 2017 Tooter rated it really liked it

4 Stars. Surprisingly enjoyable.

flag 37 likes · Like · see review

Jun 05, 2019 Janete rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This book started very well for me. I found it interesting and fun at the beginning, but when I was almost in the middle of the book, I began to feel bored and thought the author was going the wrong way. From then on, I dragged myself through the reading until I finished this book with great difficulty. It's a pity because I find that John Grisham wrote good entertaining books. ...more

flag 31 likes · Like · see review

Dec 29, 2017 Retired Reader rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Very enjoyable! Quick, funny, smart, likeable characters...

flag 30 likes · Like · see review

Aug 20, 2017 ☮Karen rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2017, giveaways-goodreads

3.5 stars

A big thank you to Goodreads giveaways for an ARC copy of this book. I'm a loyal Grisham fan, and this one did not disappoint. It didn't exactly thrill me or delight me, but it was an enjoyable way to pass some reading time and kept my attention throughout.

The focus is on businesses passing themselves off as schools (here it's a D.C. law school) which really are only in it for the money and do not prepare it's students for actual careers, at all. In this case, four third-year students a ...more

flag 29 likes · Like · see review

Oct 19, 2017 Johnny Carr rated it it was amazing

I won an advanced reader's copy of this book. It is typical John Grisham and I loved it. His imagination is amazing. I finished the book after work in three afternoons.

If you are a fan Grisham, you will not be disappointed! ...more

flag 28 likes · Like · see review

Oct 27, 2017 Todd Hogan rated it did not like it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 57 years ago, readers were introduced to the upright, morally independent attorney Atticus Finch. He was a lawyer to be emulated. Now, Grisham gives us three morally stunted law students who decide to skip the last semester of law school and begin the unauthorized practice of law. They hustle DUI and small misdemeanors clients by slipping into the zoo of crowded courthouses. They hustle a med mal case involving the death of a child, then they blow the statute of limitations. Their motivation? To 57 years ago, readers were introduced to the upright, morally independent attorney Atticus Finch. He was a lawyer to be emulated. Now, Grisham gives us three morally stunted law students who decide to skip the last semester of law school and begin the unauthorized practice of law. They hustle DUI and small misdemeanors clients by slipping into the zoo of crowded courthouses. They hustle a med mal case involving the death of a child, then they blow the statute of limitations. Their motivation? To avoid paying the crushing educational loans they voluntarily incurred, to avoid the embarrassment of failing the DC bar, and to forego seeking a real lawyer job in a difficult job market.

This could have been a comedy, and there is a certain lightness in the style. But this is no laughing matter. The three protagonists are portrayed as sympathetic (a DACA woman whose parents face deportation, a young man whose poor younger brother is facing jail time for drug trafficking and hopes his law student brother can help him, and another man whose success so far has been bartending and so acts as a sounding board for others.) But they are felons, which they admit. There is little discussion of the people they have scammed, and the parents of the dead baby are portrayed as culpable themselves for waiting so long to seek legal help. There is no discussion of the fees they have stolen from other hardworking attorneys. It's all a lark, and all someone else's fault.

Ultimately, the three escape retribution for their crimes and steal additional millions by creating fictitious clients for a class action so that the three students can fraudulently collect legal fees, then retire to a remote, non-extraditable but beach-friendly country. A fantasy ending to real world problems.

None of the attorneys in this book come off well. A female prosecutor is portrayed as someone who sleeps around aggressively in a competition with her female roommate. Other attorneys are trapped hustling at hospitals, paying bribes to police officers and ambulance drivers. No one shows the character traits of an Atticus Finch, or even a Perry Mason.

So, over all, I am saddened by the portrayal of a profession that strives at its best to help others. No doubt there are abuses and weaknesses, as there are in any occupation since there are weaknesses in human nature. This book is a disappointment at portraying any moral compass. What is the profession coming to? I guess they are the convenient bad guys these days. ...more

flag 27 likes · Like · see review

Nov 01, 2017 Cody | CodysBookshelf rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, john-grisham

I finished this book in two sittings: on my lunch break and on my bed the moment I got home. I didn’t get up to eat dinner, use the bathroom, anything. The Rooster Bar is one of those books.

Like almost every Grisham novel, this is a high-stakes crime thriller . . . but the stakes here feel so much higher than in his other books — at least the ones I’ve read, which I admit isn’t a large number. Three laws students mired in debt without any job prospectives on the horizon decide to drop out of si ...more

flag 27 likes · Like · see review

Dec 27, 2017 Susanne rated it it was amazing

Countless times we’ve been told about the importance of the first sentence of a book. We are told that editors and publishers scrutinize the first sentence and if they don’t like it you lost a deal. Many books might not get written because the budding writer cannot think of the perfect opening.
Yet, for a reader, the last sentence makes or breaks the story. It is what will sound in our ears for some time after we closed the book.
While reading “The Rooster Bar” I admit thinking that it is not Gris ...more

flag 25 likes · Like · see review

Jun 22, 2018 Rudolph rated it liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book is all about friendship and how far you would go to fulfil your friend's dream. It keenly looks into lives for 4 friends at law school and the trauma they go through due to the never ending student loans they have got themselves in.

First half of the book gives the readers all the compelling reasons why Mark, Todd and Zola should fight back. There is a burning desire for revenge that builds up after going through all the materials their dead friend Gordy has left behind after committin This book is all about friendship and how far you would go to fulfil your friend's dream. It keenly looks into lives for 4 friends at law school and the trauma they go through due to the never ending student loans they have got themselves in.

First half of the book gives the readers all the compelling reasons why Mark, Todd and Zola should fight back. There is a burning desire for revenge that builds up after going through all the materials their dead friend Gordy has left behind after committing suicide.

Second half is all about executing their neatly laid plan. They quickly realise that the path they have chosen is not at all going to be smooth. The situations that they get into are quite interesting and constantly compels you to think what you would have done in those.

The most touching portions are the hardships Zola's family has to undergo. The reader would inevitably tend to pity their situation as all their dreams for a better future are crushed in matter of days. The saddest portions are ones when they come back to their homeland and the way they are treated and extorted.

One of the best thing is that Mark and Todd never give up on helping Zola and her family. The way the three stand for each other is very touching. Throughout the novel it seems as though Mark and Todd are the same person with different personalities depending on their mood and there is Zola. Glad that Zola did not have any chemistry with Mark or Todd or else the story would have been very awkward.

One of the reasons, they made it successfully to the end could be that they all not only trusted each other but were ready to execute based on one another’s plans even if they did not understand it completely. Mark comes out as adventurous and Todd as a follower. I think what Zola's family goes through itself is very overwhelming for her to take any decision and she kind of tags along with the two.

Towards the end of the novel once she is reunited with the family is where I found her confident. You start feeling happy for her once she has gotten over the grief of her dead boyfriend and is looking forward for what future has in store.

Overall a great book where a perfect crime meets a happy ending. ...more

flag 24 likes · Like · see review

Oct 25, 2017 Donna rated it really liked it

Shelves: crime-mystery

This wasn't quite 4 stars, but I'll round up for the beginning and the ending. I've enjoyed Grisham novels, mostly his legal thrillers. I liked the humor, the dialogue, and the characters the most in this one. The hook in the beginning was effective and pulled me right in. I kept thinking this was the best Grisham novel I've read in a while. That feeling lasted for the first third of this book. That is where the story deviates from the hook and becomes about something entirely different. For me, ...more

flag 23 likes · Like · see review

Nov 08, 2017 Sherri Thacker rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-star-books-that-i-loved

WOW! Another great book by John Grisham but then I love most of his books. Grisham just has a way of telling a great story! Will be thinking about this one for a long time and wondering how they pulled off what they did for so long.

flag 24 likes · Like · see review

Dec 08, 2017 Scott rated it it was ok

Shelves: mystery

When I was about 100 pages, or a third of the way through this book, I found myself stopping to ponder. You know, I have never really ever read anything by John Grisham book that I didn’t enjoy. I went through all of his titles in my head, and yes, I liked some more than others, but I can’t say I didn’t like any of them. Grisham’s worst is still better than most everyone else.
That is until now…

Grisham’s new legal (if you can call it that) thriller, “The Rooster Bar” starts off during the Christ When I was about 100 pages, or a third of the way through this book, I found myself stopping to ponder. You know, I have never really ever read anything by John Grisham book that I didn’t enjoy. I went through all of his titles in my head, and yes, I liked some more than others, but I can’t say I didn’t like any of them. Grisham’s worst is still better than most everyone else.
That is until now…

Grisham’s new legal (if you can call it that) thriller, “The Rooster Bar” starts off during the Christmas holiday season, with four law school students and buddies – Gordy, Mark, Todd, and Zola – going into their last semester before graduation and the payback of their outstanding six-figure loan debt. Each of them has borrowed heavily to attend a lower-tier and lower-rated law school for profit. A school so mediocre that its graduates are rarely able to pass the bar exam and get the higher paying jobs most law students dream of.

One of them, Gordy, has researched further to discover their law school is one of a chain owned by a disreputable New York hedge-fund investor. Using shell companies, the investor also owns a bank specializing in student loans to the chain schools, as well as a group of low-scale law firms hiring the students for those schools. It is a greatly orchestrated law school scam in which they are now involved.

After a dramatic and personal loss, three of them quit school, acquire new identities, and start practicing law without licenses out of a local joined called the Rooster Bar. There are challenges along the way and it doesn’t take long for them in to get into trouble with unsatisfied clients, other cutthroat lawyers, and eventually law enforcement. In addition, Zola’s parents and brother are taken by federal authorities and deported to Senegal, causing her to work through the challenges of corruption in her home county’s legal system in hopes of saving their lives.

Eventually, as with other Grisham novels, the three eventually hatch a risky plan in hopes of getting back at the evil hedge-fund investor, the bad guy that created their unfair student loan situations. I will keep from spoiling the details and the various plot outcomes for those who want the experience of reading the book for themselves.

This book brought home for me a certain truth. John Grisham is an excellent storyteller. He can write an instruction manual or a cookbook and I would somehow be drawn in to his masterful prose. His writing flows in a way that few writers can capture. I often find myself losing track of time, staying up late and ignoring other responsibilities when I am devouring a Grisham book.

Unfortunately, it is that very great writing style that exposes the weaknesses of this book, which is that of a weak plot, less than interesting male protagonists, and a less than stellar ending. The plot lacks any real sustaining interest or suspense for the reader. The conflict does not create much worry or risk for the characters outcome. I was never scared that something really bad was going to happen them in terms of physical harm or serious legal penalties. And although I was drawn into Zola’s fight to save her parents, both Mark and Todd were one dimensional and provided no reason for sympathy or empathy. I had no reason to cheer them on, and the more mistakes they made, it was even tougher to side with them. What ended up saving the book and keeping my interest was Grisham’s strong writing. My enjoyment of his style kept me going to finish the book, even when the ending petered out in a very predictable and flat manner.

Overall, this would have been a good short story or novella, but there just wasn’t enough content for a novel length adventure. Grisham’s storytelling power still reigns, but this story needed more tension, suspense, and content to carry the length of a novel. It needed characters that I cared for and rooted for them to overcome their conflicts and challenges. And it needed an ending where I didn’t think so what about the outcome. That’s it? Really?

I guess there’s always a first, even for the best of them. I can't believe I am saying this, but better luck next time John…
...more

flag 21 likes · Like · see review

May 17, 2018 Jim rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, books-read-2018

Disappointing

Early on I loved all of the John Grisham stories. A Time to Kill, The Firm, The Chamber. They had likable protagonists. In this latest offering we have neither a good story or a likable protagonist. I had hopes after Camino Island that he was back but it does not appear that is the case.

Mark, Todd, and Zola are in their third year of studying law at Foggy Bottom. May be one of them had been motivated because they wanted a career where they could help people and make difference but o Disappointing

Early on I loved all of the John Grisham stories. A Time to Kill, The Firm, The Chamber. They had likable protagonists. In this latest offering we have neither a good story or a likable protagonist. I had hopes after Camino Island that he was back but it does not appear that is the case.

Mark, Todd, and Zola are in their third year of studying law at Foggy Bottom. May be one of them had been motivated because they wanted a career where they could help people and make difference but others seem to have been motivated by a promise of a career with a huge salary. They could not be accepted at Stanford, Harvard, or any prestigious law school. They choose Foggy Bottom based on slick brochures. Now in their third year no one has promised them a job and they have a mountain of debt. Their immediate future is to pass the bar and begin paying off that debt. Rather than do that they decide to expose their school for what it is. A for profit school owned by a shady New York hedge-fund operator. Just one of chain. He also owns a bank specializing in student loans.

Mark, Todd, and Zola are not alone. Some may not make it and take a desperate path. Most will see it through. They will finish their final semester and study for the bar. Some will pass and others will not. They will find jobs ... in the legal sector, or the public sector, or somewhere else. The point is that they will move forward to the next phase of their life. Not Mark, Todd, and Zola. They decide to drop out, practice law without a license, and expose the school and bank. And to make some money in the process.

Often when I start a book I may not like the protagonist but he or she grows on me as I read. This was not the case here. If anything I found that I liked Mark, Todd, and Zola less. Zola was somewhat likable and I had some sympathy for her. Overall these characters had no interest in the law, in helping others, in making a positive difference. They were self centered and only thinking of themselves.

Grisham's earliest books were something to look forward to. As soon as they were released I eagerly bought them. Before reading a single review. Recently they are hit or miss. I still read them but I borrow from my local library rather than spend the money publishers expect readers to fork over nowadays. I cannot say that I am looking forward to his next book. Lets just say I hope it won't be yet another miss. ...more

flag 21 likes · Like · see review

Oct 30, 2017 Rick rated it liked it · review of another edition

Ok at best, painful through most, still not a bad story...

I generally love Grisham, especially the legal thrillers, however the best word I can use for this one is lazy, kinda like he wrote part, then changed his mind, then added that part, etc. (Caution some possible spoilers below).

For the majority of the book, you're not sure if you even want to cheer for the main characters. They're ridiculously stupid and it's painful to go from one utterly moronic decision to the next. You kinda expect the ...more

flag 20 likes · Like · see review

Jan 19, 2018 Lorna rated it really liked it

Shelves: law, mystery-thriller

As the book jacket says, "Pull up a stool, grab a cold one, and get ready to spend some time at The Rooster Bar."

The latest legal thriller focuses on issues John Grisham is shining a light on, namely for-profit law schools, student loan debt and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Four third-year students at Foggy Bottom Law School in Washington D.C. are in their final semester, assessing their crushing debt and lack of employment opportunities, partially due to the poor reputati ...more

flag 19 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Chateau Hookah Lounge	1	3	May 15, 2020 12:58PM
Best supplies for a home bar of your dreams	1	4	Nov 01, 2019 04:37AM
Industry 1332	1	7	Feb 24, 2019 11:46PM
Goodreads Librari...: Page Count Missing	2	19	Oct 17, 2018 04:46PM

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Fiction

654 users

Mystery

195 users

Thriller

175 users

Audiobook

110 users

Thriller > Legal Thriller

103 users

Mystery > Crime

77 users

Suspense

46 users

Thriller > Mystery Thriller

42 users

Contemporary

35 users

Adult Fiction

33 users

See top shelves…

About John Grisham

John Grisham

50,561 followers

"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 "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 ...more

Books by John Grisham

More…

Meet the Authors of Spring's Biggest Mysteries

If you ask us, it's always the perfect time to lose yourself in a page-turning mystery. To help you sleuth out a new read, we asked the...

Trivia About The Rooster Bar

9 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from The Rooster Bar

“These are mistakes, not regrets. Regrets are over and done with and a waste of time to rehash. Mistakes, though, are bad moves in the past that might affect the future.” — 5 likes

“The Bardtown Federal Detention Facility was in a secluded valley three miles off Interstate 99 and twenty miles south of Altoona. If there was a town nearby, it wasn’t visible.” — 0 likes

More quotes…

See a Problem?

Preview — The Rooster Bar by John Grisham

The Rooster Bar

Get A Copy

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

Readers also enjoyed

Genres

About John Grisham

Books by John Grisham

Related Articles

Trivia About The Rooster Bar

Quotes from The Rooster Bar

See a Problem?

Preview — The Rooster Bar by John Grisham

The Rooster Bar

Get A Copy

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

Readers also enjoyed

Genres

About John Grisham

Books by John Grisham

Related Articles

Trivia About The Rooster Bar

Quotes from The Rooster Bar

new topic
Discuss This Book