Jan / Feb 2013 Group Read: The Racketeer

[Donna, Co-Moderator]

Jeffery will be our discussion leader for The Racketeer by John Grisham.

Thank you Jeffery.

[Jeffrey]

You are welcome, Donna. This book is considered one of Grisham's best, and an exhilarating tale of revenge according to critics. I will be finished reading it in a couple of days, and will be ready for discussions and comments then. This book looks like a lot of fun.

[Joey]

I'll be glad to join as as I just finished it. Huge Grisham fan here. :)

[Laurie]

I really enjoyed some of his earlier books such as A Time to Kill and The Client but some of his other books didn't appeal to me. If I can get a copy at my local library I will give it a try but if not I don't think I would go out and buy it.

[Maurice]

I read this a couple of months ago. I always enjoy Grisham novels, and this one certainly did not disappoint. I found myself getting drawn into the story, and turning the pages as I was eager to learn what happened next. I won't spoil the novel for anybody by expanding my thoughts on the detail and believability of the story, but whether you are seasoned Grisham reader or a new visitor this book will keep you entertained and hungry for more.

[June]

I finished this book beginning of January and gave it 4 stars. I enjoyed this book as I do all Grisham books. However, I didn't think it was as exciting as his other books but the twist ending was great! I didn't see it coming!

[Linda]

I so want to read this one - hopefully I can join in before Feb 15th.

[Yvonne]

I read this a couple weeks ago. It's been a few years since I've read one of Grisham's legal thrillers. This one feels similar except the main character Malcolm is just not as sympathetic a character, especially in the second half of the book, as I normally find in his books. There's also less legalese in this one.

The book also seemed to be going in one direction only to turn into a different story about half way into the book. I still found it entertaining enough.

[Nam]

I've only read a few John Grisham books in the past. The last one I read was The Firn and I remember it was being only ok and nothing really impressive or memorable. The premise of this book really interests me though cause I love locked-room mysteries.

[Linda]

I decided to join in. Just downloaded the book from iBooks store. Still like to read his books though liked his earlier books the most.

[Georgia]

I have read 11 of J. Grisham's books. Some I have liked more than others. The one I really liked was
The Painted House. Should I give this a try? I will wait until Feb. to see what most of you think.

[Sheila]

Hi
Bought this after Michael Connolly gave it a great review in the Guardian. Am really enjoying it so far - totally wrong-footed and no idea where the narrator is taking me. Think this is one of his best books (although I'm not a huge Grisham fan)

[Frances]

I finished this a few days ago and really enjoyed it. I think it's a return to his earlier high quality - I'm pleased to say.

[Aparna]

Hi,
This is my first book by the author. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, the plot, the twists and turns, and I am looking foreword to reading more books by him. The book certainly lived up to the line, "Nothing is as it seems and everything’s fair game".

[Linda]

Frances wrote: "I finished this a few days ago and really enjoyed it. I think it's a return to his earlier high quality - I'm pleased to say."

I am glad to hear this.

[Donna, Co-Moderator]

I'm also glad to here this. I loved the Firm and the next one or two but then they all started to seem to be the same. I'll have to check this one out.

[Carrie]

I enjoyed this book, and it definitely leaves the reader guessing, but I thought there was too much back story and too much 'telling,' not 'showing.' As a result, it seemed like a lot of the action had already taken place, and the reader is told about it in retrospect.

I also was a bit baffled that in the author's note he mentions he did no research at all for the book, and that almost nothing in the book was based on reality. This had me wondering which parts of the legal description were accurate and which weren't. Although I'm all for creative license, if a lawyer is writing a legal thriller, I at least hope the legalese is accurate.

[Sebastian]

Finished reading it. It was uneven to say the least, but I ended up giving it 4 stars, mostly because it grabs you almost half-way through and does not let go.

[Nam]

I just finished reading this and all I can say at the end is...meh. The beginning half of the story really grips you and makes it where you really can't guess what's going to happen next, but it become apparent in the latter half that there is no sense of ramped up tone or pace.

(view spoiler)[the ending when they were smuggling the gold out of the country should have probably been left out it was just useless fluff. It was pretty much already apparent that the characters are going to have the happy ending. (hide spoiler)]

[Summer]

I finished this last night and have mixed feelings. I think the story itself was interesting enough, (view spoiler)[but there was something about the way it was written that didn't quite hold together for me. Malcolm was an unreliable narrator, but only partially so. I thought he needed to be either more upfront or more deceptive in his narration of events because he was occupying a wishy washy gray area in the middle. I wanted to either really like or dislike him, but instead I don't have much of an opinion about him at all. (hide spoiler)]

[Jerry]

I enjoyed this one a lot and thought it felt like some of his earlier higher-quality work. Grisham's big weakness IMHO is that he writes anti-climactic endings that just fizzle out. His big strength is his crisp narrative drive, his storytelling style. It's been a huge influence on my own writing.

Jerry

www.amazon.com/dp/B009LYDM4W

[Linda]

I hope I can read it through the month. I sort of got away from Grisham of late, so I hope IT can back into his works.

[Priscilla]

Not finished. A nice quick paced read that doesn't require a lot of effort or concentration. Enjoying it.

[Dottie]

I accidentally read The Litigators instead, really enjoyed that one. After I realized my mistake I read the correct book also, and while I thoroughly enjoyed it, I thought The Litigators was slightly better. I did think there were some nice plot twists and I was definitely caught up in the story. Grisham does such a great job with his narrative style of writing that seems to captive me. I also enjoy the fact that he keeps the legalese to a reasonable amount. Enough to portray a legal based story but not so much that it sends you running for the legal dictionary to understand it.

[Summer]

I'm curious about one of the facets of the book: (view spoiler)[What do you all think held the gang together as they committed the crime? It would have been quite easy for them to double cross each other, particularly Malcolm and Vanessa. As thieves and criminals they're not exactly trustworthy, so how do you explain their effective way of working together? (hide spoiler)]

[Yvonne]

Esse wrote: "I'm curious about one of the facets of the book: [spoilers removed]"

Esse, I'm assuming that people who come to this thread know there might be spoilers in it. How else can you discuss it?

(view spoiler)[I think Malcolm becomes best friends when he's in prison with the first guy and he becomes romantically involved with Vanessa. Grisham wants us to believe that friendship and love is enough of a glue to keep everyone on the same page.

I do think though, he's not guaranteeing anything. He just ends the book at a certain point where everything is working out but he's leaving it up to our imagination whether things continue to do so.

A sequel where everyone starts turning against each other would probably be a more interesting story than this one turned out to be. (hide spoiler)]

[Summer]

Yvonne wrote: "Esse, I'm assuming that people who come to this thread know there might be spoilers in it. How else can you discus..."

I can't remember the specific rules from group to group, so I hide spoilers by default. Personally I think hiding spoilers also leads to increased discussion, since we don't have to wait for everyone to finish the book before they can discuss it, although that probably varies from group to group.

And thanks for sharing your thoughts! I think I'm most curious about (view spoiler)[how Malcolm and Vanessa's brother become friends in the first place. Why did Malcolm trust him? How difficult was it for Malcolm to move to a life of crime after he was so righteously indignant about being falsely accused of it? I would have liked to see more of that process. (hide spoiler)]

[Yvonne]

That's probably the correct way to do it. I edited my post using the spoiler tags.

[Linda]

I enjoyed reading this book. There were a lot of twist and turns; and for me a surprise as to the relationship with former inmates at the fictional Frostburg correctional center. Many have commented in their reviews that they thought this novel was John Grisham's return to his former writing as in "The Firm" and other earlier works. I am not sure that I agree with that. It was better though than the last few I have read.

One thing I liked about the book is that the area where I live is one of the focal locations in the book. Some of the information about travel time and such were very accurate; as were descriptions of the area.

All in all it was a good read and will look forward to his next novel.

[Summer]

Linda wrote: "One thing I liked about the book is that the area where I live is one of the focal locations in the book. Some of the information about travel time and such were very accurate; as were descriptions of the area..."

I interviewed for a job in Frostburg a few months back and I think the descriptions of the area were right on target.

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

Interestingly Grisham mentions in my book copy he did very little research except for two excursions.

I always like Grisham thrillers, but this one was a little thin in character development. I think that's why these guys being so trustworthy with each other seems suspect.