The Guardians by John Grisham -- 3.5 stars

[Nicole R]

The Guardians by John Grisham
3.5 (round up to 4)

I look forward to Grisham's new book each year. They aren't as engaging as his earliest books, but his recent ones are quite a bit better than the 2000s slump. In his most recent legal thrilled, Grisham once again hits his sweet spot by pitting David against Goliath and highlighting real life problems with our criminal justice system.

Inspired by the real life Centurion Ministries, Grisham introduces us to Cullen Post. A man who had a breakdown as a 20-something public defender, decided to become a minister, and then found his way to Centurion Ministries where he works to exonerate the wrongfully convicted. He barely makes ends meet, he lives primarily out of his car, and he works endlessly once he is committed to your case.

And he is fully committed to the case of Quincy Miller. A man who has been in prison for 24 years for the murder of a local attorney, allegedly because the attorney botched Miller's divorce. But, under the surface lies a drug cartel, a corrupt sheriff, planted evidence, fake testimony, junk science, and racism.

This novel was gripping. The story spun seems completely implausible, but, unfortunately, probably is not as far-fetched as we would like to believe. Innocent people are in prison. And it takes truly dedicated persons to face the uphill battle and exonerate them.

While the story was engaging, I find that Grisham's books over the last couple of decades have lost that edge of your seat, gasping for breath due to suspense element that his early novels had. They have turned more into legal procedurals, which I still enjoy, but I miss books like The Firm and The Rainmaker and A Time to Kill.

Regardless, Grisham's books are still fun, legal thrillers that I will continue to read and enjoy.

[Joanne]

I miss his older books too. I have not picked one of his books in couple years now. May be time to give him another chance. This sounds like one I get might through.

[Nicole R]

Joanne wrote: "I miss his older books too. I have not picked one of his books in couple years now. May be time to give him another chance. This sounds like one I might through."

If you are going to jump back into Grisham then, of his recent books, I definitely recommend this one.

The other recent one I enjoyed was The Rooster Bar, but I think I liked that one more than the average reader because the main characters were law students, and I was a law student while reading it.