Rogue Lawyer: A Novel

Another typical great Grisham novel, suspenseful and riveting to the end.

I liked the fact that a lawyer was involved in cage fighting and relished the manner that Grisham developed the plot. I found the novel interesting and easy to read. Like most of Grisham's novels it would make a good screen play.

I have liked almost all of Grisham's novels...almost. The few I didn't like were of the non-lawyer variety (those of you who follow his books know exactly what I mean.) He is one of the authors who I anxiously await the release of his latest edition and more often than not I pre-order them for my Kindle. His last book was horrible...the one about strip coal mining, "Gray Mountain." I don't think I could even finish reading it, it was so bad...so completely and blatantly and obviously and redundantly (do you get my drift yet) a political/environmental propagandandistic (is that a word?) bunch of overkilling hogwash that I couldn't believe that I was reading a genuine John Grisham novel. So I wrote and told him (ignored by the way) that I didn't like it and was giving him one more book to bring me back into the fold. I'm not sure that this one "did" it, though. Buyer beware: this is not the typical Grisham novel that we grew to love. Rather it is more of a collection of short stories that are, only occasionally and oft times remotely, connected together...sort of...sometimes. Any one of his 4 or 5 or 6 separate stories (I forget how many because they all sort of coagulated in my mind) might have made one great "real" Grisham novel...the old Grisham anyway. I almost quit reading the book about 30-40% into it (Kindle version, remember) but made myself stick it out to the bitter end. Had I stopped at that point I would have given the book 2 stars because in all fairness the early short stories were entertaining and well written...they were just short stories. He did sort of wrap the book together at the end...although there's at least 2 or 3 loose ends out there (but please oh please don't come back to them in book 2 someday) so he "earned" a third star in my humble opinion. So this book is ok...just barely ok...unless you have a lot of other books to read. Might I recommend John Sandford, Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, Sue Grafton, Tom Clancy, Ted Bell, Joel Rosenberg...or a lot of others instead? I doubt if I will pre-order Grisham's next book. I'll have to read the reviews first...and maybe just maybe wait till it comes out at my library. Be forewarned.

I really enjoy just about everything John Grisham writes, though I'm not a huge fan of his short stories(or anyone else's for that matter), and this book felt more like a collection of short stories. There was no urgency of a life and death trial as in his other books, but, John Grisham really knows how to write up a character and this book is no exception. Sebastian Rudd is a lawyer who defends criminals and has the lifestyle to prove it. He works out a van because he likes to be a moving target for the many people who want him erased, starting with the police. It's funny how the men and women entrusted with keeping us safe, can bend the facts when things to don't work out their way as in one of the stores in this book. An elderly couple have their unprotected internet connection used by the neighbor boy to buy drugs, and when the police break down the wrong door, killing two dogs and one elderly wife, Sebastian Rudd is called into the defend the elderly man from the police and to keep him out of jail for firing back at the intruders(police). Throughout the book I enjoyed Rudd's on-going battle with his ex-wife, also a lawyer, who wants to keep Rudd away from their accidentally child together, so that she can raise him without Rudd's bad influence. The boy's name is Stretcher, and name Rudd of course hates, and who would want their child named after something that we put dead and dying people on to take them to the hospital? And speaking of names; Rudd's partner is named Partner, which is either really cute, or just plain stupid, but Partner is a wonderful character who drives Rudd's van, and assists him in every other way, including being Rudd's body guard when necessary. Grisham writes beautifully, his characters are quirky, and fun, and his plots are always interesting. I've never regretted starting or speed-reading to the finish of a John Grisham book, and I find that he's only getting better with age.

I have read almost all of Grisham's adult legal novels. I don't think this is the best grade Grisham, but it certainly is engrossing. In evaluating Grisham's body of work, we must recognize that Grisham today, living the good life in the Virginia wine country near Charlottesville, is not the novice novelist knocking out his first books in Oxford, Mississippi. Those early books were based on excitement that grabbed the reader and held him until the last page. What could beat "The Firm" or "The Pelican Brief" for raw excitement building to a gripping climax. Now with a much larger body of work behind him, abundant financial rewards, my theory is that Grisham in his more recent novels has undertaken to use his now maturing skills as a novelist to (pardon the expression) "educate" the reader as to how the legal systems works or fails to work in its various dimensions. For example, his recent novels have focused on topics such as the mass torts bar and how it operates; public interest lawyers fighting for the environment in rural West Virginia; the shortcoming of the jury system; the deficiencies of the death penalty; and the misuse of confessions. This trend continues in this novel about a "rogue lawyer" who handles sickening criminal cases other lawyers refuse for fear of condemnation and career injury. One interesting departure from his previous novels is that this book is really five individual stories (with some overlap) told sequentially. Each story allows Grisham an individual stage to focus upon separate aspects of how the legal system operates. The sorry condition of the criminal justice system in this country is the main common theme. Given Grisham's extensive career practicing criminal law, he speaks with some authority in this area. Fair criminal trials are largely a myth; dishonest cops and ambitious prosecutors manufacture evidence in trials presided over by inept judges held before befuddled juries. Prisons present their own problems since many of the convicts were sentenced to excessive terms for non-violent crimes (an area that President Obama is currently addressing). Abuses of SWAT teams is another area that pops up, as does the unfairness of freezing defendant resources before trial. Expert witnesses (of which I am one on occasion) also come in for serious Grisham scorn. And an old favorite topic of Grisham, the bizarre world of plea bargaining, also makes an appearance. The book builds toward a dynamic conclusion as do most of its predecessors--but a surprise element arises out of the blue to spoil a "happy" ending. We also learn about some new topics (at least for me) such as volitional insantiy and sexual bondage. One great feature is that Grisham takes the reader through an entire condensed criminal trial. From my own experience as a (federal) prosecutor and college professor, criminal trials that go on all around us are really only understood by very few. As a novelist, Grisham just continues to develop his skills in constructing plots and recounting dialogue. This is just a very fine story on top of everything else.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Funny, thrilling, sad, and alot of crime.

good Grisham novel. not his best work

Very colorful characters dominate this latest novel from John Grisham, probably the most popular writer out there today. "Rogue Lawyer" follows the story of one Sebastian Rudd, a lawyer who gets his feet slightly dirty at times, keeps questionable company and isn't afraid to bend rules or break them to get what he needs. At his core though he is actually a decent sort, a defense attorney who does his best and understands the rules of the game enough to know when it's best to speak the language, so to speak and when to toe the legal line. Because of his fame, Grisham often vents his own grievances through his stories. He sold a lot of copies of his non-fiction expose "An Innocent Man", which detailed the horrifying cruelty of an Ada, Oklahoma prosecuting attorney, a police department willing to botch evidence and a crime lab that was incompetent beyond description. These august people of the law framed, tried and convicted a poor fellow of murder of a convenience store and sentenced him to death. How this was allowed to happen was despicable. Coming back to the present, Grisham airs his concerns about crooked police forces, city government and other powers that be who are as bad as the supposed criminals they go after. To be safe, he doesn't mention a particular name for the City where the action takes place, nor the state. The reader is left to imagine just where this kind of behavior might be occurring, and hoping it isn't in his or her home town/state. The story is a fast moving one, full of twists and turns that constantly bedevil Rudd as he tries to exonerate an ultimate cage fighter from murder charges. This book is more entertaining than some of his other latter books. Nonetheless, a Grisham novel is never a bad read and always offers some food for thought. "Rogue Lawyer" is yet another fine tome in the long line of fine books we have from Grisham, and well worth reading.

There is more than one story in this book with a line running through all. It is serious, funny with an interesting take on the justice system in USA. I recommend this book.

Another excellent story by John Grisham. The story has several threads, the main one dealing with a young cage fighter on trial for killing a referee who he thinks has given the wrong verdict against him. So we get to understand some of the details surrounding the gory details of cage fighting. After several other episodes mainly dealing with the criminal dishonesty of the authorities which the main character wins, he finds himself unsuccessfully defending the cage fighter.... Read on. Many interesting and unusual insights into the world of law courts.

SUPER!!!! RISPETTA LA QUALITA, LIBRO ROBUSTO SONO MOLTO CONTENTA:)

Con un ritmo tenso y acelerado pero sin dejar un cabo suelto, John Grisham presenta la crónica de unos días en la vida de un abogado defensor dispuesto a casi todo por obtener para sus defendidos la presunción de inocencia y asegurarles un juicio justo, aún contra leyes torcidas y faltas de ética impuestas por el sistema en que se mueve. Excelente novela.

A thrilling and out of the box story of a lawyer who is not only a challenge for the corrupt system and bashes everyone on the way to the full but also smart enough not to take everything head on. A stud and the one, people hate most and ready to annihilate given a single chance. The living on the edge life description and incidents with toppings of twists and turns in his personal and professional life is marvelous . The details in the courtroom scenes and strategy making of the lawyer shows the research of the writer and appreciable. A very crisp and tight journey in his life cant let the reader take a break so easily.Over all a must read .