The Litigators [Formato Kindle]

Early on in Grisham's career, he wrote with fire. He went off against the ills of the legal and political systems, kicked greed between the legs, and did it all with some memorable, believable characters. His success was not surprising. Then, he stumbled. He lost the fire. I barely hung on through books like "The Brethren" and "The Broker." But last year's "The Confession" showed him kindling some new heat over a subject he is passionate about, and I applauded it, even if it was a bit stale at times.

"The Litigators" is the first Grisham book I've had fun reading in a long time. I get the feeling he had fun writing this one. We meet grouchy Oscar Finley and plucky, unethical Wally Figg, partners at Finley & Figg. These are some humorous, annoying, even likable guys scraping to make a living through any client and situation possible. They're propped up a the tough secretary. They're bottom feeders. Along comes David Zinc, who can no longer stomach the hundred-hour work weeks at a legal firm where 600 other lawyers are employed. He goes off the rails, decides to check out one fine morning, and ends up drunk hours later on the steps at the ignoble Finley & Figg. Despite his recent bender, he's actually a guy who loves his wife, albeit not always well, and still retains some ethical and legal standards, since he's not yet stepped foot into a court or heard the way things go down between a rascally attorney and a leering judge.

With Finley & Figg adding Zinc to their recipe, the mixture bubbles over. Figg stumbles into a potentially huge torts lawsuit against a pharmaceutical manufacturer (while scraping for clients at a funeral home, no less), and he starts signing up other clients (ones who are alive, thank goodness). In his enthusiasm, he drags along Zinc and senior partner Finley, eventually landing their tiny firm in court against a formidable armada of attorneys.

As I whipped through the pages, I found myself laughing out loud on more than one occasion--and for all the right reasons this time. Grisham gives us some great characters, three-dimensional, likable, understandable, despicable, and everything in between. This is the Grisham I remember, one who was passionate, even fiery, but who also loved people and never forgot they were the driving force in his stories. Something has shifted. That fire is back. And this is easily my favorite Grisham in years.

Without the Compelling economic and political sidelights of the excellent Chaos and Kingdom, The Litigators is by far one of the best from one of the greatest legal thriller writers of all time. In his latest installment, Grisham introduces a quarter-life crisis uptown lawyer who's found new energy in an ratty-tatty ambulance-chaser law firm in the wrong part of town. There are a lot of problems with this struggling firm, not the least of which is they don't have enough money to even purchase an "¿Accidentes?" billboard.

Their opportunity comes in the form of a class action lawsuit against a big Pharma company who's latest cholesterol drug is killing people (maybe). What ensues is a compelling struggle to uncover the truth in an balanced tale that addresses the pros and cons of corporate and legal America. Grisham brings the story full circle when the protagonist and his rag-tag bunch of litigators take the class action all the way to the supreme court and face off against a legal team led by the same company the protagonist left.

If you had given up on Grisham recently, this might be a good book to get back into his work. It's a unique take on the legal thriller and a well-crafted story. Highly recommended!

I have been a Grisham fan for a long time. Some of his books I loved and some not so much. The Litigators was one I loved. The characters come to life and are each an interesting study in human dynamics. With charaters that seem alive and with a gripping, entertaining story, what was not to like ?? I found the book in my mailbox on Monday, October 24th and finished it today the 25th. A book you cannot put down is a book worth reading.