Detail
Title: The Client ISBN: 9780385339087Published March 16th 2005 by Delta Trade Paperbacks (first published March 1st 1993) · Paperback 483 pages
Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Crime, Suspense, Legal Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Law, Novels, Adult Fiction
Must be read
User Reviews
John Grisham
Knew the ending, but still enjoyed it.
Calista
John Grisham's 'the Firm' was what really got into reading novels over 300 pages. The story gripped me and got me over my fear of so many pages. So, I kept reading John's first 8 books or so as they were published.
I remember reading this in 1995 and loving the tough as nails lawyer of Reggie. I appreciated how she called people by their first names when they weren't used to it to level the playing field. She helps a kid in a tough situation. John has a gift for making the law exciting and dramatic.
I saw the movie and thought that Susan Sarandon was perfect in the movie. John was really on a hot streak here and it catapulted him into the big leagues. I stopped reading him after a while, but I suspect he is still an very entertaining read. I did read the Camino series 1st book about a book seller and that was a whole lot of fun.
I used to own all of these 8 book in hardback and some even were signed by Grisham. He is the only book signing I've been too and it was in my home town in 1994 at a mall when a mall still had bookstores in them. When I moved to Baltimore, I donated my Grisham books to the library so I no longer have any copies.
If you are looking for a quick legal thriller or a page turning book, this would be a good one, but I would start with the Firm, next, the Pelican Brief and then this one.
Patrick
The book tells of a boy who happens upon a mob lawyer who commits suicide. But before he commits suicide, he divulges information on where the body of the murdered Senator was hidden by his mob boss. Fearing reprisal by the mob or the FBI for lying, he hires a lawyer to get him out of this mess.
I only slightly dislike this book because the premise of the book is weak. I could not get over the fact that the kid could have avoided the whole suspense by telling the FBI the truth about the body of the Senator. In that way, he and his immediate family could have gone into the Witness Protection Program and considering his mother's miserable job, the WPP would actually be step up from his current life. Also, his lawyer could have advised him to tell the FBI so the kid would be in WPP instead of a possible target of the mafia. The excitement of the book did not have purpose to it so this is the reason the book sucked.
And what is wrong with Assistant Attorney General, he already knew the kid was not talking because he was scarred for his life and the life of his family so could he not cut a deal with the FBI to expedite the WPP?
What is wrong with the mother? Sure it would be a hastle to be in the WPP but their lives are already in danger! So, the WPP would actually be safer for them instead of having their identity known currently.
This is an idiotic and unbelievable plot.
I guess the only redeeming quality about this book is the relationship between the kid and the 52 year old lawyer in which they both alternated being the adult in the relationship. For that, I will give this book 1.5.
W
Murder,the mob and an eleven year old kid,this is a Grisham thriller with a humorous touch.
Mark is an eleven year old kid,who lives with his mother and brother in a trailer.He witnesses the suicide of a mafia lawyer,who tells him an explosive secret before he dies.
A US senator is missing.Is he even alive and if not,where is the body ? Mark now knows something that both the FBI and the mafia are interested in finding out.
As the pressure on him increases,he succeeds in finding a female lawyer who specializes in helping abused children.Combined with Mark's own resourcefulness,will she be able to extricate him from the mess he finds himself in ?
Fairly interesting,but as usual for Grisham, longish.
Rob
This was a really terrific read, a great story line with some memorable characters.
Two young boys, brothers, are unwitting witnesses to a suicide. The older boy does all he can to stop the man from this act but to no avail. The man shoots himself in the head but before doing so he tells the young boys, Mark Sway, his reason for doing it. This information now marks Mark as a threat to the MOB. The FBI is desperate for Mark to reveal all he’s been told but after being threatened by the MOB to keep his mouth shut or his brother and mother will suffer Mark is terrified to say a word.
At this point Mark gets Reggie Love, a defence lawyer, to protect him from all the law enforcement people and so protect him from the MOB.
Between Mark, who doesn’t lack for cunning and intelligence, and Reggie they manage to keep one step ahead of both the Mob and the FBI.
The Sway family started with nothing very much but now they have quite literally nothing at all. Their trailer home, along with all their personal effects, has been burned to the ground. It’s up to Reggie and Mark to keep everyone safe whilst trying to do the right thing and hopefully survive this ordeal.
What follows is a very intense cat and mouse thriller.
A highly readable tale. 4/5 stars.
Stephen Robert Collins
I read this before the move was made. This the perfect example of how very much American laws & justices system is so different from British law special with children.
This an excellent crime court room drama that only Grisham could write as he was trained court lawyer which is needed to get the facts dead right. After all you need how to crack eggs to make an omelette you would not expect a bricklayer to try to make a swimming pool on upstairs flat.
This like all his books twists & turns like top in hands of a master spinner.
Paul
The beginning of Grisham's "The Client" is very plausible and exciting. He creates a horrifying, nightmarish scenario of violence and desperation for one precocious 11 year old boy and his brother. But can a precocious 11 year old have the maturity of a fearless seasoned man? Apparently this one goes on to, and that's where the story losses points for me. I think I would have made the kid at least 15 years old.
It also feels like this may have been written with the idea of an eventual movie deal. And unfortunately that was the early '90s where films were over produced and the stories created were maybe over dramatized, exaggerated or splashed with a little too much hyperbole.
3.4 stars
Suz
This was just what I wanted, a quick read, some action and a good fast paced storyline. So what if the hero was a 10 year old boy, I enjoyed it! My attention was held throughout, which is my sign of a good read, and the main characters were all likeable. Mark and Reggie were loveable in their own ways, and it was fun seeing the youngster outsmart the thugs and the FBI. I highly recommend this book if you're after an easy read.
Sakshi
4.5 Stars
A story that spans six days.
An eleven-year-old boy who sometimes seems like a terrorist, and then cries like a child. He is a child, though.
A fifty-two-year-old lawyer who has been a lawyer for four years, and wants to do everything to save her client.
A body of a dead senator whose whereabouts were only known to Mark, after a lawyer committed suicide.
A prosecution who would go to any lengths to make the kid talk.
And a mafia who would also go to any lengths to make the kid not talk.
And then what ensues is an eleven-year-old bringing down the Mafia, along with his lawyer, only if they are not dead first.
I wish I could be one percent of what Mark is.
Sumit RK
Neither a court room dram nor a gripping thriller. The climax is really over the top.
Lili Marcus
It all started when Mark Sway (11) took his younger brother Ricky (8) in a secluded part of a park to teach him how to smoke. They were just doing their business when a shiny car arrived and apparently the driver was trying to kill himself and did so by the end. Suddenly Mark along with his brother(who suffers a trauma) became witnesses of not only a suicide of a well-known lawyer, but Mark knows more than that. This is a story of an 11-year old boy caught up in a legal drama too big for himself but he has help. His 52-year old lawyer, Reggie Loves, will do everything to ensure Mark and his family is safe and that he's not being denied with all his rights.
It's no secret that this book is the first real novel that I've ever read my entire reading life. I was eight and because of this book I became a reader and started dreaming of becoming a writer someday. So I might be biased with my rating and I'll tell you why in a moment. this book isn't perfect.
First of all, whatever genre you see on Goodreads listed with this book, do NOT believe it. Because if you go into this book thinking of a wrong genre, you'll be disappointed. This is NOT a legal Thriller, not even a Mystery or Suspense, this book is a plain Legal Drama, period. There's no secret or puzzle, you, as a reader, would try to solve. There is no on-edge-of-the-seat feeling. Okay? And since this is not a whodunit thriller/suspense, I do understand if the story doesn't appeal to everyone. But interesting things happened very early in the book that I can say Grisham doesn't waste his time or mine, and pages. He got on with the juicy parts so early.
But like I said, this book isn't perfect.
It's the plot. What makes it NOT a thriller? because the plot was plain. I'm not gonna call it weak but others might. You see the whole conflict could've been avoided if Mark Sway, our protagonist, told the truth from the very beginning. With little help from other, especially from his amazing lawyer, Reggie, things could've been solved earlier. But I like to think John Grisham really wanted this book to be more character-driven than plotwise, unlike most of his books.
And I must say, he did a great job with it. You see, despite the plot, and that despite the fact that you can guess everything, including the end in 30% mark, you'll still read the whole thing because by then you're already invested on Mark Sway and his lawyer. The moment Mark was introduced in first chapter, I was sold. The opening scene with Mark trying to teach his younger brother how to smoke was just so adorable. Not that I find smoking adorable, but Mark, really, you have no choice but to love him. He's one of the most interesting characters I know.
I just love hearing/reading his thoughts. And I think Mark is top of the reasons why I fell in love with this book before. John Grisham really did a great job introducing his MC in this way. Mark's POV, or voice, is realistic for an 11-year old but his uniqueness is apparent making him more interesting than any other 11-year old. I mean he calls his father, his ex-father. hehe. And the way he thinks of himself as the man in the house so he protects his mother and Ricky seriously.
And as soon as he became the center of this legal drama, my heart went to him completely. His fear is apparent, it broke my heart. He was still smart and strong but that doesn't change the fact that he's just a kid. No matter how many times he said he's mature enough. He's a product of a broken family and of an abusive father but he turned out to be great kid.
Overall, I highly recommend this book. This isn't Grisham's best work(I'll get to that soon as I reread all his books), but you'll enjoy it. Again, mind the genre. be sure you knwo the right genre.
Happy Reading Guys,
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Michael Finocchiaro
I remember when Grisham books were all the rage and surely read this one back in the day but honestly, I remember almost nothing about it. I believe it was your typical adult thriller but with almost no sex (this was the 80s after all) and just the typical jumping the shark kinds of hijinks. I know it because both a film and a TV series based on the idea of toxic waste by powerful companies and the way they attack whistleblowers and that is all great but I honestly don't recall being blown away by the quality of the writing itself.
Summer
I like every book that Grisham wrote, period. This story is about a crazy, just horrible dilemma. Didn't like the movie…but hey, movies are almost always worse than a book, because they cut out a lot of stuff, they change the story plus, you don't have your own imagination portrayed in a movie.
Lobstergirl
An odd book. So unsuspenseful, so bland. No courtroom drama. There aren't even any interesting legal issues involved. An 11-year-old boy (wise beyond his years) and his quinquagenarian lawyer (who is strangely referred to as "cute" several times, once by the boy) spend the whole book trying to avoid having him reveal to the legal system where a body is buried, information he has come by accidentally. At the end, he reveals where the body is buried, making the whole struggle moot. But the killer's punishment is unaddressed, just left for us to assume. None of this would be unforgivably objectionable except that the book at 482 pages is about 200 pages too long. It's not badly written, just too much words.
Nancy Steinle gummel
I had seen the movie years ago so I had a general idea about the book. The book is so much better than the movies. The book goes into so much more detail. It's so life like with the Mob element and how devious the goverment is when trying to pursue their agenda.