Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

What you'll get in this one: the snappy characterizations and plot twists that make Grisham's legal thrillers so irresistible to his loyal fans. I received my book in the wee hours of release day, and stayed up reading the entire novel. It was too good to put down. Grisham wisely keeps readers guessing about how lawyer Malcolm Bannister may pull off a revenge scheme. I was hooked as soon as I grasped the basic plot. But this doesn't mean The Racketeer is flawless.. It took awhile for me to become fully engaged with the book -- mainly because Grisham took his time revealing crucial details and spent awhile describing prison life. Some of that is interesting and adds depth. But parts of the novel lagged for me. The Racketeer starts off with lawyer Malcolm Bannister describing his basic situation: he has been sent to prison for 10 years based on a sentence "handed down by a weak and sanctimonious federal judge in Washington, DC". I'm not giving away anything here because that info is revealed on the first page of my edition of this book (Kindle). Bannister has tried every appeal available. His wife, initially supportive, has left him. He misses his son. In short, his life is grim and depressing. Bannister can't imagine being incarcerated for 10 years, and he is desperate to get out. The reason he is in jail constitutes "a long story." but he is convinced he has been convicted of a crime he had "no knowledge of committing" (he does, however, admit to naivite' and stupidity which helped lead to his downfall). The rest of the details in the early half of The Racketeer mainly involved Bannister's carefully constructed plan to get out of prison, starting with info he knows about the murder of federal judge Raymond Fawcett. He says he knows who murdered the judge - and why. This is where I started to become intrigued, trying to figure out what if Bannister's plan will succeed- and anticipating the inevitable plot twists along the way. I also wanted to know how his conviction was connected to the murder of the judge. Bannister's exclusive information is what he plans to use as leverage. That's when I became impatient for Grisham to cut to the chase. But because of his writing style, still above par for many legal thrillers, I couldn't put The Racketeer down. Grisham doesn't give everything away at once. Information is revealed chapter by chapter. I wanted to know more. And I'm betting other readers will feel the same. I am not going to reveal any more about The Racketeer because I think there is enough info here to either interest potential readers and help them decide whether the book is of interest or not. I don't want to add spoilers or plot twists.