Book Review: The Litigators by John Grisham

Written by Dan Malone

I must confess that I swore off reading any more John Grisham novels. Grisham was one of my favourite authors for the longest time – and the first book I ever read after kids/teen fiction was The Client.

I quickly read all other Grisham books he had written, then was an avid purchaser of all John Grisham books every year. However I felt Grisham peaked with the King of Torts. I felt the Last Juror and the Broker were weak. The Associate left me highly disappointed as it built up very well and then completely fizzled out at the end.

What really turned me off Grisham was The Appeal and The Confession. I felt John Grishams political views and agendas came across way too strong in those books, and it really turned me off.

However I received The Litigators as a Christmas gift, and decided I might as well go through it.

Honestly, it wasn’t too bad at all.

I’m not saying it was great – not by any means. It wasn’t like one of Grishams earlier novels where you just can’t put it down. It goes at a very slow, relaxed pace which is like many of Grishams books lately.

It also seems to actually be a combination of two separate books. There are two stories in one with The Litigators – you have the small law firm that is trying to get rich via flimsy mass tort cases. Then you have the young lawyer who leaves the big company, and starts unemployed and from scratch with this small law firm.

It really felt like a thrown-together combination of The King of Torts and The Street Lawyer.

That’s not to say it was bad. It was an enjoyable story, and it was refreshing seeing two different stories merged into one large ongoing one. All the characters were developed fairly well, even if the book is very predictable in story.

Grishams political viewpoints are kept to a minimum as well, which was good.

Overall, The Litigators is a solid enough book. It’s not something I’d put on my “must-read” list, but I’d recommend getting around to it if you’re a Grisham fan.