The Litigators [Hardcover]

A thoroughly enjoyable outing from the master of the legal thriller. Our hero, David Zinc, walks out of his high-pressure career in a huge, high-flying law firm; and walks into the firm of Finley & Figg, ambulance-chasers extraordinaire. Oscar, Wally and their secretary Rochelle (to say nothing of the dog) only just manage to keep their heads above water by pursuing injury cases and divorces, and their tactics are not the most ethical. David is a Harvard graduate and son of a judge but has never actually been inside a courtroom. This mismatched group suddenly finds itself handling a potentially massive lawsuit against a major pharmaceutical giant, being represented by David's former employers.

This book is much more light-hearted than some of Grisham's other novels and has lots of humour. Wally dreams of making it rich with one massive settlement, Oscar dreams of being rich enough to divorce his wife, while David dreams of having enough energy left at the end of the working day to start a family with his lovely (and very understanding) wife, Helen.

Well-written, as Grisham's novels always are, this time we get an insight into the distinctly unglamorous and uncertain life of the lower echelons of legal life and while it might not be much fun for the lawyers, it certainly is for us. Despite their flaws, all three of the lawyers are enjoyable characters that we warm to more and more as the book progresses. My only complaint is that Grisham's books are usually stand-alone, so we probably won't get to meet with them again. All the more reason to enjoy this outing. Highly recommended.

A short review: I paid £7 for this and have just read it through in just less than 7 hours. All the main characters are portrayed as decent people especially Mr and Mrs Zinc. As someone else said the ending is easy to guess from about a third of the way in but that does not stop this being a cracking story. If your favourite film is (like me) "A Wonderful Life" I think that there is every chance you'll enjoy reading this. Not a five star effort but well worth four I think !

It pains me to give Mr Grisham anything less than 4/5 stars, in fact I believe its the first time but I have to be honest I was bitterley disappointed in the later part of the book. Don't get me wrong it started off a classic JG, the characters brought in at the right time and what an impact. The drunken lawyer David and Rochelle had me turning page after page with relish in those early stages. The heart attack of old Oscar and his partner's unforgettable one liner to the jury had me laughing out loud, surely the funniest the master of courtroom drama has arguably came up with. Don't get me wrong JG is still there in nearly all his glory but MAN!!!! the ending was so disappointing. I'm not the sort of reviewer who reveals the plot in a review and I'm not going to start now but the ending was predictable 20,000 words out. I read on thinking surely a masterful twist will start and develop soon. It didn't. Better work next time Mr G I have every confidence in you. One tiny gripe was the price I paid for the Kindle Edition... £10.99. Disgraceful Hodder & S! No print costs or shipping, hang your head in shame. I won't ever be paying that for an ebook again, not even for JG.