Malcolm Bannister was a small-town lawyer until a bad real estate deal
connected him to a criminal conspiracy and landed him in federal prison
for a crime he didn't (knowingly) commit. When a federal judge is
murdered and the FBI has no leads, Malcolm reveals that he knows who
killed him, but only if the government agrees to release him and give
him full immunity and a new identity. What follows is an intricate game
of leverage, deception, and revenge as Malcolm manipulates the FBI,
federal prosecutors, and the real killers, all while concealing an even
larger scheme of his own. Each revelation upends what seemed certain,
and Malcolm proves himself several steps ahead of everyone trying to use
him.
Grisham here moves from his typical milieu, the courtroom,
to try his hand at the caper and confidence game, with mixed results.
The novel is less concerned with legal arguments than with strategy,
hidden motives, and carefully timed revelations. Malcolm is an
intriguing narrator: intelligent, patient, and morally flexible.
However, Grisham also occasionally switches to a third-person omniscient
narrator, so he can keep various revelations hidden until it suits him,
repeatedly forcing the reader to reassess what they thought they
understood. The excitement in the novel comes from watching Malcolm
outmaneuver institutions that believe they hold all the power. I wasn't
overmuch impressed with this book, however. The secondary characters
beyond Malcolm are more functional than memorable. Most FBI agents,
prosecutors, and secondary figures exist primarily to move the machinery
of the plot, and the emotional stakes never run especially deep. But
the main reason for my lukewarm reception is that narly everything in
the book strains credulity. The plot relies heavily on coincidence,
unlikely events, and highly questionable reactions on the part of law
enforcement. As Grisham writes in his author's note, "almost nothing in
the previous 340 odd pages is based on reality." This is an
understatement. It's a two-star plot, bumped to three stars due to
Grisham's easy, readable style that keeps the pages turning.
three stars
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