Book Review / The Street Lawyer by John Grisham

Michael was in a hurry. He was scrambling up the ladder at Drake & Sweeney, a giant D.C. law firm with eight hundred lawyers. The money was good and getting better; a partnership was three years away. He was a rising star with no time to waste, no time to stop, no time to toss a few coins into the cups of panhandlers. No time for a conscience.


But a violent encounter with a homeless man stopped him cold. Michael survived; his assailant did not. Who was this man? Michael did some digging, and learned that he was a mentally ill veteran who'd been in and out of shelters for many years. Then Michael dug a little deeper, and found a dirty secret, and the secret involved Drake & Sweeney.


The fast track derailed; the ladder collapsed. Michael bolted the firm and took a top-secret file with him. He landed in the streets, an advocate for the homeless, a street lawyer.

Published:     26th April 2005
Publisher:  Doubleday
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Owned

MY REVIEW

Back when I was a lot younger and this book had first come out, this was the first book I read written by John Grisham and for a long time this has always been on my list of favourite books of all time.  I always get nervous when I go to re-read a favourite book.  I find that as I get older my reading tastes change, meaning that what was once my favourite might not be the same now.

Reading this now just took me back to when I was reading it the first time.  I loved it.  You have the perfect combination of corruption and moral righteousness.  We follow Michael who at the start of the book is a high powered lawyer working in a high powered law firm.  One day all that changes when a homeless man comes into the law firm and holds him and a few colleagues ransom.  What follows is a mixture of figuring out the truth behind a moral situation and watching Michael as he rethinks everything.

If you have not yet picked up a John Grisham novel, this would be the perfect book to start with.

Book Review / Last Seen by Lucy Clark

In a small seaside community, there’s always somebody watching…

Twisty, pacy, and superbly plotted, Last Seen is the perfect psychological page-turner for fans of Clare Mackintosh and Sabine Durrant.

Seven years ago, two boys went missing at sea – and only one was brought to shore. The Sandbank, a remote stretch of coast dotted with beach huts, was scarred forever.

Sarah’s son survived, but on the anniversary of the accident, he disappears without trace. As new secrets begin to surface, The Sandbank hums with tension and unanswered questions. Sarah’s search grows more desperate and she starts to mistrust everyone she knows – and she’s right to.

Someone saw everything on that fateful day seven years ago. And they’ll do anything to keep the truth buried.

Published:     19th May 2017
Publisher:  Harper
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Bought

MY REVIEW

This book had me on  the edge of my seat for the majority of the way through!!  I just could not put it down!  What a great book to bring me back out of a little bit of a reading slump.

This book has many different layers to it.  Firstly, you have the story of the tragedy that happened seven years ago, were two boys went swimming but only one came back.  You don't find out too much of that story and only learn bits and pieces of this all the way through until the very end.  You then have the story of two friends (the mothers of the two sons from the tragedy seven years ago).  You see their story from back  before they had children, through the tragedy and to the present day.  You then have the story of Jacob (who is the son of Sarah who survived the tragedy), seeing him trying to cope with what happened in the past and also learn to deal with what he is going through in the present day.

It does not happen very often where a book surprises me.  Not only did this story surprise me once, but twice!  I completely did not see the plot twists coming in this book and I loved it!  I cannot recommend this book or this author enough!

Book Review / The Partner by John Grisham

They watched Danilo Silva for days before they finally grabbed him. He was living alone, a quiet life on a shady street in Brazil; a simple life in a modest home, certainly not one of luxury. Certainly no evidence of the fortune they thought he had stolen. He was much thinner and his face had been altered. He spoke a different language, and spoke it very well.

But Danilo had a past with many chapters. Four years earlier he had been Patrick Lanigan, a young partner in a prominent Biloxi law firm. He had a pretty wife, a new daughter, and a bright future. Then one cold winter night Patrick was trapped in a burning car and died a horrible death. When he was buried his casket held nothing more than his ashes.

From a short distance away, Patrick watched his own burial. Then he fled. Six weeks later, a fortune was stolen from his ex-law firm's offshore account. And Patrick fled some more.

But they found him.

Published:     26th April 2005
Publisher:  Doubleday
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Owned

MY REVIEW

This was my first time reading this story and I loved it!  I have been slowing reading my way through John Grisham's books, starting from the very first one he wrote and published and I was looking forward to getting to this one as it was the first one on the list that I had not read yet.

What I liked the most was the fact that you are introduced to the main character, Danilo, at the start of the book and follow his journey throughout.  We slowly get to figure out who he is and what he was supposedly done.  I found it interesting to follow this character and also to follow the different organisations as they also investigate what is going on.

I have to be honest and say that I did see the ending coming but that was fine, for me the joy of reading this story was the journey rather than the destination.