The Racketeer by John Grisham

John Grisham’s books mostly have a story that circles around fugitives, victims and runaways but this time around in “The Racketeer” the readers will find a bit of a change from the usual storyline. The main character of this book is Malcolm Bannister aka Mal who has the nerve to defy law and authority and is often found mocking the federal investigators in his own style as he says, “There is simply no section of your vast federal code that you can possibly use against me.”

The Racketeer - a new approach

The Racketeer by John Grisham

John Grisham’s “The Racketeer” sure is an unusual change from all of his other books as it is not written to promote justice and teach lessons about it but rather it has a much more deceitful and tricky aura about it. At the start readers might find it going on the same track as the other Grisham books where a lawyer finds himself in the middle of a legal trouble but the story takes a twist and becomes much more exciting as Mal takes control and sends his pursuers on a wild chase.

The story starts with Mal being a convict who used to be a lawyer and found himself in a serious situation when he was accused of being involved in racketeering and fraud alongside a crooked dealer known as Barry the Backhander. Although Mal didn’t deliberately violate the RICO law but he was sentenced for 10 years for it due to the involvement of his law firm in one of Barry’s real estate transactions. Unlike the other Grisham stories this book has a more conniving touch to it and tells us the story of Mal as he hones his skills while spending five years as a jailhouse lawyer and then uses his brains to create a brilliant scheme to take revenge. The readers will be delighted to see the change from Grisham’s nonfiction books “The Innocent Man” and “The Confession” as “The Racketeer” is not a story about the courtroom justice triumph or failure. The plot in this case is set around a legal and official principle which is known as Rule 35. Rule 35 is part of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and is a loophole according to which there can be a reduction of the sentence period in case the suspect provides “substantial assistance in investigating or prosecuting another person.”

Grisham’s way of using the Rule 35 in order to make the story full of adventure and suspense is surely going to keep the readers hooked to the book. 

Just another great John Grisham book

John Grisham

The author’s main character always does things a few step ahead of the story and it will keep the readers guessing his plans until they unfold themselves as the story moves on. One of the most interesting and enjoyable aspects of the story include Mal’s impersonation of a documentary filmmaker which is the highlight of the book for sure and a real delight for the readers.“The Racketeer” uses various ways to outwit the FBI and disrupt financial systems and the readers will just have to keep on reading till the end to find out if crime pays and justice is served or not.