John Grisham - The Appeal

I returned to Grisham reluctantly. His recent books have been self-indulgent exercises.The reviews had given me hope this would be different. Well, after a slow beginning, overly weighted with anti-corporate diatribes he does deliver a good story with a plausible ending. Ultimately, there are no true villains and heroes, just people.

Book description -

John Grisham was reportedly the best-selling author of the 1990s, and The Appeal, his 20th novel, will likely be yet another massive commercial success. Unlike some of his previous legal thrillers, however, this work has managed to garner an impressive amount of critical respect as well. Although a few reviewers found Grisham's characters one dimensional, his plot hackneyed, and his writing poor, most saw much to admire in the author's convincing and scathing portrayal of judicial corruption. As the Los Angeles Times opined, [I]n this presidential election year, [The Appeal is] a far more blunt, accurate and plain-spoken indictment of our contemporary political system's real failings than you're likely to find anywhere on the nonfiction lists. The verdict: it's informative and compelling, but it's still Grisham.