This was my very first book that I've read by John Grisham, and I absolutely loved it, I really like his writing style and the book just really seems to drag you right into the story. I had never heard of Grisham until I had seen the movie The Client with Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones, and I've watched the movie several times, and my mom told me that the movie was based on a novel by John Grisham and she said he writes courtroom dramas. The book was excellent and very easy to follow, great characters and a lot of suspense and edge of your seat moments. A real page turner.

One of Grisham's scariest books. It's not an easy task to put small children into such a powerful and almost adult role, but it works so well here. Some advice? Don't read this before you go to bed.

Love Grisham's early work especially. Characterization is always uppermost in my mind and he does a great job. Read it awhile back and then took it on vacation again to read. That is my highest endorsement.

Always surprised about how few Grisham’s I have read. Especially when they all have been excellent. This one was no different. Story about a young boy - imagine Kevin from Home Alone. He witnesses a suicide. But before the death is told the location of a buried body. FBI are trying to indict a Mafia man - Barry the Blade. But need to find the body. The boy hires a Lawyer to protect him - Reggie Love. Action packed and fast paced. Terrific read.

Eleven year old Mark, after a traumatic altercation with a man hellbent on killing himself, knows the location of a murdered senator, information that only the mafia killer himself, knows! Mark, his young brother, his single-mum and their maverick woman lawyer not only have to navigate around the lethal intentions of the mafia, but the determined FBI and courts that are desperate for that information!

This is a remarkable commercial book in so many ways from the multi-faceted not-at-all-stereotypical characters through to such a well though out lead in the eleven year old, so well defining and balancing the vulnerability and the precociousness of a child that young! The story itself is an unrelenting siege on Mark and his family by people that want to either silence him or force him to testify. I am very much enjoying my first time journey into the worlds of Grisham so far. An 8 out of 12 Four Star read for me.

2024 read

Murder,the mob and an eleven year old kid,this is a Grisham thriller with a humorous touch.

Mark is an eleven year old kid,who lives with his mother and brother in a trailer.He witnesses the suicide of a mafia lawyer,who tells him an explosive secret before he dies.

A US senator is missing.Is he even alive and if not,where is the body ? Mark now knows something that both the FBI and the mafia are interested in finding out.

As the pressure on him increases,he succeeds in finding a female lawyer who specializes in helping abused children.Combined with Mark's own resourcefulness,will she be able to extricate him from the mess he finds himself in ?

Fairly interesting,but as usual for Grisham, longish.

I had seen the movie years ago so I had a general idea about the book. The book is so much better than the movies. The book goes into so much more detail. It's so life like with the Mob element and how devious the goverment is when trying to pursue their agenda.

Grisham has a way of writing a real page-turner. This was one of those books that I just couldn't put down. The suspense was intense, and the story was good.

When I finished the last page, and I finally did put it down, I couldn't help thinking I had just wasted my time. I mean, I was thoroughly entertained for every minute of the book, but when I was done, I was left with nothing but the memories of my entertainment.

Good book, excellent author, but lacking in anything real. I've read 4 Grisham novels... sometimes I just want to be entertained, I guess. If that's what you're looking for, then Grisham is your man. Pick any of his books. They're all the same.

The movie was okay. This is probably one of Grisham's weaker books, but I'm not that good of a judge. If you want 2 hours of great entertainment, watch the movie. If you want more than that, read the book.

Just like Grisham's novels, each of my reviews of his novels is almost identical to the last with only certain details changed to give it a new flavor.
Go ahead Grisham, sue me. Then, you can write a story about it.

Really had a good time reading this one. Very good story from start to finish.

This was my first introduction to John Grisham and to crime thrillers in general. It was a good book, with excellent writing and dialogue. It wasn’t a nail-biting - stay up all night – race through kind of book, but it did have some suspense and most importantly, a satisfactory finish.

tThe Client is about an eleven year old named Mark Sway and his little brother Ricky witnessing a suicide. Before the man killed himself he told Mark information about a murder case that was being looked at. Marks brother goes into shock from the suicide and he has to stay in the hospital for a while. Mark does not know if he should tell the FBI the information he received or not because he is scared for his family’s lives and his own. The Client takes place in a small town in Memphis. Mark is a poor kid who lives with his mom and his brother in a small trailer. The conflict in this story is internal. Mark has to decide if he wants to tell the FBI his story or to keep it to himself so he can maybe save his life and the lives of the people around him.
One of the Strengths of the writing in this book was that it was always something that you would want to keep reading, it was also a book that you can read quickly. One of the weaknesses was that the author would skip from one part of the story to the next. First he would talk about mark and say what is happening with him, and then switch to talking with the FBI and how they would get Mark to talk. I liked this book because there was something to make you want to read more right at the beginning when the man kills himself.
I recommend this book to someone that likes different things about court and to people that like ongoing action.
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Un thriller contundente que sabe cómo cautivar y someter al lector desde sus primeros párrafos con un efectivo dominio de la acción y del drama judicial. Grisham hace un despliegue de destreza narrativa en la composición de esta historia sobre un niño que atestigua un suicidio y que acaba inmiscuido en un peligroso caso criminal que lo pondrá en la mira no sólo de la mafia sino también del fbi. ¿Qué puede hacer una criatura de 11 años con un secreto? ¿Qué están dispuestos a hacer otros por sacarle la verdad? El autor no decepciona con sus respuestas a estas preguntas.

Mark, el joven protagonista que interrumpe en la escena de suicidio de un famoso abogado de la mafia y que acaba siendo, contra su voluntad, receptor de un secreto que le trastornará la vida y que le convertirá en objeto de persecuciones, amenazas y hostigamiento policial en su condición de agente clave en la resolución de un caso que moviliza a los más altos estratos de la justicia. Solo, o casi, con un hermano menor en estado de shock post traumático, una madre recluida en una sala de hospital al cuidado de su hijo menor y una nueva, insólita aliada en la forma de la abogada Reggie Love, acabará plantándole cara a las fuerzas policiacas, a los matones y a cualquiera que lo haya subestimado. Es un niño, sí, pero es también un personaje complejo, con traumas, angustias, una forzosa madurez a causa de sus experiencias de vida y una imperturbable inocencia que aún lucha por prevalecer.

Reggie Love, la otra gran protagonista de esta historia, encarna toda la bondad y generosidad de quien batalla por la justicia incluso conociendo los costados injustos de ésta en un feroz intento por robarle a la vida un poco de dignidad para los más pequeños o más vulnerados. Es un personaje astuto, valiente e irremediablemente querible que pisa fuerte desde un comienzo y que logra una entrañable química con el niño que elige proteger.

La novela es extensa, sí, pero no es jamás tediosa. Su estructura es ágil, su desenvolvimiento por el mundo policial accesible y sus motivaciones lo suficientemente válidas y creíbles para mantener a la historia andando. Hay miedo, a la muerte, a la justicia, a perjudicar a seres queridos, a que lo peor de los seres humanos venza. Hay acción, hay afecto, hay interesantes argumentos y hay una prosa lo bastante cuidada y sencilla como para que cualquiera pueda gozarla.