Caution: spoiler.

I always like Grisham's books in spite of the cartoonish political spin (Republicans uniformly evil; Democrats caring, sensitive, kind). This, his fourth book, was surely not one of his best, but only because there is a mile-wide hole in the plot. The solution to the dilemma of little Mark -- who possesses the secret of where the Senator's body is buried
-- was so overwhelmingly clear within the first 100 pages that each successive machination of Reggie's, each attempt to protect and shield him variously from the mob, the FBI, and the evil Republican prosecutor, became more and more frustrating (but funnier) as the book wore on. How could a clever writer like John Grisham have missed it? How could his clever editors not have noticed?

It's simple: When Mark first dumped his secret on Reggie, she could have (and should have, and any smart lawyer would have) simply said, "Mark, you don't need a lawyer. And you don't have to talk face to face with the police or the FBI. All you have to do is make an anonymous phone call to the FBI (or the New Orleans police, or the Attorney General's office, or all three), and tell them where the body is buried. They will ask you who you are. You will tell them that you won't say because you are afraid the mafia will kill you. Then just hang up. (Alternatively, if Reggie is afraid that police might connect the young voice of the anonymous caller with the young boy who saw the suicide and was being interviewed by them, she could simply have had her secretary, Clint, make the call -- or make it herself). No law-breaking; no obstruction of justice; no detention; no court proceedings, nada.

Of course, there is no book either if Reggie does the smart thing. But then there would also not have been a million readers who saw the obvious hole in the story and said, "What was John Grisham thinking of?"

Tidvis spennende, men boka var for lang slik at det var vanskelig å opprettholde interessen.

The central conflict in this novel is an utterly stupid ‘illogical plot development’ and an “unbelievable character choice” plot hole. Kid finds guy. Guy tells kid where Senators body was buried by the mob. Guy commits suicide. Kid (who is 11) refuses to tell anyone, hires a lawyer and acts like a punk.

“Hello!! Just tell the cops where the body is!!”

That’s it. Story over. The kid is only in danger because he has a secret, no secret no danger. Story over.

Seriously the stupidest plot I may have ever read. I stopped reading in full angry annoyance after it jumped the shark and was surfing a jellyfish to never-land (around page 100)

The Client, John Grisham
The Client (1993) is a legal thriller written by American author John Grisham, set mostly in Memphis, Tennessee and New Orleans, Louisiana. It is Grisham's fourth novel.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: ماه اکتبر سال 2009 میلادی
عنوان: موکل؛ نویسنده: جان گریشام؛ مترجم: هادی عادلپور؛ تهران، کوشش، 1373؛ در 512 ص؛
عنوان: موکل خطرناک؛ نویسنده: جان گریشام؛ مترجم: محمد قصاع؛ تهران، البرز، 1373؛ در 472 ص؛:
عنوان: موکل؛ نویسنده: جان گریشام؛ مترجم: قیطاس مردانی راد؛ تهران، سروش، 1376؛ در 623 ص؛ شابک: 9644352866؛
کتاب «موکل»، با عنوان «موکل خطرناک»، در: 473 صفحه، توسط نشر البرز نیز، منتشر شده است. داستان درباره «مایک» پسرکی یازده ساله، و برادرش «ریکی» است که ناخواسته شاهد خودکشی مردی در علفزارهای کنار خانه خویش هستند، «مایک» به دلیل شرایط سخت زندگی، خود را پشتیبان مادر، و برادر کوچکترش میداند، او برای نجات مرد نیز سعی میکند، اما، گیر میافتد. مرد تصمیم میخواهد که در پایان لحظات عمرش، تنها به سوی مرگ نرود، او میخواهد «مایک» نیز، همراهش باشد. مرد از راز قتل یکی از سناتورهای امریکایی، توسط موکل خویش پرده برمیدارد، و به «مایک» میگوید: موکلش جنازه آن سناتور را، که کل ایالت به دنبالش هستند، زیر پارکینگ خانه او، دفن کرده است! از آن لحظه به بعد، «مایک» اطلاعاتی پیدا میکند، که زندگی کودکانه و ساده او را، وارد بازی خطرناکی با پلیس و مافیا میکند. ا. شربیانی

Nostalgic re-read of a book I read many times as a kid. Probably more like 3.5 stars, but a 5 in my heart. A book from 1993 is kinda a perfect pandemic read.

De este autor sólo había leído La tapadera y le puse 4 estrellas. Este repite la nota.

Creo que todo el mundo conoce al autor y al tipo de novelas que hace : tipo intriga con mafia y juicios. Aquí de intriga poco, lo único ver como va desarrollando la trama. Eso sí, mafia, juicios, abogados, fiscales y FBI los tienes todo el rato.

Las cuatro estrellas son apuradas porque sus personajes no me convencen para nada, intriga poca....pero quieres seguir leyendo.

La cosa va de un crío que conoce un secreto y la mafia no quiere que lo cuente y el fiscal obviamente necesita saberlo y presionan al chaval -11 añitos - entre unos y otros y hay abogados y jueces e por medio. Parece ser que esto debe de ser "puro Grisham".

Me reafirmo en lo que dije en la review del anterior: le mantengo como fondo de armario pero no me emociona. Este sería un gran aspirante a esas famosas 3,5 estrellas que GR no tiene.

I love the easy way that John Grisham writes. So easy to get into and the characters and plot are beautifully crafted.
This book was no different, admittedly I felt that after such a strong opening to the book it faltered a little before reaching the climax.

I'm usually a fan of John Grisham books but this was kind of a bore. Its based around an 11 year old boy who acts, thinks, and speaks as if he is a 30 something year old man. Is it just me or did some readers also get frustrated towards the end of the book?

I could not get into this one. I didn't care about the characters and it just seemed cheesy.

So far in my life I’ve avoided reading airport thrillers with glossy raised lettering on their jackets. But when a friendly lady handed me this famous tome at the close of a recent book discussion meeting where I was a newcomer and said, “Here. Take it, it’s yours,” I did. I was a little curious about it by then, having just listened to eleven “mature” gals at the neighborhood Senior Center dissect it lightly for an hour.

A day or two later I opened it, scanned the flap, looked at the few scribbles on a scrap I’d made while the ladies gabbed, and decided what the heck. Surprise! This book turned out to be a welcome escape from my usual printed preferences and not bad at all.

Penned in 1993 by a light-bearded attorney, it is, of course, lengthy, complex, and lawyerly. It stars an impossibly-brilliant eleven-year old boy and a huge hyperbolic cast of FBI agents, mafia goons, lawyers, judges, and a terrified divorcee mother and little brother. As I read I had the occasional feeling the whole thing was a spoof; it was that intense.

And, naturally, it was made into a movie.

The female seniors weren’t as favorable about The Client as I am. Their conversation wandered near the end of the hour to other topics, but I’m glad I attended and listened to their comments. After all, you never can tell about a book from its cover.

The youtube audio is incomplete...don't waste your time. The recording is missing roughly three hours of the novel. What I read is vintage Grisham, gotta find another version. Feel like I lost a pet.

I haven’t not been able to put a book down like this in a while. I loved rooting for Mark while also coming to terms with the reality that his life, if he escapes with it, will change forever.