John Grisham:  don't dismiss him before you try his new book, Rogue Lawyer

Sebastian Rudd is an unconventional criminal defense attorney.  After having his office fire-bombed, he now operates out of a luxury van complete with work station, leather chairs, a bar and an armory.  He has no work associates other than his driver/assistant/caddy, Partner, and he lives on the 25^th floor of a high rise where he feels safe from those who would seek retribution for a verdict they didn’t like.  These living/working aspects of his life are a clue to the kind of people he usually defends.  He has an acrimonious relationship with Judith, the mother of his child, who is regularly taking him to court to strip him of any visiting rights.  While Rudd is not father material exactly, a fact that he readily admits, he does want a relationship with his son, and this battle continues in the background of various cases in which he is involved throughout the novel, featuring more prominently at one point when his son is kidnapped.  Unlike with most detective fiction, Grisham’s past work included, Rudd juggles several cases at a time and the story has several arcs rather than focusing on just one case – a feature that I liked because it seems more realistic and more interesting.  There’s a whole cast of characters who march through the courtroom:  a drug-addicted, tattooed teenager falsely accused of killing two little girls; a man who is a victim of a botched police home invasion; a death-row criminal who arranges for the murder of a judge; and a young cage fighter who kills a referee in the ring when the fight doesn’t go his way. 

In Rudd, Grisham creates a character who is occasionally unlikeable but who is ultimately sympathetic because his higher moral instincts take over when needed.  While he is willing to take on clients who, in his words, are usually guilty, he both believes that they have a right to a good attorney and he is often paid handsomely by these people.  Grisham uses Rudd as a way to criticize everything from big banks, insurance companies and, most importantly, the judicial system, giving voice to, for example, his clear criticism of a system that  professes to assume innocence but that more often presumes guilt.  The police department in the book’s unnamed city is a hotbed of corruption and Grisham presents pay offs and cover-ups as part of a system that skews justice.  Rudd will bend the rules himself but only if he thinks there is no other way to protect the innocent.

Grisham may be seen as a writer of thrillers that one takes to the beach – and that characterization isn’t entirely wrong – but the quality of his writing has gradually evolved and a reader can appreciate him on multiple levels.  In the past few years, he has tackled hot button issues, revealing their complexities, while creating strong, memorable characters.  Take him to the beach when you pack your bags this summer; you won’t be sorry.