Book Review: The Associate

Novel: The Associate
Author: John Grisham

***/5

"The Tedious Job"

The premise is set in the back cover itself. Blackmail to intimidate and coerce. What is an honest man to do in such a situation? The premise takes off well in the initial chapters. Then on the story is engaging intermittently but not the kind of thrill promised in the cover. The characters are believable, especially so because Grisham delves deeper than surface introductions. The characters have a life and we get to read about it. This pulls us deeper into the story and adds dramatic storytelling.

Yet for all this the thrill of the plot is disappointing as it progresses. The bad guys are forever in the shadows and the good guys are chasing shadows.

The end was disappointing to me as it leaves the protagonist’s future with a question mark. The suggestion of some possible organization more secretive and powerful than FBI & CIA & NSA is also unconvincing in its presentation. It’s a readable fast read. Pick it up if you love Grisham’s stories about lawyers. And if you are new to it, it’s still a fair novel for killing time as you go through the protagonist’s life from January to December.

In the end the tedious job of Kyle in New York is tedious to read about for us.