Malcolm Bannister is half way through a 10-year prison sentence
for a crime he didn’t commit. A former lawyer with a small firm in his hometown
of Winchester, Virginia, he was duped into handling a real estate transaction for
an unknown client who, it turned out, was Barry “The Backhander” Rafko, a
sleazy D. C. operative who was essentially looking for a way to launder some
money. When Rafko went down on racketeering charges, the Feds threw a wide net which
caught Bannister and several others.
Bannister’s good fortune, if you can call it that, came with
eventual assignment to a federal detention camp, where there are no walls
topped with razor wire, or armed guards in observation towers. His job was the
camp librarian, and he worked limited hours as a jailhouse lawyer for fellow
inmates who just knew they should be on the outside.
One morning, Bannister sees a headline in the Washington Post reporting the murder of
a federal judge from Roanoke, Virginia. The game is on.
In The Racketeer,
Grisham weaves together enough story threads for a 1000-count sheet, and the
tale comes together oh so smoothly. He drops little nuggets like breadcrumbs as
he leads the reader down the path of Bannister’s life and of the people who
cross his.
I’ve read all of Grisham’s books. He offers a wide range, from violent and tense, to sentimental and heart-warming. I'd have to describe this one as just plain fun. It’s full of legal references and maneuvering, and more twists than a corkscrew, but is laid back in
tone. With short sections, shifts in focus, and alternating points of view, The Racketeer doesn’t have an
opportunity to become bogged down by lengthy narrative. Just be sure to pick it
up when you have time to give it your full attention. Enjoy the game.
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