The Whistler by John Grisham

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER ? A high-stakes thrill ride through the darkest corners of the Sunshine State, from the author hailed as the best thriller writer alive by Ken Follett We expect our judges to be honest and wise. Their integrity and impartiality are the bedrock of the entire judicial system. We trust them to ensure fair trials, to protect the rights of all litigants, to punish those who do wrong, and to oversee the orderly and efficient flow of justice. But what happens when a judge bends the law or takes a bribe? It's rare, but it happens. Lacy Stoltz is an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct. She is a lawyer, not a cop, and it is her job to respond to complaints dealing with judicial misconduct. After nine years with the Board, she knows that most problems are caused by incompetence, not corruption. But a corruption case eventually crosses her desk. A previously disbarred lawyer is back in business with a new identity. He now goes by the name Greg Myers, and he claims to know of a Florida judge who has stolen more money than all other crooked judges combined. And not just crooked judges in Florida. All judges, from all states, and throughout U.S. history. What's the source of the ill-gotten gains? It seems the judge was secretly involved with the construction of a large casino on Native American land. The Coast Mafia financed the casino and is now helping itself to a sizable skim of each month's cash. The judge is getting a cut and looking the other way. It's a sweet deal: Everyone is making money. But now Greg wants to put a stop to it. His only client is a person who knows the truth and wants to blow the whistle and collect millions under Florida law. Greg files a complaint with the Board on Judicial Conduct, and the case is assigned to Lacy Stoltz, who immediately suspects that this one could be dangerous. Dangerous is one thing. Deadly is something else. Don't miss John Grisham's new book, THE EXCHANGE: AFTER THE FIRM! Editorial Reviews ...riveting...Grisham has been criticized for not writing strong female characters, but [Lacy] Stoltz is finely drawn...[The Whistler] feels...like the first half of an episode of Law & Order, with much of the story focused on Stoltz and her crime-fighting squad as they snoop around gated communities and golf courses, chasing a basket of Florida deplorables who would make Carl Hiaasen proud. As ever, Grisham sprinkles The Whistler with sharp observations about lawyers. - The New York Times Book Review - Peter Lattman John Grisham has now written 29 legal thrillers and fought harder for truth, justice and the American way than anyone this side of Superman. His values don't change, and neither do his tactics, but the Grisham formula hasn't gotten old. Or older. When he's on his game, as he is with his latest, The Whistler, it really works. - The New York Times - Janet Maslin 09/12/2016 Lawyer Lacy Stolz, the heroine of this tense legal thriller from bestseller Grisham (Rogue Lawyer), investigates complaints against judges for the Florida Board on Judicial Misconduct. In her nine years on the job, there has never been any danger in her assignments; the justices are often more incompetent than corrupt. Everything changes when Stolz and a colleague, Hugo Hatch, meet with a disbarred lawyer, who--eager to collect a whistleblower's reward--has evidence of corruption unlike anything they have ever handled. A judge in the pocket of the Coast Mafia has spent years skimming millions from a Native American-owned casino. At least three people have been murdered to cover up the graft, and an innocent man sits on death row, but few are willing to help Stolz and Hatch expose the corruption. The casino keeps the money flowing, and stepping forward could be deadly. A lead brings Stolz and Hatch onto tribal land, where they find themselves caught in a trap. A high-stakes game of gambling, greed, and murder plays out in another page-turner from a master storyteller. (Oct.) - Publishers Weekly 05/15/2016 I can't tell you the plot of this latest from Grisham, who consistently plays his cards close to his vest on such issues. Just expect what Grisham has always delivered. - Library Journal 2016-10-19 I started dreaming of getting rich, which, in Florida anyway, can lead to serious trouble: another blockbuster in the making from Grisham (Rogue Lawyer, 2015, etc.), the ascended master of the legal procedural.If justice is blind, it is also served, in theory, by incorruptible servants. Emphasize in theory, for as Grisham's latest opens, judicial investigator Lacy Stoltz is confronted with the unpleasant possibility that a highly regarded judge may be on the take. The charge comes, discreetly, from a former lawyer-turned-jailbird-turned-lawyer again, who spins out a seemingly improbable tale of racketeering that weds the best elements of Gulf Coast society with the worst, from the brilliant legal minds of Tallahassee to some very unpleasant lads once styled as the Catfish Mafia, now reborn in an alt-version, the Coast Mafia. Lacy's brief is to find out just how rotten the rotten judge is--and the answer is plenty. Naturally, this knowledge is not acquired without cost; the body count rises, bad things happen to good people, and for a time, at least, the villains get away with murder and more. Grisham has never been strong on characterization: Lacy, we learn, is content to be single, to live alone, to sleep in the center of the bed, to clean up only after herself, and so forth, but beyond that the reader doesn't get much sense of what drives her to put herself in the way of flying bullets and sneering counsel: His associate was Ian Archer, an unsmiling sort who refused to shake hands with anyone and reeked of surliness. In laid-back Florida? Indeed, and in Grisham's busy hands, a lot of players come and go, some fated to sleep with the manatees. Yes, it's formula. Yes, it's not as gritty an exercise in swamp mayhem as Hiaasen, Buchanan, or Crews might turn in. But, like eating a junk burger, even though you probably shouldn't, it's plenty satisfying. - Kirkus Reviews Riveting . . . finely drawn . . . The Whistler centers on an elaborate conspiracy involving an Indian reservation, an organized crime syndicate and a crooked judge skimming a small fortune from the tribal casino's monthly haul.--The New York Times Book Review A main character who's a seriously appealing woman . . . a whistle-blower who secretly calls attention to corruption . . . a strong and frightening sense of place . . . Grisham's on his game.--Janet Maslin, The New York Times A fascinating look at judicial corruption . . . an entirely convincing story and one of Grisham's best. I can't think of another major American novelist since Sinclair Lewis who has so effectively targeted social and political ills in our society. In Grisham's case, it is time at least to recognize that at his best he is not simply the author of entertaining legal thrillers but an important novelistic critic of our society. In more than 30 novels, he has often used his exceptional storytelling skills to take a hard look at injustice and corruption in the legal world and in our society as a whole.--Patrick Anderson, The Washington Post Grisham's latest involves the rich and powerful and an abuse of the justice system. Grisham novels are crowd-pleasers because he knows how to satisfy readers who want to see injustice crushed, and justice truly prevails for those who cannot buy influence.--Associated Press Grisham has become an institution. For more than 25 years now he's been our guide to the byways and backwaters of our legal system, superb in particular at ferreting out its vulnerabilities and dramatizing their abuse in gripping style. He excels at describing injustice and corruption. Grisham's legal knowledge is impressive, and his ability to convey it unparalleled in popular fiction.--USA Today - From the Publisher The venerable author is at it again in this legal thriller about two good guys who hold the key to a corruption ring that involves a high-ranking state employee and a Native American-owned casino. Narrator Cassandra Campbell keeps up a good pace and varies her tone as she portrays the myriad characters. Without using accents she ensures that listeners can keep the cast straight as the pair of investigators find themselves with targets on their backs. Campbell capably handles the plot twists-and there are a few-that pop up along the way. It's worth listening to find out how the case works out, though Grisham's ending seems a bit rushed. M.B. AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine - JANUARY 2017 - AudioFile