The Associate

John Grisham is one of the few authors who I buy in hardback as soon as the book is released. His latest novel, The Associate, was no exception. I've been doing this for at least the last ten years and I have read every book he has published. I have voiced my dissapointment with the downhill slide of his stories of legal intrigue over the years and expressed my desire that he write more unique novels. His novels, A Painted House, Playing for Pizza, and The Bleachers are some of my favorites. I don't know if the pressure of turning out a new novel every year is to blame or if the legal thriller is just what he knows how to do best. I think it is possible every good legal themed thriller/story has been written and it is time to move on to other subject matter. The Associate just further proves my point.

First off, The Associate is hardly a thriller. It is filled with intrigue but lacks suspense and certainly contains no thrill. I did not find myself rooting for the protaganist but just sitting back to watch as events unfolded. I will admit that I have grown so accustomed to Grisham's typical end of book twists that I became anxious with anticipation in the last 30 pages or so. There were great twists written into The Runaway Jury and The Partner which are among my favorites. Certainly, this story was ripe for some sort of twist to spice up the ending. I really expected the ending would somehome redeem an otherwise bland story line. However, I was once again dissapointed.

I certainly wouldn't recommend this book unless you, like me, have read all of Grisham's other novels. But if you haven't, please pick somewhere else to start.