I've never read a John Grisham novel before, and other then The Firm I can't say I remember to many of his films. I'm not sure why I picked out this book other then the desire for something different. A great story, well defined character, and a plot with twist and turns to keep you guessing always make for a good read. Unfortunately, this book falls a little short on all of those.

Why You Should Read:
- It's an easy read that moves along at a nice pace. While some of the plot items and choices made leave you scratching your head, you keep wondering what will happen next and it's that anticipation of the big twist that keeps you going.

- I found the insight into the inner workings of a big law firm (accurate or not) to be fascinating. I think this is where Grisham shines in making that legal world come to life. While that probably wasn't suppose to be the main focus of the book, i found it be one of the most interesting subjects.

- The exploration of work life balance. While having nothing to do with the actual main plot of the story, this really made me think. Grisham dives deep into what it takes to get ahead in large company and is is really worth it. Does making $200K a year matter if you work 70 hours a week?

Why You Should Skip:
- Thin character development, specially the secondary ones. At no point do you not know what someone will do. The characters are simple and easy to predict.

- Some really illogical choices made from the very beginning of he book (and then throughout). Choice that you would not expect from someone who made out to be so smart. And then towards the end the logical choice are made, with no good reasons of why it took so long.

- Technical issues. This may bug only me, but I hate when books/movies get technology completely wrong. At one point there is a uber secure computer system used that was custom built to not allow any access at all. No drives on the front, a 24/7 monitored room, etc... yet somehow a USB port is installed in the back... and it's active? Really? If it was physically needed they never heard of group policies? Also, they mention that the entire data contents of the law firm (largest in the world) could be stored on a 750GB hard drive. Wow! that would be very cost effective if you only needed one hard drive for a corporation, yet somehow.. that doesn't seem accurate.

- The ending. While not giving anything away, the end falls flat. I really though there was a chapter or two left when the book ended. First of all, the major danger that hangs over the main characters head the entire book has already been resolved. There is no risk other then perhaps personal safety and even that fizzles. You go through the entire book, accepting everything that happens because you want that big payoff at the end, and it never arrives.

Final thoughts:
It's not a bad book, but i get the feeling that had I read any of his other novels that this one would not hold up. It really felt like part one, and maybe someday a second novel will bring a proper conclusion to the story. Then again, this may be me still getting strung along by Grisham thinking something good will happen if I just go to the next page....

Rating:
3 out of 5