The Racketeer - by John Grisham (Paperback)

About the Book

When a federal judge and his secretary fail to appear for a scheduled trial and panicked clerks call for an FBI investigation, a harrowing murder case ensues and culminates in the imprisonment of a lawyer who imparts the story of who killed the judge andwhy.

Book Synopsis

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - Nothing is as it seems and everything's fair game in this "deeply engrossing thriller" (The Washington Post) from the undisputed master of the legal thriller.

"The Racketeer is guilty of only one thing: keeping us engaged until the very last page."--USA Today

In the history of the United States, only four active federal judges have been murdered. Judge Raymond Fawcett has just become number five. His body is found in his remote lakeside cabin. There is no sign of forced entry or struggle. Just two dead bodies: Judge Fawcett and his young secretary. And one large, state-of-the-art, extremely secure safe, opened and emptied.

One man, a former attorney, knows who killed Judge Fawcett, and why. But that man, Malcolm Bannister, is currently residing in the Federal Prison Camp near Frostburg, Maryland. Though serving time, Malcolm has an ace up his sleeve. He has information the FBI would love to know. Malcolm would love to tell them. But everything has a price--and the man known as the Racketeer wasn't born yesterday.

Review Quotes

"Exhilarating . . . surprising . . . ingenious."--Janet Maslin, The New York Times

"Grisham at his best: tilting at injustice . . . A satisfying, deeply engrossing thriller in which different forms of justice are ultimately served."--The Washington Post

"Fast-paced . . . with enough startling plot twists--and changes of scenery, from Miami to Montego Bay and beyond--to surprise even the most suspicious reader."--The Wall Street Journal

"Tautly plotted."--Entertainment Weekly

"Devious fun . . . almost impossible to keep up with."--New York Daily News

"Precisely plotted . . . Grisham is back in top form."--Publishers Weekly

"[A] complex tale of cat and mouse . . . Evenly paced, smart legal thriller--trademark Grisham, in other words."--Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

John Grisham is the author of numerous #1 bestsellers, including The Firm, A Time to Kill, The Rainmaker, The Innocent Man, The Whistler, The Boys from Biloxi, and many more. His books have been translated into nearly fifty languages. Grisham is a two-time winner of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction and was honored with the Library of Congress Creative Achievement Award for Fiction. Grisham serves on the board of directors of the Innocence Project and Centurion Ministries, two national organizations dedicated to exonerating those who have been wrongfully convicted. Much of his fiction explores deep-seated problems in our criminal justice system. He lives on a farm in central Virginia.