THE ASSOCIATE (John Grisham) - March 2/09

This is probably the first Gisham book I've read since the year 2000 or so, and it definitely reminded me of why I liked his stuff in the first place. The middle seems to have been padded out with too many superfluous details - ie the minutia of the case, technology stuff, etc - yet it's hard to deny that the whole thing moves like a rocket as it approaches its conclusion. But that conclusion is really bizarre; the central villain, Bennie, gets away and is never heard from again. Our hero, Kyle, heads to his father's firm to become partner, but he might be killed at anytime. It's a strange conclusion that I guess is meant to be more authentic than a typically action-packed finale. Still, it's jarring and I can't help but hope that there'll be a sequel at some point. *** out of ****