The Racketeer - Novel 2012

The Racketeer
By John Grisham
4.0/5

The Novel is a legal thriller portraying the story of Malcolm Bannister (African-American) who is currently serving jail time. Bannister used to serve in the US Marines but then became an Attorney in a small law firm in Virginia, He was caught up in the scandal of a house where corrupt Congressmen used to spend their time under the influence of drugs and underage girls, The FBI had caught Malcolm along with many other people and had charged him under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act (RICO) where he was convicted, disbarred and sentenced for 10 years. The book starts with Malcolm halfway through his sentence when a Federal Judge, Judge Facett is found dead, the FBI's investigation goes nowhere and this is where Malcolm takes his chance as he knows the killer's identity, motive to kill and the Judge's hidden secrets. He then trades in this information in return for immediate release and protection.
As the story proceeds Bannister completely plays out the FBI and sets the greatest ploy to spin them off, while he himself goes under the radar and contacts an old cellmate.
Malcolm Bannister in the book is a normal looking person on the outside but has a very good knack for playing games and tricking people.
Well The Racketeer is without a doubt Grisham's best works, as it was one of the best selling books of 2012. The plot created by Grisham over here was very well planned and set as many writers get entangled amongst their own mysteries and loose track in the middle. Well Grisham has probably given this book his unique touch of thrill and mystery, and the other characters in the book were also very carefully placed.
My favourite part in the book was the interrogation of Quinn Rucker by the Feds.

Reviewed by,
Moiz Khan.