Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
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This is the best Grisham book in years. I've read everything he's written, liked some more than others (did anyone enjoy the Testament?), but haven't been thrilled with a story of Grisham's since The Client. This new one has the old magic. The Associate is the story of a young lawyer, Kyle McAvoy, editor of the Yale Law Review, with the world at his feet until a cell phone video of a night when a rape took place emerges, and he's on the tape. He's on the tape, but not part of the assault. Nevertheless, the black mail begins and Kyle is guided unwillingly to the largest law firm in the world, a huge Wall Street monster where they hire 100 associates at a time and bill $400 an hour the second you pass the bar.
The details of the firm are fantastic in their excessiveness. The spy elements are engaging. The wondering what's around the next corner is wonderful, which reminded me so much of The Firm. That and the fact that the hero is a young, fighting against the machine lawyer. The Associate is not quite as strong as The Firm. The characters are slightly less adicting and the ending is far less satisfying, but it's still good. So much better than the preachy Appeal from last year. This is the Grisham you loved and passed around to your friends 15 years ago.
Nobody does law firm abuse and young lawyer angst like John Grisham - and this is him at his near best. I give a thumb's up for his new blockbuster bestseller - The Associate.
