The Client – John Grisham

The Client is probably the best novel by authour John Grisham and one of my favourite books of all time. You may have seen the movie or read the book already, as it was so popular. It starts with two young brothers who sneak off to the woods to smoke cigarettes. They witness a man in a car attempting suicide by plugging a hose to the exhaust and leaving the other end in the car. Mark, the older brother tries to stop the suicide but gets caught by the man, lawyer Jerome Clifford, who pulls Mark into the car with him. He tells Mark, while babbling away drunk, the location of the body of a dead Senator, who was murdered by his client Barry Muldano. Jerome then kills himself a little later as Mark escapes. Mark’s younger brother, Ricky goes into shock and is taken to the hospital by Mark and his mother. Soon Mark is caught between the cops & the FBI on one side and Muldano’s Mafia goons on the other.

This proves too much for tough Mark to handle and he goes to a lawyer, Reggie Love, who specializes in helping young kids in trouble. She ensures Mark’s safety but is frustrated that the law states that Mark will have to give out the location of the dead body or be kept in a juvenile facility. Thinking that the law is not fair, Mark stages his escape and along with Reggie goes to New Orleans to find the body and to see if it actually is there. Mark & his family’s only option now is to agree to the witness protection program, which will keep him safe from the Mafia. He is sad when he realizes that this also means he will probably never see Reggie again.

This is an excellent book with a story, so wonderfully told, at times suspense, at times drama, at times funny & at times sad. One of the best.

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