We review the greatest American thriller writer ever (according to Ken Follett). John Grisham gives us his corrupt judge/corrupt casino offering: The Whistler.
The Whistler – the blurb
Lacy Stoltz never expected to be in the firing line. Investigating judicial misconduct by Florida’s one thousand judges, her cases so far have been relatively unexciting. That’s until she meets Greg Myers, an indicted lawyer with an assumed name, who has an extraordinary tale to tell.
Myers is representing a whistle blower who knows of a judge involved in organised crime. Along with her gangster associates this judge has facilitated the building of a casino on an Indian reservation. At least two people who opposed the scheme are dead. Since the casino was built, the judge has made several fortunes off undeclared winnings. She owns property around the world, hires private jets to take her where she wishes, and her secret vaults are overflowing with rare books, art and jewels.
No one has a clue what she’s been doing – until now.
Under Florida law, those who help the state recover illegally acquired assets stand to gain a large percentage of them. Myers and his whistle blower friend could make millions.
But first they need Lacy to start an investigation. Is she ready to pit herself against the most corrupt judge in American history, a judge whose associates think nothing of murder?
Complicated plot
The length of the blurb is no accident, the plot is complicated which means that even summing up the plot is complicated. There is a bunch of Indians who have built a casino somewhere in Florida, a hidden mafia called the Coast/Catfish Mafia, a judge in their back pocket and a whistle blower willing to snitch in return for money. Oh but the Whistler won’t reveal their identity so has involved an ex lawyer using a fake identity – via a third party – who instructs the branch of government that investigate corrupt judges. I think I got that right. It’s quite long winded and it’s not helped by the fact I don’t understand the American justice system (although I have now learnt the difference between capital murder involving the death penalty and ‘normal’ murder).
Slow burn
Grisham does walk you through the finer points of the plot but this meant the book as a whole was quite slow. There were some shocking moments and the ending was very fitting but even that was spun out over several pages. Even the romance was slow going! This slowness isn’t necessarily a bad thing, I’ve just gotten used to fast paced, twisty turny thrillers. The Whistler is not and if you like that then you will like the book.
Roll the dice
The background to the Indian owned casinos was fascinating to read. This is a true element to The Whistler and I do recommend you read the fascinating history behind the billion dollar industry. I love it when a book teaches you something you otherwise would be totally unaware of.
Hello old friend
I cut my teeth on adult fiction reading Grisham. I’d read everything he had written up to a few years back and still have a fair few of his books on the book shelf today. I’m trying to remember if they too were all about the methodical evidence gathering of a case? I remember they were all the underdog, inevitably male and white, up against a big corporate bad guy. In Whistler we have a woman lead, a black colleague and a woman judge. The plot may or may not have changed but the essence certainly had. It was pleasing to read this stance from Grisham although why did Lacy have to be the one with no family and no partner? The judge too was divorced with no children leading a seemingly single life.
I enjoyed reading it but my attention did wane once or twice. If it were a few pages longer I think I would have resorted to skim reading. It was nice however to say hello to an old friend and should a Grisham land on my lap in the future you just know I’m going to give it a read.
