The Appeal ~ John Grisham

Funk Rating: 7.5 out of 10

It's just like old times! Book came out last Tuesday, I blog it here on Sunday. Wheee! :)

I loved the original John Grisham. Eminently readable, terribly suspenseful, and always good for some fast page turning. No need to read every word, much less every sentence; it's just plain fun skimming...

This is close to that. I suspect the overall outline he turned into the publishers ran all of 3 pages, but it's still a pleasant beach (or ski chalet) read nonetheless. There are no grand surprises, but there is still some nice tension as JG keeps you guessing on where it will all net out. This is the new Grisham, with a political statement and message (Pelican Brief x 2), but still able to show both sides of the argument with some open-mindedness in the context of "you get the behaviors and the game that the law permits..."

If you like Grisham, I can't see why you won't like this one. If you don't care for him, this one won't change him into your favorite author. So I'll let you make your own decisions. Just be careful about how you think about elections and how your opinion gets shaped...