Finally Friday - The Widow by John Grisham

 John Grisham churns out reliable, entertaining books. His latest, The Widow, does not disappoint. 

Simon Latch, a small town lawyer in Virginia, is struggling. He's doing the usual boring paperwork for folks, which isn't big income. He's on the cusp of divorce, so that price tag is hanging over his head. And he has a small gambling problem. 

A widow, Eleanor Barnett, walks in and needs a new will. Her late husband was frugal but invested in Coca-Cola stock (he worked for them), and Wal-Mart. Otherwise, house is paid for and she lives a quiet life. Simon is filled with  glee at this good luck.  He does proper paperwork and counts on continued income for him when it's time to process it.  She has no contact with her stepsons, and plans to give money to charity. 

cover blurb - When she is hospitalized after a bad car accident, Simon realizes that nothing is as it seems. He finds himself on trial for a crime he swears he did not commit: murder. 

I can't tell you more, but there are plenty of twists and turns in Simon's life. The Widow is a page turner. 

Plenty of  surprises abound.  Enjoy!

Whatever Wednesday - The Testament by John Grisham

 Here's an oldie (1999) John Grisham book - The Testament that proved  to be a darn good  read. 

Troy Phelan is a self -made billionaire - eccentric, reclusive, confined to a wheelchair, and looking  for a  way to  die. His heirs are circling. He has written many wills. But it's his final, final testament that proves startling, shocking, and alters lives. 

 Nate O'Riley, a hard charging, hard living, Washington litigator is in for a remarkable adventure because of Troy Phelan. 

I won't say more.  I can't  say more.   I was very surprised. 

Finally Friday - Camino Ghosts by John Grisham

John Grisham is a reliable author with an extensive list of published  books. Camino Ghosts is on the new shelf at the library and I snapped it up.  It was a quick  patio  read and entertaining enough.  It's a  sequel to Camino Island. 

Mercer Mann is  a popular  writer from Camino  Island, Florida. She's  now newly married, a published author, and in search  of  a new novel idea.  The  local bookstore  owner, Bruce, introduces  her to Lovely Jackson. She's  the last known descendant of Dark Isle, a small island settled  by freed slaves three hundred years ago. She left Dark Isle at age fifteen, but claims ownership. 

However, Tidal Breeze, a huge corporate developer has plans to build a resort and casino there.  Mercer investigates Lovely's  family story and asks to write the full  non-fiction story.  A non-profit lawyer gets involved to  fight  for  Lovely's rights to her island - it's curse,  her ancestors are buried there, and no white folks have ever landed on that land and lived to tale the tale.    

cover  blurb - The deep  secrets of the past are about to collide with the enormous ambitions of the present, and the  fate of Dark  Isle - and Camino Island, too - hangs in the  balance. 

 I found the  story fairly predictable. Usually, Grisham surprises me with some fresh  twists. Didn't happen with this book.  I could skim and  I was amused, but not afraid of these ghosts. 

Wednesday Book Review - Sooley by John Grisham

 Sooley by John Grisham is not his normal lawyer thriller. This is about a young man from Sudan, who by the grace of his height and basketball skills is able to come to America and play ball. Meanwhile, his family is under siege in the ongoing tribal wars in  Sudan. 

John Grisham writes this novel as if it is non-fiction. Your heart is torn at every turn of "Sooley's" life. Alternate chapters follow his mother from refugee camp to refugee camp after the family is victimized in a vicious attack from the guerillas marauding the countryside. 

From real life headlines  to the fiction pages,  Grisham has the reader turning pages. Will Sooley succeed as a college player and will the team make playoffs? Is he worthy of  turning pro?  Can he get his mother and siblings  out of the Sudanese horror and to America for immigrant status?

This book makes you think and there's quite a twist near the end. Oh my heart!

You don't have to love basketball to love the characters in this book. Well done and a  compelling read. 

Book Review Madness - The Reckoning by John Grishham

 John Grisham is a reliable author. He tells a good tale, has strong characters, and still surprises at the end. The Reckoning (from 2018) is an entertaining read and page turner. This was a library book sale find  for a dollar and both Ray and I got our money's worth. 

It's 1946 and Pete Banning is a war hero, runs a prominent family farm in Clanton MS, and is a faithful Methodist church member. So why, on a cool October morning, did he go shoot the pastor and friend, Rev. Dexter Bell?

His only statement, "I have nothing to say."

cover blurb - John Grisham takes us on an incredible journey from the Jim Crow South to the jungles of the Philippines during WWII; from an insane asylum filled with secrets to the Clanton courtroom where Pete's defense attorney tries desperately to save him. 

I won't write more, won't give anything away. It was easy to jump to conclusions, but worth moving along each chapter and uncovering more motives. Just a solid book with a very likeable hero/villain in Pete Banning.  Worth a dollar or a checkout from the library.   Enjoy

Book Review - The Broker by John Grisham

Summer poolside brain - don't want to think too much sometimes. You can count on John Grisham for solid writing, fast moving plot, and some surprise twists along the way. The Broker from 2005 was a bargain book find that's been hanging in my pile. It fulfilled all expectations.

Joel Backman gets a last minute pardon from an idiot president. However, the pardon was pushed by the CIA. Backman, bigtime broker, has secrets that compromise a satellite surveillance system. The CIA is counting on leaking info and seeing who gets to Backman first - Israelis, Russians, Chinese, or Saudis?

Settled in Italy with a new identity, Joel knows he's a target. Now, how's he going to survive? How's he going to be the broker he once was, thriving on power gyrations?

This was a fun read - page turning adventure. And you'll be hungry for Italian food by the end.