What do you do when you find yourself trapped in a financial mechanism being controlled by the Mafia? Worse still, how would you like FBI agents breathing down your neck to provide them with vital evidence to get the culprits behind the bars? What do you choose when you have to decide between testifying against the Mafia, who will follow you to the end of the world, and keeping mum about the whole thing, thereby becoming one of them, awaiting the FBI men to arrest you as a part of the organization? If ever you get involved in this kind of mess, you either pray, or you take lessons from a certain Mr.Mitch Mcdeere.
After recommendations from many MS members, I bought John Grisham’s The Firm. I am happy to say that the book deserved all those recommendations. The plot is indeed engrossing. However, I am still not able to place John Grisham in my list of great writers. I guess everyone has his own criteria.
THE PLOT
Mitchell Mcdeere passes out from the Harvard Law School, qualifying third in his class. The success at Harvard, earned after years of hard work, opens the doors of good fortune for this young law graduate, with offers pouring in from all the leading law firms of USA. However, young Mitch opts for a small firm from Memphis- Bendini, Lambert & Locke, the main reason being, of course, the handsome package that the firm offers. $80, 000 a year, a BMW, a house on a practically negligible interest mortgage is something that no fresher can dream of! The firm has its own rules, and weird ones at that! The employee has to be married. Mitch was! Womanizing and divorce was looked down upon by the firm. Mitch loved his wife Abby from his heart.
All things settled, the Mcdeeres arrive at Memphis, ready to accept the bed of roses that destiny has given them. But wait a minute....
It is not long before Mitch discovers the thorns with the roses. Something is drastically wrong with this dream firm. The firm takes undue interest in the personal lives of their employees. The firm encourages children. The houses are bugged. A shady fellow named Devasher is constantly spying on Mitch. And then.....the mysterious deaths of two firm employees. As the 15-year old history of this small firm reveals itself on Mcdeere, he is terrified to learn that the firm had lost 5 employees to the cold hands of death.....and all five of them in mysterious circumstances. To make things worse, Mitch is being stalked by FBI agents who suspect foul play at the firm and want Mitch to help them.
How does Mitch handle this crisis? Does he go against his own firm? If he does, then how does he save himself from the bosses of the firm? If he doesn’t, then does the FBI succeed in confirming their doubts? What happens to Mitch? How does Abby cope with her husband’s predicament?
What exactly is going on at Bendini, Lambert & Locke?
THE AUTHOR
John Grisham has a typical style. He succeeds in keeping the interest of his reader alive throughout the book. Some words he uses are really superb. In this book, he uses words like damnedest. Interesting!
PLEASE NOTE: I advise the readers who have not read this book to stop reading this review here, as the concluding part may take the charm out of the first read. Thanks for reading my review!
SOME LOOPHOLES
However, Grisham does not give a flawless book. For example- It is difficult to believe that the Mafia themselves put the FBI agents on Mcdeere’s trail, especially when his arrest may mean sure doom for them. After all, they know he has the evidence. Then, later on, the Mafia sends the FBI people on a false trail to get them out of their way to track down Mitch. What is FBI? A bunch of bums?
These are some points that arise in the mind as the story reaches the anticlimax. Another thing that I felt was that the story somehow seemed to rush to an ending. Things happened very fast!
IN CONCLUSION
All said and done, I must admit that the book is worth every penny that you spend on buying it. The excitement never ceases.
All in all, another good novel from John Grisham.