Thursday, March 6, 2008

The Appeal - John Grisham

B&N Synopsis:
Politics has always been a dirty game.
Now justice is, too.
In a crowded courtroom in Mississipi, a jury returns a shocking verdict against a chemical company accused of dumping toxic waste into a small town’s water supply, causing the worst “cancer cluster” in history. The company appeals to the Mississippi Supreme Court, whose nine justices will one day either approve the verdict or reverse it.
Who are the nine? How will they vote? Can one be replaced before the case is ultimately decided?
The chemical company is owned by a Wall Street predator named Carl Trudeau, and Mr. Trudeau is convinced the Court is not friendly enough. With judicial elections looming, he decides to try to purchase himself a seat on the Court. The cost is a few million dollars, a drop in the bucket for a billionaire like Mr. Trudeau. Through an intricate web of conspiracy and deceit, his political operatives recruit a young, unsuspecting candidate. They finance him, manipulate him, market him, and mold him into a potential Supreme Court justice. Their Supreme Court justice.
The Appeal is a powerful, timely, and shocking story of political and legal intrigue, a story that will leave readers unable to think about our electoral process or judicial system in quite the same way ever again.


My Thoughts:

Aggggh! What's happened to me? I used to love reading Grisham's legal thrillers. I admit to speeding through this one pretty quick. The plot, "bought" elections, is pretty interesting especially in the year of the Presidential election. When campaigns get millions and millions of dollars, you do wonder where it goes.

I didn't think the characters were fleshed out very well. I didn't find any of them really likable or endearing.

The ending was a bit of a twist. So I'll give him that.

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