It's been a long while since I read a Grisham novel, and I was looking for a light read. While I applaud him for tackling an important subject - systemic racism in the criminal justice system in America is real, it's pervasive, and bringing awareness to that is a laudable goal - the book disappointed me on numerous occasions. Simple, factual errors (one particularly easy one: noting that a Black woman "breezed through Morehouse College", when Morehouse is a men's college) spoke to a lack of proximity to his main Black characters that weakened the overall message. On several occasions, he painted Black characters with too broad a brush, made more upsetting because I think he thought he was doing the opposite. Tropes abound - a haunted house (really!), an egregiously racist white sheriff, over-the-top theatrically evil drug lords - and failed to raise tension, only served to weaken the …
Reviews and Comments
This link opens in a pop-up window
Rick Klau rated Us vs. them: 1 star
![Ian Bremmer: Us vs. them (2018)](/images/covers/2815e8a7-418f-4fb3-8000-e4a928ebe01b.jpeg)
Us vs. them by Ian Bremmer
"Those who championed globalization once promised a world of winners, one in which free trade would lift all the world's …
Rick Klau rated The Relentless Moon: 5 stars
![Mary Robinette Kowal: The Relentless Moon (Paperback, 2020, Tor Books)](/images/covers/1546a11b-f175-4e86-911f-3ef69e79e902.jpeg)
The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal
It's 1963, and riots and sabotage plague the space program. The climate change caused by the Meteor is becoming more …
Rick Klau rated Can Finance Save the World?: 3 stars
![Bertrand Badré: Can Finance Save the World? (AudiobookFormat, 2018, Dreamscape Media)](/images/covers/8c1d8c76-f2b9-4d01-ae42-9bfc401b0c52.jpeg)
Can Finance Save the World? by Bertrand Badré
"How to Make Finance a Force for Good Just as Thomas Piketty offered a sweeping critique and progressive reassessment of …
Rick Klau rated The Huntress: 4 stars
Rick Klau rated Killing Floor: 4 stars
![Lee Child: Killing Floor (Paperback, 2006, Jove)](/images/covers/5e0d3fc9-a415-48ec-811c-238114a78b52.jpeg)
Killing Floor by Lee Child (Jack Reacher, #1)
Ex-military policeman Jack Reacher is a drifter. He’s just passing through Margrave, Georgia, and in less than an hour, he’s …
Rick Klau reviewed The Guardians by John Grisham
Review of 'The Guardians' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
It's been a long while since I read a Grisham novel, and I was looking for a light read. While I applaud him for tackling an important subject - systemic racism in the criminal justice system in America is real, it's pervasive, and bringing awareness to that is a laudable goal - the book disappointed me on numerous occasions. Simple, factual errors (one particularly easy one: noting that a Black woman "breezed through Morehouse College", when Morehouse is a men's college) spoke to a lack of proximity to his main Black characters that weakened the overall message. On several occasions, he painted Black characters with too broad a brush, made more upsetting because I think he thought he was doing the opposite. Tropes abound - a haunted house (really!), an egregiously racist white sheriff, over-the-top theatrically evil drug lords - and failed to raise tension, only served to weaken the important message at the core of the book.
Rick Klau rated How to Raise an Antiracist: 4 stars
Rick Klau rated The End of October: 5 stars
Rick Klau rated Origami Man: 4 stars
Rick Klau rated Into the Fire: 2 stars
Rick Klau rated The Institute: 3 stars
![Stephen King: The Institute (Paperback, 2020, Hodder)](/images/covers/05bb9725-c617-4a64-98f8-50ba0899033d.jpeg)
The Institute by Stephen King
Luke Ellis, a super-smart twelve-year-old with an exceptional gift, is the latest in a long line of kids abducted and …
Rick Klau rated Ghost talkers: 3 stars
![Mary Robinette Kowal: Ghost talkers (2016)](/images/covers/bb7cd91b-f4f8-4f01-a895-8b395fc7c470.jpeg)
Ghost talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal
"Ginger Stuyvesant, an American heiress living in London during World War I, is engaged to Captain Benjamin Harford, an intelligence …