Book info

• Title The King of Torts
• Author John Grisham
• Year 2003
• Genre Mystery

Clay Carter has been working in The Office of the Public Defender for too long and dreams of better things. When he reluctantly takes the case of a young man charged with a random street killing, he assumes it is just another of the many senseless murders that hit Washington D.C. every week. But as he digs deeper, Clay stumbles upon a conspiracy too horrifying to believe. A pharmaceutical giant has been secretly and illegally testing a new drug on addicts - one that helps stop addiction, but which drives them to random acts of violence. Overnight, Clay becomes a celebrity among lawyers and a national media figure. But as the financial stakes rise, so does the danger...

Thoughts

Clay Carter is in a low paid but moral job, until the opportunity arrives for riches and stardom. An unknown informer helps him set up his company and gather clients, and it isn’t long until his morals are taking a battering.

Clay is an interesting character because in his desperation to get somewhere in life, he’s willing to sacrifice his principles and lower his standards. Once he has money, he begins to change and it’s interesting to see whether he can hold on to any of his opinions from before. It’s an interesting insight into what could be a stereotypical view of how money affects you.

You know from the start that he’s going to be knocked down a peg or two but it manages to keep interest all the way. Up to the usual Grisham standard.

Rating: 3 / 5