Book info

• Title The Street Lawyer
• Author John Grisham
• Year 1998
• Genre Thriller

He's a rising star at Drake & Sweeney, a giant Washington law firm. No time to waste, no time to help those in need. No time for a conscience. But when a violent encounter with a homeless man stops him cold, Brock is forced to confront the truth about who he really works for. What he finds is a shocking violation of the rights of the homeless, with Drake & Sweeney at the centre, and suddenly his conscience begins to stir. To do the right thing, Brock must put himself in the firing line and uncover his employer's most dangerous secrets. But is he willing to risk it all?

Thoughts

I enjoyed this Grisham book - the tale of a highbrow lawyer who realises there’s more to life than money and changes his entire lifestyle to instead help the homeless. It’s quite an inspiring tale, particularly as the people involved aren’t holier-than-thou, they make mistakes and get sued for it!

As with most Grisham stories, the devil is in the dialogue and it flows really well, particularly through interesting characters like Mordecai or Ruby. I didn’t care very much for Claire, the ex-wife, though. My only real issue with the book is that it built up to a great crescendo that was whipped through so fast, I felt I was missing something.

I suppose that is how this stuff works, but it felt like in the end, everything was settled and people had their big changes of heart and it was all done within just a few pages, of a book that had been building up for far longer. But overall, interesting and thought-provoking read.

Rating: 3 / 5