The Rooster Bar

John Grisham

Hachette Australia

Hodder and Stoughton

ISBN: 9781473616950

Description:

Worldwide bestseller John Grisham will keep you on the edge of your seat with his most suspenseful thriller yet.

‘The Best Thriller Writer Alive’ Ken Follett

John Grisham’s newest legal thriller takes you inside a law firm that shouldn’t exist.

Law students Mark, Todd and Zola wanted to change the world – to make it a better place. But these days these three disillusioned friends spend a lot of time hanging out in The Rooster Bar, the place where Todd serves drinks. As third-year students, they realise they have been duped. They all borrowed heavily to attend a law school so mediocre that its graduates rarely pass the bar exam, let alone get good jobs. And when they learn that their school is one of a chain owned by a shady New York hedge-fund operator who also happens to own a bank specialising in student loans, the three realise they have been caught up in The Great Law School Scam.

So they begin plotting a way out. Maybe there’s a way to escape their crushing debt, expose the bank and the scam, and make a few bucks in the process. But to do so, they have to leave law school, pretend they are qualified and go into battle with a billionaire and the FBI . . .

Ingenious, immersive and page-turning, The Rooster Bar is a John Grisham legal thriller bar none.

My View:

A very impressive standalone from this master of legal mysteries. In this narrative the protagonists are a little like Robin Hood – exposing the exploitative sham businesses making so much money from unsuspecting, potential students – you really do feel for the victims of the scam – and I do wonder if the charade is based on real life happenings? It seems to me like it really could be.

The plot is intricate and yet so credible. You pin your hopes on the very likeable main characters, hoping that they can exact justice and get away with the biggest scam since The Sting!  Along the way you learn a little about the about the American Justice System, about refugees, about student loans, scams and about friendships…a very impressive and interesting read.