Gray Mountain by John Grisham

The latest novel, Gray Mountain, by John Grisham has nothing new to offer. This book is a letdown when you compare it with the recent novels like Sycamore Row, The Litigators, etc., by the same author. There is no conclusive story expect for struggle of a third year female associate from a large law firm. 

The story begins with all the correct noises about a gripping tale. Samantha Kofer is a third year associate in a huge law firm. She handles all the mundane tasks, billing the required hours for her work, week after week. Then recession happens. She is forced to take a furlough. The law firm’s rule to return back to employment is simple. Work for a recommended clinic without pay, with a remote chance to be absorbed back when the recession is over. Left with no other options, Samantha travels to the country side and joins a legal aid clinic. 

This is a sea change for Samantha. From pushing files in the big firm, she now has to create and maintain her own case files. She gets to meet people who are desperate for her advice/action.  She is the last hope for many of her clients. We also see the dark side of America which is supposed to be an epitome of rules, procedures and justice. The story starts to build from this stage with sneak peeks to huge trials and a lot of court house drama. 

Alas, we never get to read about any real fight as the story progresses. We only read the story outside a courtroom. A story about preparation, back-end discussions, arm-twisting tactics of the big  players, and all the usual banter about impending huge trials. We only hear about the run-up to these new trials. Maybe John plans to write a sequel to this book and take the cases which began in this novel to their logical conclusions. We can only wait and watch.