The Rooster Bar

September 25, 2017
Inspired by an Atlantic article, this insightful, if flawed, novel from bestseller Grisham (Camino Island) highlights the disturbing world of for-profit legal education. Friends and third-year law students—Mark Frazier, Todd Lucero, and Zola Maal—are deep in debt. All they want is to endure their last semester at Foggy Bottom Law School in Washington, D.C., and never return. But their world changes when their friend and classmate, Gordy Tanner, commits suicide before he can reveal publicly the conspiracy he’s unearthed: FBLS admits unqualified students in order to profit from their student loans, and the school’s owner, a Wall Street lawyer turned investor, owns a bank that specializes in student lending. When Gordy’s suicide leads Mark, Todd, and Zola to realize that they are victims of a scam, they decide to drop out of school, change their identities to avoid creditors, and practice law without a license. After they make a series of missteps, their disgruntled clients and creditors start to close in, but they still manage to pull off the perfect crime and finish what Gordy started. Mark and Todd feel like the same person at times, and what drives their choices isn’t always clear. This intriguing story has some suspenseful moments, but thinly constructed characters dilute the impact. Agent: David Gernert, Gernert Company.

John Grisham returns to his professional roots as an attorney for this drama of white-collar crime, which will remind listeners of his earlier bestseller THE FIRM. With quiet certitude, narrator Ari Fliakos captures the mounting despair of three contemporary law students at a subpar law school who suddenly realize that that their futures consist of debt and unemployment. Fliakos begins the story at a sedate pace but soon picks up speed to match the plot. He hits his stride as Mark, Todd, and Zola realize the bind they're in--and who might be to blame. Fans of Grisham's storytelling will enjoy this academic Robin Hood story. The villains are loan sharks, so listeners will be rooting for the good guys--millennials with a cause. M.R. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine