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Lacy Stoltz is an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct. She is a lawyer, not a cop, and it is her job to respond to complaints dealing with judicial misconduct. After nine years with the Board, she knows that most problems are caused by incompetence, not corruption. But a corruption case eventually crosses her desk. A previously disbarred lawyer is back in business with a new identity. He now goes by the name Greg Myers, and he claims to know of a Florida judge who has stolen more money than all other crooked judges combined. And not just crooked judges in Florida. All judges, from all states, and throughout U.S. history. What's the source of the ill-gotten gains? It seems the judge was secretly involved with the construction of a large casino on Native American land. The Coast Mafia financed the casino and is now helping itself to a sizable skim of each month's cash. The judge is getting a cut and looking the other way. It's a sweet deal: Everyone is making money. But now Greg wants to put a stop to it. His only client is a person who knows the truth and wants to blow the whistle and collect millions under Florida law. Greg files a complaint with the Board on Judicial Conduct, and the case is assigned to Lacy Stoltz, who immediately suspects that this one could be dangerous. Dangerous is one thing. Deadly is something else.… (more)
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The informant, an ex-convict, is willing to file a complaint with the BJC but he does not have first-hand knowledge of the illegal operations. Instead, the informant receives his information from an intermediary who receives information from a mole inside the operation. The BJC is legally required to investigate and soon people are dying, the informant and later the intermediary disappear, and the mole goes on the run from the Coast Mafia's enforcer.
The plot gets off to a weak beginning as the original revelations made by the informant are not convincing. His original contact with the BJC serves primarily to tell readers that the investigators will be in mortal danger. Given the weak case made by the informant that a judicial crime is being committed, however, I am skeptical the BJC would have initiated an investigation. We are supposed to believe that the mere allegation of judicial wrongdoing obligates he BJC to investigate. The informant's statement that he does not trust the FBI so he will just walk away if the agency is consulted also serves as a weak plot device to obligate the BJC to investigate. The informant's incentive is to share in the millions that will be awarded to the whistle-blowers, so it is implausible that he would give up so easily. The investigators, of course ignore his weak excuse, but readers are left to wonder if the informant is really that naïve.
The Whistler fails to create any genuine sense of tension. Grisham fails to make us care about most of the characters so when one dies we feel no sense of loss. Despite the death we never experience any tension or concern about the safety of the central characters.
Indeed, Grisham seems to take the easy way out of most situations. For example, the Coast Mafia's enforcer has been assigned to kill the mole as soon as the opportunity presents itself. The mole has taken refuge in a motel room and the he muses that he can shoot the mole from his present location if he so much as catches a glimpse of the mole through a crack in the motel room curtains. However, the mole escapes by simply walking out of the motel room and getting into the car of a BJC investigator who drives away. Easy-Peasy. What a letdown.
Grisham makes an abrupt change in the last 70-100 pages of the book in what may be introduced to extend the length of the novel. Up to that point the story is told primarily from the perspective of the primary BJC inspector, supplemented on occasion by the perspective of other central characters and the brief use of narrative to fill in details. Grisham then switches to the primary use of narrative and most of the remaining story reads like a newspaper summary. This brings the story to a conclusion, of course, but most of this section provides unnecessary explanations of earlier plot elements. For example, we learn how the mole is in a position to provide inside information, how one of the Coast Mafia's managerial level employees obtained his position, and how one of the low level employees became involved in a murder. These explanations are unnecessary because, for example, we are willing to accept that the mole has a position that provides access to inside information without an explanation of the eight years of employment that led up to that position.
In summary, this is an uneven book that moves back and forth between mildly entertaining and a bit slow and boring. The Whistler represents somewhat of a rebound from the disappointing Gray Mountain, but it is far from Grisham's best.
The Whistler is a tale of the perfect storm of corruption, a corruption so profound and well hidden that it lasts decades and involves an entire Native American tribe, countless of mobsters that have
It all begins with a tip as to a corrupt judge who allegedly is skimming money, along with the help of the little known Coast Mafia, from a casino on Native American land. Although RICO cases and crimes on Native American lands are within the jurisdiction of the FBI, it is Lacy Stoltz, a lawyer who works for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct, who gets the tip based on a complaint of the judicial misconduct of a Florida judge. It is the informant's goal to earn a large fee under the related whistler statute for providing a tip that leads to the recovery of money from the corruption.
However, Lacey and her partner, Hugo, are immediately presented with several quandaries. First can they believe the informant? A person who refuses to be identified and who has only reached them through an unknown intermediary and the intermediary's counsel, who goes by the very common name of "Greg Myers." Moreover, Myers fully admits that he has a criminal record and was at one point disbarred for his past transgressions. As if that wasn't sketchy enough, Myers also seems to live beyond his means and constantly on the run on his expensive boat. Can Myers be trusted? Even if he can, Lacey's normal line of work involves sanctioning judges who commit small infractions, not organized crime. When she suggests that the Myers take his complaint to the FBI, however, he absolutely refuses. Stating he will never work with the FBI. Just who is telling the truth and who is corrupt in this story? And the deeper Lacey digs the more dangerous the situation gets when it becomes clear that someone wants to silence her investigation. Can she stay safe when she has no formal law enforcement training to guide her?
Cassandra Campbell provides a talented narration that is perfectly suited for a law enforcement drama or thriller. Using expert timing, Ms. Campbell's delivery is easy to follow and allows the listener to sit back and seamlessly enjoy the story.
Ms. Campbell also expertly produces different voices for each one of the various characters allowing the listener to know who is speaking in dialogues without the need to rely on dialogue tags. She even manages to make each character's voice match the personality traits that Mr. Grisham pens for each. For example, Lacey sounds like an inquisitive, energetic, and dedicated lawyer which matches her description, whereas her partner Hugo, who has 4 young kids and is constantly described as sleep deprived, sounds appropriately tired. Even the informant sounds appropriately anxious as the corruption scheme begins to unravel and it becomes a fight to see which side will win: good or evil.
All in all, I really enjoyed listening to The Whistler. As a lawyer myself, I found the description of the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct and how the Native American tribes are organized and self-governed fascinating. I also enjoyed the fast-paced action scenes as the corruption ring slowly begins to be uncovered. Although there isn't a lot of mystery or suspense surrounding this title, it is the action and interrelationships among this wide disparate group of criminals that is the draw of this legal based thriller. It's amazing to see that after decades of great legal thrillers, Mr. Grisham is still one of the best of this genre.
Source: Review copy provided for review purposes.
But a previously disbarred lawyer surfaces with a new identity; Greg claims a Florida judge, conspiring
Greg files the complaint and Lacy begins her investigation only to discover that investigating can be both dangerous and deadly.
Complex characters and a tantalizing, twisting plot combine to ramp up the tension and suspense; the result is an unputdownable tale from a master storyteller.
Highly recommended.
[2] rating = it was just o.k.
When the head of the Bureau of Judicial Conduct, Michael Geismar, assigned Lacy Stoltz and Hugo Hatch to investigate a corrupt judge, none of them had any idea about what they were getting into. Quickly, the situation turned
A Florida Judge, Claudia McDover, who appeared to be untarnished by scandal, was being accused of corruption involving, among other things, an Indian casino, real estate, murder, drugs, payoffs, bribery, and money laundering, through her supposed involvement with a shadowy group, a group known in legends as the Coast Mafia.
As their investigation began, Hugo and Lacy met a lawyer who used an assumed name, Greg Myers. He told them that there was someone sitting on death row wrongfully accused of a double murder and there was a corrupt judge involved. Using the carrot and stick approach, he offered just enough information for them to believe there was a reason to pursue Judge McDover. Then he offered more, if they would agree not to involve the FBI, and to take on this miscarriage of justice, he would reveal his source, a mole who could prove her guilt..
Myers told the agents that McDover was working with a criminal organization that secretly paid her off so that her rulings favored their positions. Myers said his contact, whom he did not know, was in touch with an intermediary who dealt directly with the whistle blower, the person who could provide evidence against the judge. He re-emphasized their need for secrecy because the organization that was controlling the Judge’s behavior was not only criminal it was highly dangerous. He himself moved around frequently to prevent any retaliation against him.
The story spread out in many directions and several characters were introduced creating diversions which were sometimes confusing. As the search for proof to indict the Judge developed, and the intrigue grew deeper and deeper, violence, romance, sex, intrigue, corruption and a mysterious mob moved all the players around. Although, at times, the tale seemed pretty predictable, the narrative was always interesting as the author drew the reader in, little by little, making the reader wonder how all of the loose ends would tie together successfully. The massive criminal scheme unraveled, bit by bit, and sometimes the explanations seemed a bit thin and the story seemed to ramble. It suddenly seemed to come to its conclusion, almost magically, and the mysteries were resolved. The reader will have to decide if all the questions were answered in a satisfying way.
This novel has all the elements necessary for a made for TV movie or a movie for the big screen. The author exposes all sorts of corruption in organized crime, banks, casinos and our own judicial system. It is obvious that his research is extensive as he exposes the greed which motivates people who lack a moral compass and the extent to which some will go to feather their own nests regardless of the cost or consequences to others.
Cassandra Campbell is an excellent narrator, but in this book, her voice often sounded too sultry for the part she was portraying.
John Grisham is an author that I have never really been interested in before, crime thrillers with all the legal wrangling just don’t appeal to me all that much. I received The Whistler as a gift so thought I would give it a try and see what I would make of it.
This
This was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I was interested by the inside look at the Indian reservations and learnt a lot more about how they currently feature in today’s society, including the potential for organised crime. The plot was enough to get me hooked and I rattled through the book at a fair pace, but I always expected something major to happen or some sort of explosive scene, unfortunately this just didn’t seem to happen. The ending when it came was an anticlimax and I felt almost cheated, I just wanted so much more to have happened. As I said, this is my first novel by Grisham so maybe my expectations were wrong, but from all the rave reviews the majority of his books receive, surely there has to be more?
I enjoyed the book, but it definitely wasn’t enough to make me read another by the author. A fair 3 stars.
3.5 Stars
From The Book:
We expect our judges to be honest and wise. Their integrity and impartiality are the bedrock of the entire judicial system. We trust them to ensure fair trials, to protect the rights of all litigants, to punish those who do wrong, and to oversee
But what happens when a judge bends the law or takes a bribe? It’s rare, but it happens.
Lacy Stoltz is an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct. She is a lawyer, not a cop, and it is her job to respond to complaints dealing with judicial misconduct. After nine years with the Board, she knows that most problems are caused by incompetence, not corruption.
But a corruption case eventually crosses her desk. A previously disbarred lawyer is back in business with a new identity. He now goes by the name Greg Myers, and he claims to know of a Florida judge who has stolen more money than all other crooked judges combined. And not just crooked judges in Florida. All judges, from all states, and throughout U.S. history.
What’s the source of the ill-gotten gains? It seems the judge was secretly involved with the construction of a large casino on Native American land. The Coast Mafia financed the casino and is now helping itself to a sizable skim of each month’s cash. The judge is getting a cut and looking the other way. It’s a sweet deal: Everyone is making money.
But now Greg wants to put a stop to it. His only client is a person who knows the truth and wants to blow the whistle and collect millions under Florida law. Greg files a complaint with the Board on Judicial Conduct, and the case is assigned to Lacy Stoltz, who immediately suspects that this one could be dangerous. Dangerous is one thing. Deadly is something else.
My Thoughts:
I have to say that this is not his best work but it did seem to be the longest. There was sometimes so much explanations and back history that had really nothing to do with the current story, that that it became boring. The plot is laid out way too early and you almost know by page 100 what and how it's going to turn out. In spite of all that, the idea of the corrupt judge and how the attorney came to be tried and imprisoned was interesting and frankly it's the only reason this one got 3.5 stars.