The Judge's List: A Novel: 2 (The Whistler) Paperback – Import, 23 August 2022

Rare idea of holding a Judge accountable fo r the most heinous of crimes. The plot is very well laid out and narrated in a gripping manner.

Expected thrills from Grisham. Racy reading, although the inhuman cruelty of the protagonist seems somewhat exaggerated.

The king of legal thrillers is back with the second book in the Whistler series and this one has been an engrossing read and left me speechless. After the protagonist Lacy Stoltz was introduced in 'The Whistler' in 2016, she has taken up an investigative role at the Board of Judicial Conduct (BJC) for Florida after facing a near-death row during her previous assignment. Her job involves investigating complaints received against judiciary lawyers and judges involved in corrupt practices through whistleblower communication. This time, the complaint begins with an anonymous call from one Margie (an alias), who has gathered circumstantial evidence over a period of 20 years on several murders committed by a sitting circuit judge in Pensacola. The complainant is petrified about any harm coming her way and therefore wants Lacy to keep her identity hidden for as long as possible. Being a circuit judge, Margie firmly believes that he would have enough clout and influence over the state and county police that her name would be divulged putting her life at risk and this is also the reason why she wants Lacy to discreetly investigate for more evidences before the law enforcement agencies can be called upon. Margie's motive behind this grievance is to seek justice for her father's death 20 years back at the hands of judge Ross Bannick. Lacy reluctantly accepts the case, although murders investigations are outside the purview of BJC with an agreement that if their investigation can find merit to Margie's claims within 45 days, the case would be handed over to the police and FBI or it would be dismissed. The first twist in the plot is when a couple of more killings are reported and the modus operandi is found to be similar to the ones Margie had claimed in her dossier. The second ugly turn in the plot is when Judge Ross Banick is tipped off by someone that BJC is secretly investigating him for murders. This jolts Judge Ross's confidence that his acts of gruesome killings over two decades would never come into the light. However, he is smart, manipulative and with technologically advanced resources at his behest, he traces back the origin of the complaint to Margie (real name Jeri Crosby). He is determined to punish all those who have wronged him in his yesteryear's and there would be no stopping even though he might be on the watchlist of BJC's investigative team and FBI. Although what happens next would be anyone's guess, brace yourself for some pacy twists and turns along the way with an ending that was not expected and one that pulled the rugs off my feet. This book can be read as a stand-alone and is downright entertaining. Hoping to see more of Lacy Stoltz in the future works by John Grisham.

I still read the book but I felt it was repetitive, slow moving and nothing really happened - we already have the story on the back cover and I kept waiting for a surprise, but nothing ever came

A sitting judge does not have motives enough to justify so many killings and end up the way he does. Any way a gripping story till the end. The work of the daughter whose father was an unfortunate victim is remarkable.

Absolutely brilliant, very well written. Making a Hero out of a villain is not easy, but done it. Thanks for the pleasure

Very good gripping storyline

JOHN GRISHAM HAS CURVED OUT A LARGE SPACE FOR HIMSELF AS ONE OF THE FINEST PRESENT DAY AMERICAN WRITERS, SPECIALLY ON THRILLERS AND RELATED LEGAL MATTERS. HE IS ABLE TO CAPTURE THE ATTENTION OF THE READER NOT JUST BY TAKING HIM THROUGH UNEEXPECTED TWISTS AND TURNS OF EVENTS BUT ALSO GETTING HIM ABSORBED AS A PARTICIPANT. BUT OCCASIONALLY, HIS STYLE SLACKENS AND THE PLOT BECOMES PREDICTABLE, AS IN THIS CASE .