"The Associate" by John Grisham

Lynn and I just finished this book.  Like many of the Grisham books we have listened to over the years, the story was riveting and at times had us on the edge of our seats.

The story involves a young and recent law school graduate named Kyle McEvoy who has a brilliant legal career ahead of him.  But, Kyle has a dirty secret from his college days that has come back to haunt him before the career even gets off the ground.

Taking a job in the New York office of the world's largest law firm, Kyle has achieved what many recent law graduates covet greatly.  But, there is a steep price for the $200,000 annual salarly that Kyle is earning: all nighters; 100-hour work weeks; and, no personal life.  To add to the stress of billing mega-hours, Kyle does not even want to be here; rather, he wanted to practice law for the public good not for large corporations.  His dirty secret has caused some "goons" to extort him into taking this job and gaining access to confidential client documents and stealing them.

The story brings in the FBI, DOJ, and some easy to dislike "goons" (one of Grisham's favorite words to describe thugs).

Like some of his other books, it seems as if Grisham has expended so much effort to weave and craft an intriguing story that runs out of steam and the end.  It is as if he says, "I'm tired, let's wrap this thing up and get it to the publishers". 

Lynn and I swear that we have written off Grisham books, for now anyway.