The Firm

I have been meaning to read this book for quite some time and I'm really glad I finally got to it! It's not a short book and even though it wasn't particularly my cup of tea, I still enjoyed my time reading it. It's my first Grisham novel and even though this one wasn't my favorite I am still excited to check out some of his other, more popular works in hope that I'll like those more. This book made me realize that maybe legal thrillers aren't my thing but the majority of this book didn't even feel like a thriller to be honest. It was just too action packed for my liking, even though it was done masterfully and the story is definitely unique and draws you in from the first page.

To begin with, The Firm is about a lawyer, fresh out of law school, Mitchell McDeere, who accepts a job with an exclusive little law firm that promises to pay him handsomely and comes with a lot of other perks. However, soon after he settles into his new and improved life, he realizes that the firm isn't what it looks like on the surface and there are a lot of secrets lurking beneath. I think that this premise was outstanding and I've never read any story even remotely resembling this one. For me though, there was just too much law jargon that completely went over my head and it got pretty difficult to keep all the characters straight after about the halfway mark. I think that the story was too drawn out and it was just a lot of things happening and I felt lost more than once. At times the pacing felt on point and seemed to move the story along at a great pace and then there were times when nothing seemed to be progressing and it felt like the story was dragging completely. The whole plot just felt too all over the place for me and even though the first half read and felt kind of like a thriller, albeit a little slow, the second half took a very unexpected turn and turned into something akin to an action movie.

Secondly, the characterization was my favorite part of this book. I liked that the characters felt somewhat real and we got a good sense of what they were like and their inner personalities. I also enjoyed watching the relationships between the characters grow and change and the dialogue oftentimes made me laugh because it felt so heartfelt and genuine. I do wish we got a little bit more though and really got to see who the characters are on the inside. In general though, it was not bad.

Finally, the writing style was one I can get behind, even if it's not my favorite of all time. It was able to paint a clear picture as to what was happening in the story and I had a pretty easy time following along, I think just the novel not being my cup of tea is what took away from the writing style for me and me not quite enjoying the plot to its full extent.

In conclusion, even though I am glad I gave this book a shot, it was not for me. I like domestic thrillers more and ones that focus a little more on character development and don't have as many action packed scenes. I enjoy the occasional one but in this novel, after the halfway mark, it was one after another after another without any breaks whatsoever. If you enjoy action movies or stories that completely change genres halfway through this might be for you though. I am willing to give Grisham's novels another chance though, so here's hoping I like another one of his works more than I enjoyed this one.