Rating: 
Summary: Riveting to the last page!
Review: I picked up this book because the title was so nifty and I found that it was a page-turner. I am so impressed with John Grisham's story-telling. This one was one of his best!
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, Albeit Preachy
Review: This certainly isn't Grisham's best work. I'd probably give
that nod to "The Firm", his first seller. That being said, its an enjoyable little yarn: young lawyer
turns to the "dark side" of the law, learns a valuable lesson
about life, finds redemption in the end. You could almost
term it an "After Law School Special". The story draws
the reader in thoroughly, but it lacks the suspense of
the real physical danger suffered by the hero in "The
Firm", for instance. (There is some violence in the
book; I half suspect Grisham included it to prevent the
hero with more that financial danger.) It is undoubtedly, though, a book with a message, and that
message is "mass class action suits are a Very Bad Thing".
The book pulls no punches it making the lawyer who get
very rich filing such legal actions look extraordinarily
sleazy -- they're almost parodies of the "flaunt your wealth"
rich. To be fair, Grisham does not call for massive reform of
the entire civil justice system; he goes out of his way
to make it clear that there are people with legitimate
reasons to sue and get large settlements. Of course, these
people end up harmed by being part of the class action
suits. I tend to agree with Grisham on his points, but I prefer
to save my sermons for Sunday morning.
Rating: 
Summary: Not his best legal thriller
Review: Many of the reviews of John Grisham's I read in the newspapers did not care for The King of Torts, his 15th novel. I, however, enjoyed the book but not as much as his other legal thrillers
The King of Torts is Clay Carter, a 31 year old lawyer who has worked in the public defender's office in Washington, D.C. His newest client is Tequila Watson a young black man who kills another man after leaving a drug rehab center. The next day Clay is approached by Max Pace who says he represents a drug company that produced a drug that caused Tequila and others to kill. The company is willing to pay Clay $15 million to bring a $5 million dollar settlement with the murder victims' families.
This case propels Carter into his own law firm, creating a very large venture with many lawyers, paralegals and staff. The firm continues to grow as other mass tort suits are filed. Greed is the key and this will eventually bring down the protagonist.
The King of Torts is a good read although some Grisham fans might find it a little disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: Lightweight morality tale
Review: This book is a pleasant read, better than Grisham's recent offerings but lacking the depth and substance of his earlier works. The theme "greed is bad" is simplistic and the plot moves straight ahead with no subplots to add interest. Clay Carter as a main character failed to win my empathy simply because he was so weak. Greed sucked him up as easily as a lint ball under a vacuum cleaner with no protest or moral battle on his part. And his girlfriends were almost cartoonish, especially Ridley, who seemed nothing more than an adolescent male fantasy of pumped [breasts], perfect body, and a constant desire to get naked. Rebecca was almost as bad in her own way, with little redeeming qualities to recommend her. Further, her motive for the eventual and sudden springing loose from the tight parental paws was never explained. Another detraction was the ludicrous names Grisham chose for the supporting characters. Patton French? Zach Battle? Tequila Watson? He must have pulled them out of the phone book after a bad night's sleep. I also found the repetition of pet phrases tiresome. By the middle of the book, I felt if I read "I'm listening" or "serious money" one more time, I was going to rip out the pages. Nevertheless the book had enough interest to keep me reading and offered a glimpse into a life most of us will never experience. Grisham's style is always easy to read and at least he doesn't find it necessary, as so many authors do, to descend into sordid sex and foul language as an excuse for poor plotting. However, Grisham can do better. Maybe he's not up to it anymore. The pressure to be brilliant repeatedly must be overwhelming. Since he's still a favorite author despite his flaws, I'll give him four stars. Anybody else would get three.
Rating:
Summary: Another Grisham Great
Review: This book is right in line with all of John Grisham's stories. I thought that it was wonderful and certainly up to the standards that I expected from him.
Rating: 
Summary: Typical Grisham
Review: Typical Grisham book-Young lawyer against the world-makes money-loses it-sails away.....however, easy reading for those who don't read often.
Rating:
Summary: Much better than the Summons
Review: This is much better than his last few legal thrillers (The Summons, The Bretheren...), but I didn't like it as much as A Painted House, and it's definitely not as good as many of his earlier novels. But, I really enjoyed reading it. The story is fast-paced and interesting. The characters are well written and likeable. This reminded me a little bit of The Rainmaker with the inexperienced newcomer, shady characters, big corporations, and big, big money. The story seemed a little unrealistic, but that may just be because I don't live in the world that it is set in. Also, there were a couple of loose ends in the story that were not resolved to my satisfaction, but nothing so important that it would ruin my overall impression of the book. If you're a Grisham fan, I'm sure you'll enjoy this.
Rating:
Summary: Grisham is Clay
Review: As many reviewers have pointed out, Grisham is churning out books for the money. This novel is a didactic treatise on the need for tort reform with flat characters that no one can sympathize or empathize with. Like his last few legal "thrillers", and I use the term loosely, they seem told plots rather than moving character driven stories like A Painted House. A Painted House shows he can write. King of Torts shows he can make money.
Rating:
Summary: How Much Do We Expect from One Author?
Review: As a legal story, I found King of Torts to be a fairly interesting read. I am not an attorney and have never been involved in a class action suit, so this latest addition to the Grisham legal series was pretty enjoyable for me. If this book is truly reflective of the class action law, I have to say that I was most struck by how minimal the level of genuine concern seems for the interests of the client on the part of many attorneys. After reading King of Torts, my conclusion would be, perhaps wrongly,, that attorneys serve their own interests for noteriety and financial gain far before they demonstrate authentic concern for the wrongs that have been done to their clients. And, if that's the case, there is surely something wrong with our legal system. I have read all of John's Grisham's books and liked them. They are usually a quick read and a good diversion. However, I have never thought they were brilliant, or great literature. Sometimes I think we are subjected to too much marketing hype about an author's next book and that often negatively colors our ultimate reaction to the actual book when it is finally published. John Grisham seems to be an author who is held to high -- if not impossible -- standards and expectations. They are decent stories, popular with many, but there seems to be quite a bit of over-expectation on how good we seem to want every one of Grisham's book, and then we hear about folks being disappointed by the book. Let's face it, some writer's stories are truly excellent, other stories are merely passable, and even good writers somethings turn out material that just isn't their best effort. And with John Grisham's works, we have been exposed to the good, the fair and the poor. Overall, I found King of Torts to be an engaging story with good characters and a writing style that allowed me to follow a legal speciality I am unfamiliar with pretty easily. Maybe I am one of the few, but I liked it!
Rating:
Summary: The King is Back
Review: Lately, John Grisham's books have been pretty bad. Skipping Christmas, A Painted House, The Brethren and The Summons were very forgettable. The King of Torts is different. It is a rags to riches story in which you can't help cheering for the protagonist, Clay Carter. As the novel begins Clay is stuck in a dead-end job as a public defender. In a hard to believe plot leap, Clay is contacted by a "fireman,"(a person hired by big corporations implicated in lawsuits to get a settlement) Max Pace who gives him the opportunity to make millions of dollars. Clay gleefully accepts this opportunity and is soon a hotshot multimillionaire with a private jet, house on St. Barts, Porsche and bimbo girlfriend. But of course, this couldn't last... The King of Torts seems to me as an illustration of the contempt in which Grisham holds the profession of mass tort lawyers. It's a quick, great read that will be sure to please fans of Grisham's and also those just looking for a thrilling read.
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