Rating: 
Summary: A page-turner with a lack of credibility
Review: In his ninth book John Grisham turns to a pressing social issue in all post-industrial societies: the increasing number of homeless and poor people. As an angle he tells the story of a successful young lawyer, Michael Brock, working for a big-time law firm in D.C., making big dough. At the beginning of the plot he readily transforms into an advocate of the underprivileged after being held hostage by a homeless man, who gets killed in the process. And that exactly is the weak spot of the novel: why would a graduate of Yale law school give up his promising career for a street bum he didn't know, and about whom he couldn't have cared less before the event? The extent Brock's social conscience gets shattered is simply not very credible. Apart from that "The Street Lawyer" is a well written, absorbing book that is hard to put down. Grisham evolves his story at a fast pace, mingling hard facts about homeless people and their dire situation without preaching too obviouly. At the same time he gives those people a lot of dignity without ignoring problems like drug abuse, illiteracy or mental illness. It's certainly not a documentary, but a riveting piece of fiction with a moral message. And besides its goal to entertain, it has always been one of literature's most important duties to yield social criticism. "The Street Lawyer" may not be Grisham's best work, but it's still a page-turner and worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Not a legal thriller, but good.
Review: Ok-This was a small departure from his other works in the fact there wasn't as much action, but it wasn't all that bad. No where on the book or the cover does it toot the horn of "Legal Thriller" Just because that is what he normally writes, doesnt mean he can only write that genre. I thought the book was well done and had a good message. Other reviews told him to get off his soap box, I find it refreshing that an author with his clout wrote something with a social conscious. He did it with Time to Kill, but hasnt really done it since then. If you didnt read the author's note at the end, read it. The last sentence summed up the book. It is real.
Rating: 
Summary: Where has the Mystique gone?
Review: By nature I have always been a Grisham fan. I have read all the books the has written. THE STREET LAWYER Was actually the book that I felt the most disapointed with. It was shallow, slow, and predicable. I know I have a biased perception of the Grisham works because I love the way he writes, but thiws one made me feel Disapointed. PEOPLE BETTER READ THE RAINMAKER OR THE PARTNER BEFORE PICKING UP THIS "BRICK"
Rating: 
Summary: I thought this was a very good book. Fast reading
Review: I felt that if more people would read this book it would show that in fact the homeless are not all bums but sometimes they are just people who are down on their luck and are taken advantage of. Maybe we all could learn to give a little of ourselves and our time. I feel this would make a good movie especially in this day and age.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a waste of time, but close
Review: I have enjoyed Grisham books in the past but this was well below his average. I would rate A TIME TO KILL his best and THE CHAMBER his worst. The book did make you assess how lucky you may be and whether you do enough to help others less fortunate, but the hero's quick switch was unbelievable. The resolution was also unbelievable. Does Grisham really believe that there are no bad guys? Pollyanna lives.
Rating:
Summary: The Great Society, $5 trillion-- but it's Reagan's fault
Review: Sadly, Grisham has gone the way of Patricia Cornwell with me. Instead of anxiously awaiting the release of their next novel-- I'll be looking somewhere else. (Try The Unlikely Spy or Los Alamos) The Street Lawyer was horrible for several reasons. First-- the political undertow became too much. Maybe Mr. Grisham should reconsider his premise-- forty years of Democratic rule, $5 trillion dollars spent on LBJ's Great Society-- but its all the Republican's fault. Pure Hog Wash! Secondly, Grisham let his obvious political prejudice sidetrack what was admittedly a good premise. This is not a thriller. If I wanted to read an expose on the homeless, then I would pick up the Washington Post or The New York Times. Goodbye Mr. Grisham.
Rating:
Summary: The Liberals Win in this one!
Review: Interesting how the reviews are drawn between political lines. Conservatives find it preachy. Liberals love it. Some Republicans were even offended by it. I think that was the point. I loved it! I had not been able to finish a Grisham book since Pelican Brief, but I was enthralled by this one. I am going to give it as a gift to all my conservative friends who have bought such inane things as Random Acts of Kindness for me. Go Grisham!!!!!!!! (By the way, I'd love to see James Earl Jones as Mordecai Green.)
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Grisham is one of the few authors I pick up his book the day it comes out before the reviews are in. Unfortunately with this one I wished I had waited. It seems like every other book of his is good. Chamber was his worst, Rainnmaker was good, Runaway Jury boring, The Partner was good, now Street Lawyer. The common theme is when he tries to preach his books fall apart. There was nothing suspenseful about this latest effort. I could have cared less how it ended up. The best thing about this book was the print is big, the margins wide and thus it didnt take very long to read. The misery was over with in short order.
Rating:
Summary: A FREE COPY IN THE DITCH ALONG TEXAS HWY. 183 NEAR AUSTIN
Review: Maybe Grisham's next book should be about a group of readers who demand a refund from a lawyer/author through a juicy class action suit. And "The Street Lawyer" books could all be donated to use as fuel to keep the homeless warm. It certainly would be more interesting than his current work. I think Grisham should at least write a supplemental insert that can be inserted on page 50 or so that actually has a decent plot and actually goes somewhere interesting. Of course maybe he has told all the interesting tales he had to tell. Maybe there's just nothing left. What goes up comes down. And Grisham has definately come down. This really has to suck for Grisham. But then he's got 17 bucks that I don't have anymore. Of course it was almost worth 17 bucks to read all the nasty things his readers had to say. So, I guess I got my money's worth from him. Mr. Grisham, maybe you need to sit down and read "The Firm" or "The Pelican Brief" again. Those books were good! I miss them.
Rating:
Summary: Left me kinda empty
Review: Just when I thought there was reason to cheer--a new John Grisham book--I read it. Although it did keep me enthralled as I was reading it, I can't honestly say that I liked it too much. It's a page turner, but it leaves you feeling kind of hollow. But I may just be biased. I read an interview somewhere in which Grisham said that he didn't like writing, but he liked being a published author. Speaking as a writer who loves to write and has yet to be published, may I suggest to Mr. Grisham that he seriously rethink his career if he really doesn't like the work--and let someone who has a more original idea step forward for a little glory?
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