Rating: 
Summary: Grisham's best book since "The Rainmaker"!
Review: This book is one of the best Grisham has come out with in years! "Street Lawyer" has the same feel to it that "The Rainmaker" did. The ending is great, and the plot carries through brilliantly. The soapbox for the homeless is obvious, but the story isn't affected too bad by it. A VERY satisfying read!
Rating: 
Summary: Fuel for Ego
Review: Everytime I buy A Grisham book, I swear I won't buy the next one and this time I MEAN IT. I wish I knew how to send this book to Grisham so he could use it to heighten his soap box or use it to fuel the fires of his ego! If readers want a good thriller, try Michael Connelly (Concrete Blonde, Trunk Music) and I suggest Grisham read Connelly to find how it is suppose to be done! Not another dime from me.
Rating: 
Summary: Provokes soul-searching but John Grisham is capable of MORE!
Review: Being a die-hard Grisham fan, I feel compelled to write my 2 cents worth. The book starts very well; "Mister" is a gripping character. Unfortunatels none of the other characters get the same treatment. Mordecai Green comes close. I was disappointed in the "hero"- Michael Brock comes off looking like a real lame-o lawyer. That he has a conscience is wonderful, but his amteurish ways are a real turn-off. John Grisham has some potentially great characters but they don't go anywhere- Hector Palm does not even come close to the intrigue of pelican Brief's "Garcia". Sophia gets to do no more that track down Hector on the phone. I wasn't sure what purpose Ruby played in the book. Michael's character could have done quite well without his wife Claire. I could go on... I' sure. But all in all the wonderful potential of the book not been exploited to the fullest by John Grisham. John, you have a die-hard fan in me and there are many others like me I'm sure; so make the next one great, huh?
Rating:
Summary: Only if you want SOMETHING quick to read!!!
Review: The characters in this book didn't have depth. He didn't make you really care about them and theirsituations. There didn't seem to be any real deepdown dialogue between anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Classic Grisham.... and I liked it just fine!
Review: Come on, you guys. This is Grisham, not Thomas Mann. Good stuff, of its kind. I found it quite readable, thoroughly enjoyable. Good characters, interesting plot, great atmosphere, satisfying ending. It provided me with a very pleasant rainy Sunday afternoon. And for the reviewer who thought it improbable that a Yalie big-firm lawyer would jump ship... well, not common, but it happens. Grisham's description of Brock's difficulty in getting back into work mode after his first exposures to Green is such a perfect description of my own experience at an unrewarding (except financially)job that I can't help but believe that Mr. Grisham may have been there himself. I also felt he did a good job of personalizing the homeless characters in the book, stopping well short of sentimentalizing them. If the book serves to point out our country's horrific failure to care for the less fortunate in our midst, so much the better.
Rating: 
Summary: A somewhat pedestrian effort
Review: A crazed, homeless gunman takes Michael Brock and eight other attorneys at the prestigious Washington, D.C., law firm of Drake & Sweeney hostage, setting in motion a chain of events and major change of life that Michael could not have anticipated the day before. Then, he had been comfortable in his job, well paid and on the fast track to partnership, which could mean a million dollars a year for the rest of his life. Soon after he escapes from the hostage crisis, he begins taking steps that lead him away from corporate antitrust law and into a small law firm dedicated to advocacy for the homeless. Prior to leaving, however, he purloins a client file, in which he hopes to find information about the deaths of five homeless people. The file becomes both his weapon for use against the firm due to the information in it and the firm's weapon against him because of his theft of it. "The Street Lawyer" is perhaps John Grisham's most socially-conscious effort (though one might well consider "The Chamber," which dealt with the death penalty, to hold that distinction), and it therefore contains a fair amount of politics in it, especially in the frequent complaints of Mordecai Green, the lawyer who heads the small firm that Michael joins. Readers who prefer the clear-cut lines of good and (very) bad of other Grisham efforts (particularly "The Firm" and "The Pelican Brief") may be disappointed by the gray areas here, for much of the book reads as an indictment of the upper middle and upper classes and of republicans. Grisham does not allow these indictments to get in the way of the story too frequently, though, and he brings the story to a conclusion quite similar to that in "The Rainmaker," albeit with less over-the-top drama. The issue of homelessness is indeed an important one, and Grisham includes a personal afterword suggesting his newfound awareness of the problem and the factors contributing to it. One cannot help but wonder, however, whether the author is genuinely concerned or merely paying lip service while using the problem for a novel that will no doubt be the source of more millions of dollars for him. During the hostage crisis that starts the book, the gunman has all of the hostages divulge their salaries and the amounts they've given to charities for the poor. The message is clear, especially because the protagonist (Michael) feels guilty for having done nothing to help others. And yet "The Street Lawyer" arrived on book stores' shelves with a list price of $27.95--considerably higher than many hardcovers--and nary a mention that the proceeds would in any way help anyone besides Mr. Grisham, his agent and publisher, and the stores selling the book. Compared to other Grisham efforts, "The Street Lawyer" probably does not rank among his best. Compared to other legal novels in general, the law in "The Street Lawyer" is rather naive or simplistic. While this simplicity should ensure that the wide audience that is the book's target does not lose interest with discussions of legal niceties, it does make for a somewhat unbelievable resolution and some problematic ethical issues.
Rating:
Summary: Not one of Grisham's better books
Review: Read the synopsis by Amazon.com and you've essentially read the book. This is a book written in a straight narrative form with no sense of characterization, no suspense, no plot to speak of. However, it is a good tract to make the reader who is unaware of the plight of the homeless more aware. That is the book's only real worth. The editing in regard to usage and punctuation is slipshod at best. It is an easy read, and if the reader is waiting for a plane or bus it's a fast easy read while waiting. It will tax no one's brainpower but it will kill time if time needs killing.
Rating:
Summary: Seen one, you've seen 'em all.
Review: I liked this book the first time I read it...When it was called _A Time to Kill_.
Rating:
Summary: In a word -- BORING!
Review: Basically, Grisham had two ideas. One was to have a lawyer steal a file, and the other was to bring attention to the homeless. While one of the ideas is noble, he has done a poor job with the plot. It basically is a guy changing his lifestyle, talking to some homeless people and suing the latest big company, all the while trying to stay out of jail. The character cleverly avoids going to jail by going to work and bluffing the big company. Not much ever really happens in the book. I would definitely read some of his earlier works -- the earlier, the better.
Rating:
Summary: The Street Lawyer is a good light recreational read.
Review: Using the plight of the homeless vs. the excesses of the wealthy as a vehicle, Grisham takes his standard male character through a typical legal conflict. There are no contrived twists or surprises. There are no serious misstatements of the law. There are no memorable characters. Nor is the book memorable. But, it is a good one-time read.
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