Preview
  • The Racketeer

  • By: John Grisham
  • Narrated by: JD Jackson
  • Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (10,962 ratings)

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The Racketeer

By: John Grisham
Narrated by: JD Jackson
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Publisher's summary

Given the importance of what they do, and the controversies that often surround them, and the violent people they sometimes confront, it is remarkable that in the history of this country only four active federal judges have been murdered.

Judge Raymond Fawcett has just become number five.

Who is the Racketeer? And what does he have to do with the judge’s untimely demise? His name, for the moment, is Malcolm Bannister. Job status? Former attorney. Current residence? The Federal Prison Camp near Frostburg, Maryland.

On paper, Malcolm’s situation isn’t looking too good these days, but he’s got an ace up his sleeve. He knows who killed Judge Fawcett, and he knows why. The judge’s body was found in his remote lakeside cabin. There was no forced entry, no struggle, just two dead bodies: Judge Fawcett and his young secretary. And one large, state-of-the-art, extremely secure safe, opened and emptied.

What was in the safe? The FBI would love to know. And Malcolm Bannister would love to tell them. But everything has a price—especially information as explosive as the sequence of events that led to Judge Fawcett’s death. And the Racketeer wasn’t born yesterday....

Nothing is as it seems and everything’s fair game in this wickedly clever new novel from John Grisham, the undisputed master of the legal thriller.

©2012 Belfry Holdings, Inc. (P)2012 Random House Audio

Featured Article: The Essential John Grisham in Audio


John Grisham is best known for his fast-paced legal thrillers and mysteries, many of which have been adapted for television and film. Because he’s so prolific and has been writing for decades, it can be difficult to know where to begin when selecting a title from his impressive back catalog. And Grisham is definitely a jack-of-all-trades: he’s written not only legal thrillers, but nonfiction, a series for kids, some humorous novels, and recently, a new mystery series outside of the legal thriller genre. To help you decide which Grisham gem to download next, we’ve compiled a list of the very best.

What listeners say about The Racketeer

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Probably my least favorite....

I was debating whether I should post this review or not. Typically I only like to post 5 star reviews. Nobody wants to get criticized for ones creative endeavors by some anonymous hack hiding behind a keyboard. Since I am such an avid reader and fan of the author, I decided to post. The story line was great as an idea, the flawless development without any problems very unrealistic and made it a bit boring.
The narrator has perfect diction and timbre, so perfect indeed, that it is close to monotonous.
Regardless of the foresaid, I still recommend it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Read Great Narrative

For fiction it was very believable and entertaining.
I can just picture all those unmarked gold bars in a stack.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic story

Great story and very clever love how the con gets his come upance beautifully performed

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

a great story, by a great writer!

John Grisham is a fantastic writer I could not stop listening. looking forward to his next book.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Surprise surprise!

Never could have guessed the ending by the way the story unfolded. This held my interest the entire time and it’s on to the next one.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

not Grisham's best work

Grisham always ties up his stories in the end, but this time the beginning was slow and the middle a tangled mess of storylines and characters who come in abruptly and vanish just as quickly. Lingering questions (no spoilers) about the timelines and a couple of duplicate phrases (something about speaking English but with a distinct accent) made me think Grisham should stick to his usual well-researched and believable work.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story

I really enjoyed this book, but I love John Grisham stories. I didn't know about the narrator but he turned out to be pretty good as far as I am concerned.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Another great listen

Àbother great Grisham novel, and a great reader. The way it places you in the scene us what I truly appreciated.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Grisham at his best!

Grisham weaves his tale with details of both law and locale, drawing you in, making you root for Mal/Max.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Recommended

I enjoyed listening to this book. The narrator was very good. The story was entertaining and kept my interest.

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