When Kyle was an undergrad, he did some pretty heavy partying and some pretty stupid stuff. He is graduating with honors from Yale Law School now and the past if far behind him, or so he hopes. Those hopes are dashed one February night when he is blackmailed with a video tape of a drunken night that Kyle hoped was forgotten. The girl in the tape is now saying she was raped. Even though Kyle was not one of the accused, he had been present and a trial would be a very ugly thing for him and his friends. The blackmailers are obviously very connected and seem to know everything about Kyle's life. The plan is for Kyle to take a job in a large legal firm and sneak out confidential data to the blackmailers. It goes against everything that Kyle believes in but he feels he has no choice. He begins to plot to rebel against the blackmailers, but does he have any chance at all against their power?
I almost gave up on John Grisham after his last book. I absolutely hated it. I heard this one was closer to his earlier books, so I decided to give it a try. I am glad I did. For once, I was totally sympathetic to Kyle, the main character. He also had a very likable father and realistic friends. The situation that Kyle and his fraternity brothers found themselves in was also one that anyone would try to avoid. Bennie, the blackmailer and his organization, were pretty nebulous. I enjoyed the book, admired the main character for his guts and found the description of large law firms appalling. Still, it's a little frustrating that Grisham refuses to tie everything together in the end.
Rating - 4 stars
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