"A whistleblower is a person, usually an employee in a government agency or private enterprise, who discloses to the public or to those in authority, the mismanagement, corruption or illegality or some other wrongdoing of coworkers or superiors."
-paraphrased from The Free Dictionary by Farlex, legal dictionary section
Since The Whistler has been near the top of the Bestseller list for a number of weeks, I had to wait quite a while for my library copy. When I finally received it, I finished it in a few days---definitely a page-turner. I have been a long-time fan of Grisham and have read maybe half of his many novels. I didn't think this one was the same caliber as A Time to Kill, The Firm, The Pelican Brief and The Client, his earlier works, but it was a satisfying read anyway. I will rate it 4+.
Lacy Stoltz works for a government agency I had never heard of, the Board of Judicial Conduct, somewhat like the Internal Affairs Bureau for judges. Lacy and partner Hugo Hatch are informed by a guy named Myers of a corrupt judge who is tied to the fictionalized Tappacola Indians' casino and the "Coast Mafia" led by a conscienceless mobster named Vonn Dubose. Lacy's job is usually cut and dried and has never been dangerous until now when she and Hugo take on something of a criminal investigator's role and become targets of the mob. When the FBI gets involved, you might predict there will be a romantic interest for Lacy. There are so many characters to keep up with, I actually kept whose-who notes for a while.
The setting is Florida which surprised me a little. It seems to me Grisham's favorite setting is Mississippi but he has ventured to other parts of the south. This is the first in Florida as far as I can recall. Some of the places involved---St. Augustine and Tallahassee in particular were familiar to me.
Many of Grisham's books have become movies. I'm pretty sure this one will be added to the list and I will want to see it!
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