The Boys from Biloxi by John Grisham

 

"A lawyer in a trial facing a jury has a dozen things on his mind. Getting to trial takes meticulous preparation. There was no time to grieve, fret, fear, to feel sorry for oneself. At the age of twenty-eight, Keith was becoming a good trial lawyer, one his father would be proud of."

                 -from the novel

This is the second of Grisham's works I have read recently that I did not love. The other was Sparring Partners, a collection of novellas, and I only rated it a 3. This one was more of a page turner, so it gets a 4 rating from me. It would be classified a legal thriller involving organized crime with several despicable characters.

Keith Ruby and Hugh Malco grew up together in Biloxi, Mississippi in the 1960's. They were close in their youth, enjoying baseball and scouts together. In adulthood they had moved in totally different directions, on opposite sides of the law! Hugh follows in his mob boss father's footsteps and Keith becomes a lawyer and later a DA like his father. One might predict they would meet in court at some point. 

The writing was adept as usual, and I could easily root for Jesse Ruby and his son Keith.  I wasn't sure what to think about the ending!