Malcolm Bannister is a lawyer serving time in the Federal Prison Camp near Frostburg, Maryland.  Charged and convicted in a RICO case for something he didn’t even know he was involved in, he is serving a 10 year sentence. While he waits, Malcolm helps his fellow inmates with their legal problems, still trying to use his professional skills even though he has been disbarred and can never practice again.

Then the body of Judge Fawcett, a Federal judge is found at his isolated cabin along with the body of his secretary. There are no signs of a struggle, but inside the cabin was a large state of the art safe standing wide open and empty.  The FBI tries to figure out who did it and why and desperately want to know what was in the safe, but their leads are drying up and the investigation is losing momentum.

Malcolm Bannister thinks he know who did it and why, but he doesn’t trust the system or the FBI.  But he has a plan -a complicated plan, and it might just work.  And maybe, just maybe, he will be able to be free!

I have never been a huge fan of John Grisham’s books, although there have been a few that were intriguing like The Firm or The Pelican Brief. Overall, however, I have felt that Scott Turow’s books are better written, have more interesting characters and do a much better job in describing lawyers and the legal system.  However, The Racketeer has a very intriguing premise and Malcolm is an interesting character and as the plot twists and turns it is fun to see where the story is going next.  This is a fun, quick read…something that would be great for the holidays!

Brenda’s Rating: *** (3 out of 5 Stars)   

Recommend this book to: Sharon and Marian

Book Study Worthy? No

Read in e-book format.