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annegoodreads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The book is a sequel to Grisham's 2016 novel The Whistler. I consider both books to be more murder mysteries rather than legal thrillers. You don’t have to read The Whistler to read The Judge’s List. The main character Lacy Stoltz is an attorney in Pensacola. Lacy works for the Florida Board of Judicial Conduct investigating complaints against judges. She gets information from Margie aka Jeri Crosby, as well as a bunch of other aliases. Twenty years ago Jeri’s father was murdered. He was a beloved law professor. His mysterious murder has remained unsolved for 20 years. Jeri tries convincing Lacy the killer was Judge Ross Bannick. Jeri thinks he murdered 6 other people based on the method of the killer. He uses a nylon rope and a certain knot. We know early on he probably is the killer, but proving it is the problem. Ross is a technological genius. The story moves quickly from the very start. The end is well wrapped up. This book has a side story of Lacy’s career goals and love life. Her boyfriend, Allie is an FBI agent. The ending concerning Lacy’s future felt a little unrealistic to me, but I guess that’s the fun in writing. This was definitely one of Grisham’s better books he’s recently published. He’s one of the authors that I try to read every single book he publishes. I loved his books back before he was a bestselling author. Thank you to Doubleday for my gifted copy!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide, Torture, and Violence
littlebit2991's review against another edition
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide and Murder
Minor: Pedophilia
jacypate's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Thank you libro.fm for my ALC! I quite enjoyed this Grisham novel. The last I read from him was "A Time for Mercy" and it was a little lackluster to me; it lacked that satisfying "justice is served" taste I crave from this author (the obvious problem there is "mercy" is in the title, but I didn't feel it was adequately dished out either.) All that to say The Judge's List hit the spot for me. I enjoyed the main character, Lacy, as much as I did in Whistler, though I don't find her relatable. There were enough lighthearted personal moments to make the heavier content palatable, but of course there was plenty of tension and nail-biting suspense as well. All in all, The Judge's List was a thoroughly enjoyable novel well worth the time to read/listen to it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Death of parent