THE JUDGE'S LIST, by John Grisham

    

Mystery/Thriller -- 3 stars

The Whistler - Book 2

Jeri Crosby's father was murdered twenty years ago, the crime never solved.  She has made it her life's work to find his killer.  She believes the guilty party is a Florida judge who she also believes is responsible for a number of murders in other states.  Jeri feels she finally has enough evidence to involve Lacy Stoltz, a state investigator charged with examining any suspected judicial malfeasance.  Lacy finds it hard to believe a popular sitting judge could be a serial killer, but the evidence suggests that Jeri could be right. ----- Mr. Grisham makes it clear from the first pages that the judge in question is, in fact, guilty.  This choice robs the reader of the tension and build to the "Aha!" moment that makes Mr. Grisham's judicial thrillers so popular.  Another choice, that to have Jeri Crosby conceal much of the evidence from her chosen investigator, slows the pace down to a crawl and becomes irritating by the halfway mark.  Unfortunately, Mr. Grisham makes a third choice that robs the reader of the climactic "Gotcha" moment.  The saving grace of this novel is the judge's diabolical planning that has kept his secret agenda hidden for so long, but that is not enough to raise this thriller above the simply average.  A disappointing outing for John Grisham.