John Grisham's five novels — A Time To Kill, The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, and The Chamber — have been number one best-sellers, and have a combined total of 47 million copies in print. Now, in The Rainmaker, Grisham returns to the courtroom for the first time since A Time To Kill, and weaves a riveting tale of legal intrigue and corporate greed. Combining suspense, narrative momentum, and humor as only John Grisham can, this is another spellbinding read from the most popular author of our time.Grisham's sixth spellbinding novel of legal intrigue and corporate greed displays all of the intricate plotting, fast-paced action, humor, and suspense that have made him the most popular author of our time. In his first courtroom thriller since A Time To Kill, John Grisham tells the story of a young man barely out of law school who finds himself taking on one of the most powerful, corrupt, and ruthless companies in America — and exposing a complex, multibillion-dollar insurance scam. In his final semester of law school Rudy Baylor is required to provide free legal advice to a group of senior citizens, and it is there that he meets his first "clients," Dot and Buddy Black. Their son, Donny Ray, is dying of leukemia, and their insurance company has flatly refused to pay for his medical treatments. While Rudy is at first skeptical, he soon realizes that the Blacks really have been shockingly mistreated by the huge company, and that he just may have stumbled upon one of the largest insurance frauds anyone's ever seen — and one of the most lucrative and important cases in the history of civil litigation. The problem is, Rudy's flat broke, has no job, hasn't even passed the bar, and is about to go head-to-head with one of the best defense attorneys — and powerful industries — in America.

Ray Atlee is a professor of law at the University of Virginia. He's forty-three, newly single, and still enduring the aftershocks of a surprise divorce. He has a younger brother, Forrest, who redefines the notion of a family's black sheep.

And he has a father, a very sick old man who lives alone in the ancestral home in Clanton, Mississippi. He is known to all as Judge Atlee, a beloved and powerful official who has towered over local law and politics for forty years. No longer on the bench, the Judge has withdrawn to the Atlee mansion and become a recluse.

With the end in sight, Judge Atlee issues a summons for both sons to return home to Clanton, to discuss the details of his estate. It is typed by the Judge himself, on his handsome old stationery, and gives the date and time for Ray and Forrest to appear in his study.

Ray reluctantly heads south, to his hometown, to the place where he grew up, which he prefers now to avoid. But the family meeting does not take place. The Judge dies too soon, and in doing so leaves behind a shocking secret known only to Ray.

And perhaps someone else.

BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from John Grisham's *The Litigators.*

### Amazon.com Review

Law professor Ray Atlee and his prodigal brother, Forrest, are summoned home to Clanton, Mississippi, by their ailing father to discuss his will. But when Ray arrives the judge is already dead, and the one-page document dividing his meager estate between the two sons seems crystal clear. What it doesn't mention, however, is the small fortune in cash Ray discovers hidden in the old man's house--$3 million he can't account for and doesn't mention to brother Forrest, either.

Ray's efforts to keep his find a secret, figure out where it came from, and hide it from a nameless extortioner, who seems to know more about it than he does, culminate in a denouement with an almost biblical twist. It's a slender plot to hang a thriller on, and in truth it's not John Grisham's best in terms of pacing, dramatic tension, and interesting characters (except for Harry Rex, a country lawyer who was the judge's closest friend and in many ways is the father Ray wishes he'd had. He's so vivid he jumps off the page). But Grisham's legions of fans are likely to enjoy *The Summons* even if it lacks the power of some of his classic earlier books, like *The Firm* , *The Brethren* , and *The Testament*. *\--Jane Adams*

### From Publishers Weekly

Beck offers a fine performance in this no-frills production of Grisham's latest, despite its lack of overall narrative zip. University of Virginia law professor Ray Atlee stumbles upon more than $3 million in cash in the rural Mississippi house of his dead father, then tries to discover the source of the money and elude an increasingly persistent and menacing extortionist. Beck is a dynamic reader and excels at tackling the challenge of capturing the characters' Southern twang in the story's dialogue. Ray's voice is refined and authoritative, while that of his black sheep brother, Forrest, carries a slight crack that befits a person lacking in confidence and maturity. Family friend and local lawyer Harry Rex stands out the most, and Beck also deftly portrays a smarmy, boozing Delta attorney who calls himself the "King of the Torts." But even with these intriguing, well-rounded characters and a nice evocation of the legal system's more unsavory machinations, the plot won't move listeners to the edge of their seats. Beck, however, does well with what he has, which is a decently written but rather sluggish tale of suspense with a quirky cast and one good twist at the end. Simultaneous release with the Doubleday hardcover

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From John Grisham, America's number one best-selling author, comes the most electrifying novel of the year, a high-stakes thrill ride through the darkest corners of the Sunshine State.We expect our judges to be honest and wise. Their integrity and impartiality are the bedrock of the entire judicial system. We trust them to ensure fair trials, to protect the rights of all litigants, to punish those who do wrong, and to oversee the orderly and efficient flow of justice.But what happens when a judge bends the law or takes a bribe? It's rare, but it happens.Lacy Stoltz is an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct. She is a lawyer, not a cop, and it is her job to respond to complaints dealing with judicial misconduct. After nine years with the board, she knows that most problems are caused by incompetence, not corruption.But a corruption case eventually crosses her desk. A previously disbarred lawyer is back in business with a new identity. He now goes by the name Greg Myers, and he claims to know of a Florida judge who has stolen more money than all other crooked judges combined. And not just crooked judges in Florida. All judges, from all states and throughout US history.What's the source of the ill-gotten gains? It seems the judge was secretly involved with the construction of a large casino on Native American land. The Coast Mafia financed the casino and is now helping itself to a sizable skim of each month's cash. The judge is getting a cut and looking the other way. It's a sweet deal: Everyone is making money.But now Greg wants to put a stop to it. His only client is a person who knows the truth and wants to blow the whistle and collect millions under Florida law. Greg files a complaint with the Board on Judicial Conduct, and the case is assigned to Lacy Stoltz, who immediately suspects that this one could be dangerous.Dangerous is one thing. Deadly is something else.

Woody Lambert is in trouble. He comes from a broken family, suffers bad grades at school and his older brother, Tony, is on probation for a drug offence. When Woody inadvertently gets caught up with Tony and one of his friends, Garth, cruising around Strattenburg in a beaten-up Mustang drinking beer, one thing leads to another and Garth holds up a convenience store with a fake gun.Though he had no involvement in the crime other than being in Garth’s car, Woody is arrested as an accomplice. He’s going to need serious legal advice to avoid juvenile prison.Enter Theodore Boone: after all, Theo has already decided that he will become the best courtroom lawyer in the state. It’s just that, at the age of thirteen, Theo is years from being a qualified lawyer — and Woody needs help right now...

**A startling and original courtroom drama from *New York Times* #1 Bestseller John Grisham that is the prequel to his newest legal thriller, THE WHISTLER** **** A judge’s first murder trial. A defense attorney in over his head. A prosecutor out for blood and glory. The accused, who is possibly innocent. And the killer, who may have just committed the perfect crime. **

Sfingował własną śmierć i zniknął z 90 milionami z konta swojej firmy prawniczej. Patrick Lanigan, błyskotliwy, znakomity adwokat, dokonał mistrzowskiego przekrętu, którego nie wybaczą mu jego wspólnicy. Po latach dopadną go. Będą torturowali, zanim postawią przed sądem: oni, żona i wymiar sprawiedliwości – wszyscy chcą głowy Patricka… za wszelką cenę. Ale Lanigan przewidział wszystko. Lub prawie wszystko…

Im letzten Semester seines Jurastudiums erteilt Rudy Baylor einer Gruppe alter Leute kostenlose Rechtsberatung und gewinnt dabei seine ersten» Mandanten«: Dot und Buddy Black. Ihr Sohn Donny Ray ist an Leukämie erkrankt, aber die Versicherungsgesellschaft weigert sich hartnäckig, für die Therapie, die sein Leben retten konnte, aufzukommen. Rudy, zunächst skeptisch, begreift bald, daß die Blacks auf infame Weise von ihrer Versicherung über den Tisch gezogen werden und daß er es mit einem der größten Betrugsskandale in der Versicherungsbranche zu tun hat, die es je gab — und zugleich mit einem der spektakulärsten und lukrativsten Prozesse in der Geschichte der amerikanischen Rechtsprechung: Der Anwalt, der ihn gewinnt, kann zum» Regenmacher «werden: Er kann seiner Kanzlei das ganz große Geld einbringen. Doch da ist noch ein Problem: Rudy, der sein Studium mit Jobs finanziert hat, ist pleite und kann keine Anstellung finden. Er hat noch nicht einmal das Anwaltsexamen hinter sich, geschweige denn eine Lizenz. Und gleich bei seinem ersten Fall wird er es im Gerichtssaal mit einem der erfolgreichsten Verteidiger der Vereinigten Staaten zu tun bekommen.«In unglaublich dramatischen, aber gelegentlich auch sehr witzigen Gerichtsszenen erfahren wir genau, wie eine Versicherung wirklich funktioniert und welcher betrügerischen Mittel die großen Konzerne sich immer wieder bedienen.«