03.08.08
Tort-lawyer procedural
If you read mysteries, you soon become familiar with the police procedural: the mystery is written as an ensemble piece, with the technical details of the various police specialties front and center rather than the deductive intuition of a maiden aunt or scholarly eccentric. These are appealing because in fact most murders are solved by the police rather than by amateur and because the practical, factual details of police work are as fascinating as any craft.
I just finished John Grisham’s The Appeal, and it, too, is a procedural, but following tort law procedures and embellishments. Grishman writes a tight and persuasive novel, and the technical detail is gripping even if at times a bit didactic. Still, he carries it off, and it’s definitely a novel worth reading.
I got it from the library. The wait list was long, but moved rapidly. It’s a quick read, and one doesn’t want to put it down. Recommended.
