The Whistler

The Whistler is John Grisham’s latest legal thriller. Florida’s Board on Judicial Conduct (BCJ) was a small agency that looked into allegations of misconduct by the state’s judges. Usually that had to do with substance abuse or perhaps bribery, nothing like the tip they got about the Honorable Claudia McDover. A mole in her court, who was remaining anonymous to the investigators, and the mole used an intermediary named Cooley. They claimed that the judge was being paid by Vonn Dubose, a ghost of a figure who was running the “Coast Mafia.” First, Dubose had found a way inside a small Indian tribe that wanted to cash in on the Indian casino business. Then he seduced McDover into the scheme in which she had to make favorable rulings, not only about the casino, but then about land deals all around the area. Dubose had his hand in multiple big land deals, golf course developments, and related businesses. He was able to pay McDover millions.

The BCJ only had six investigators, and two were assigned to develop a case that they quickly realized was over the their heads. They needed the FBI, but they did not want to lose control of the case too early. Lacy Stolz and Hugo Hatch were investigative partners, both lawyers. Lacy was an attractive single woman whose best friend was Hugo’s wife, and Hugo had four kids. It was Hugo who was killed in an attempt to stop the investigation.

As usual, Grisham’s character development was excellent. I cared about his characters, and was eager to see how he would bring this story to a conclusion. The plot was a little slow at times, but Grisham brought this to a satisfying conclusion, surprisingly, without the courtroom drama that he writes so well. There was a dramatic ending sequence when the FBI finally brought the hammer down on everyone who was involved. The whistle blowers were well reimbursed for the risks they took in taking down Dubose and McDover. It’s a good read, not Grisham’s best, but well worth the effort.