The Racketeer by John Grisham

I thought The Racketeer by John Grisham was pretty stupid honestly.  I hate to say that, too, because John Grisham is highly acclaimed, and I like many of his books.  However, The Racketeer just didn't cut it.  I spent the whole book trying to figure out if the main character, Malcolm, was a good guy or a bad guy.  I'm still not sure.  Malcolm was supposed to be a lawyer who had been in a prison camp for several years.  Yet, the way he talked about things made me feel like he could have never been a lawyer.  He claims he never made much money as a lawyer, which I guess could be true depending on your definition of "much money."  However, what got to me more was how he kept talking about freedom as if he had never been free.  He made it feel as though he had been in jail since birth or something.  Then, without giving anything away, the things Malcolm did throughout the book were extremely intelligent and perfectly planned scenarios.  If he's so smart, how did he get put in jail for something he didn't do in the first place?  It just all felt contrived.  I'm not even sure I can say that the story was at least good.  Then, the ending felt very cliche.  I give The Racketeer by John Grisham 2 out 5 stars.