Product Description

If you thought Mitch McDeere was in trouble in The Firm, wait
until you meet Kyle McAvoy, The Associate

Kyle McAvoy grew up in his father’s small-town law office in York, Pennsylvania. He excelled in college, was elected editor-in-chief of The Yale Law Journal, and his future has limitless potential.

But Kyle has a secret, a dark one, an episode from college that he has tried to forget. The secret, though, falls into the hands of the wrong people, and Kyle is forced to take a job he doesn’t want—even though it’s a job most law students can only dream about.

Three months after leaving Yale, Kyle becomes an associate at the largest law firm in the world, where, in addition to practicing law, he is expected to lie, steal, and take part in a scheme that could send him to prison, if not get him killed.

With an unforgettable cast of characters and villains—from Baxter Tate, a drug-addled trust fund kid and possible rapist, to Dale, a pretty but seemingly quiet former math teacher who shares Kyle’s “cubicle” at the law firm, to two of the most powerful and fiercely competitive defense contractors in the country—and featuring all the twists and turns that have made John Grisham the most popular storyteller in the world, The Associate is vintage Grisham.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3630 in Books
• Published on: 2009-01-27
• Released on: 2009-01-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 384 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780385517836
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Bestseller Grisham's contemporary legal thriller offers an action-and-suspense plot reminiscent of that of his breakout book, 1991's The Firm, in contrast to 2008's didactic The Appeal, which served as a platform for his concerns about the corrupting effects of judicial elections. Kyle McAvoy, a callow Yale Law School student, dreams of a public service gig on graduation, until shadowy figures blackmail him with a videotape that could revive a five-year-old rape accusation. Instead of helping those in need, McAvoy accepts a position at a huge Wall Street firm, Scully & Pershing, whose clients include a military contractor enmeshed in a $800 billion lawsuit concerning a newly-designed aircraft. McAvoy can avoid exposure of his past if he feeds his new masters inside information on the case. Readers should be prepared for some predictable twists, an ending with some unwarranted ambiguity and some unconvincing details (the idea that a secret file room in a high stakes litigation case would be closed from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. every night stretches credulity to the breaking point). Still, Grisham devotees should be satisfied, even if this is one of his lesser works.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Bookmarks Magazine
Critics agree with Entertainment Weeklythat The Associate"is vintage Grisham, for better or worse, made timely with its sorry portrait of what passes for everyday ethics on Wall Street." Like his previous novels, The Associateis heavy on readability, predictability, and pace, and lighter on character development, scene setting, and style—no surprises here. Fans of Grisham cited masterfully drawn characters and page-turning subplots, but less enthusiastic reviewers faulted stock villains, a rather mysterious Kyle, and implausible storylines. Timeeven claimed that unlike Michael Crichton or Scott Turow, who "wrestle with actual issues," Grisham deals with, well, nothing. Still, you know what you're getting into with The Associate, for better or for worse.
Copyright 2009 Bookmarks Publishing LLC

From Booklist
Editor of the Yale Law Journal, recipient of job offers from the best Wall Street firms, a wonderful (but not too serious) girl by his side—Kyle McAvoy is ready to take on the world. Until, that is, Bennie Wright, an unsavory private investigator, walks into his life and announces that Kyle will be doing Bennie’s bidding for the foreseeable future. Why would Kyle put his fate into the hands of Bennie and his unsavory crew? Because they know a secret about Kyle—an incident involving a fraternity party gone bad—that Kyle thought was buried and forgotten. If the story gets out, Kyle’s career could be ruined, so he does as Bennie demands and accepts a position with one of Wall Street’s two largest firms. Kyle’s assignment is to spy on his new employer on behalf of Bennie’s client, the other premier Wall Street firm, as the two legal giants face off in the largest case involving defense contracts in U.S. history. Kyle must play along if he wants to get out alive. Just like Mitch McDeere in Grisham’s break-out novel, The Firm (1991), Kyle is at once too naive and too cocky, daring to try to outwit forces much more powerful than he. Grisham knows how to produce a page-turner, that’s for sure, and while his plot this time stretches believability a bit, he’ll hook readers with the David-against-Goliath angle.

Customer Reviews

Padding
Mr. Grisham is padding his billing sheet with The Associate, which seems almost to have been ghost-written. It reflects little of the talent behind The Partner, my favorite Grisham novel and, frankly, it made me somewhat upset to have spent 27 bucks. I would have been disappointed to buy this one in paperback. Time was that you started a Grisham novel and couldn't put it down. Had I not been stuck in an airport en route from a deposition I would not have had the patience to finish.

This book was like my sixth grade term paper; we all had them, you would count the words until you got to the end. Likewise, although there was some great potential in this story it was not realized. Sure, there were half-hearted attempts to bring other characters to life, but they were all just that, half-hearted. The ending was among the most disappointing that I have ever come across--in any genre.

Nobody learns anything. There is no character progression--just a slow moving train wreck from which nobody emerges having been enlightened. In fact, the reader feels much like our protagonist--forced to endure a journey that was expected to be something completely different and not entirely sure how to escape. Heavens, big law firms are such a deliciously evil mix of stunningly warped personalities and distorted goals that any number of excellent thrillers could be drawn from facts known to just about any lawyer.

I do hope that Mr. Grisham rediscovers the joy of telling a story--he is very good at it; however, I cannot recommend this book.

Disappointed
I have read every one of John Grisham's books and was looking forward to this one, however, after finishing it last night, I must say I was very disappointed. The ending (which, of course, I won't give away) was very lame. He spent a lot of time on the big bad law firms abusing the associates and not enough on the real story of Kyle and who were these people who were ruining his life. I would definitely not recommend it.

Potential unfulfilled!
John Grisham can be one heck of a novelist when he sets his mind to it. But "The Associate" comes across as a bit lazy and unfocused. This story of a young and bright law student who is the victim of a blackmail scheme just wanders for a while and then kind of plops down in the end. I will admit that I found much of the writing interesting but it seems that Grisham wants to tell the reader the difficulties and detail of working for a massive law firm without adding any suspense or proper conclusion to the tale. Maybe he plans a sequel (?) which could be fairly dynamic but this book can be summed up fairly simply.
1. Kyle wants to work in the law.
2. Bad guy threatens Kyle with video and blackmails him to steal information from major legal firm. (Who is the bad guy? You'll never know.)
3. Kyle reluctantly cooperates.
4. Lots of meetings with bad guy and hero going over dull details.
5. Kyle agonizes
6. One moment of horror when a character dies (Who killed him? You'll never know)
7. Will Kyle execute plan of bad guy?
8. Then a completely deflating climax. (Believe me, you'll be sorely disappointed.)
There is a comparison on the book jacket to "The Firm" a previous Grisham hit novel. My advice, read "The Firm". If you must read this book, wait for the paperback to be on sale at the used bookstore near you.