CR Book Review on Crimeblog.us
As some of you know, Gregg and Matt have a new feature running on Steve Huff’s true crime site, Crimeblog.us. It’s the Crime Rant Read of the Week. This week we’ve taken a look at John Grisham’s foray into the TC genre. Check it out!
December 2nd, 2006 at 12:55 pm
Wow. What a scathing review.
Did I catch a hint of jealousy between the lines.
Sure Grisham isn’t the second coming of TC writers but come on guys–he didn’t deserve that.
Cricket
December 2nd, 2006 at 3:19 pm
B+ isnt a bad review. But I do get that bit of the hint as well.
I think Grisham will probably bring new interest to the genre of True Crime. I think it will be good for all of the True Crime authors.
December 2nd, 2006 at 3:50 pm
I sort of caught what you guys were saying about his opening being similar to Capote’s and the structure of the book being somewhat typical.
And I think you guys “have the chops” to give some counsel. As with any creative endeavor, we are taught to learn the rules first, then we can break them. I imagine he will read this review and maybe take it to heart. If not, all his millions will keep him warm.
I have been doing fine art photography for about 30 years, and I can still remember that one of my first teachers critiqued my work harshly, and after going home and crying about it, it sparked me to do some of my best creative work.
(Not that Grisham will cry, mind you) ):
December 2nd, 2006 at 7:33 pm
Hi guys, I read the review. Now, why don’t you tell us how you REALLY feel…. hahahahaha, just kidding.
I have read quite a few Grisham novels and like them very much. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and read his TC. As I hope everyone will read Gregg’s fiction novel (I can’t WAIT to read it !!!!).
I guess it may make people a little apprehensive when their favorite authors veer off course and try something new. However, I can understand that these creative minds might need a break once in awhile! Now Gregg, I’m chomping at the bit to read your fiction novel…. but you’re not giving up
TC, right….gulp……
I have great respect for many authors. However, my greatest respect goes out to TC… because of the tremendous and difficult research that you do; because of the personal risks you take; because of the emotional toll these kinds of stories take on you and your families; the list goes on and on. It’s just a whole different ballgame, and I think many authors who try to take it on… will wilt. Not to worry Matt and Gregg, you RULE.
December 2nd, 2006 at 10:38 pm
I have to agree with Matt and Gregg’s assessment. My sister is becoming a well known Romance writer, but the reason for that is she is not only using the “outline” that all romance writers are to use, it’s because she goes outside of the dotted line.
I’ve always thought that Grisham stayed within his dotted line. His books are good, but after the first few, you find yourself wondering if you’ve “read this book before”. Anne Rule goes beyond these boundaries, only because each story she writes is different, but all the content is the same. Come on, all you ARF’s out there, couldn’t you write an Anne Rule book at this point? Please don’t think I’m undermining her work – it’s awesome – but it’s a pattern.
My sister tells me that her publisher makes her stick to a specific pattern/outline, and if it’s not written that way, it’s NOT published. John Grisham is exactly that way, and darned if all his books didn’t start sounding the same to me.
Please, let’s keep some creativity going in our TC books! Please!! Thanks Matt and Gregg for seeing this like it is.
December 2nd, 2006 at 10:40 pm
It is very difficult for any successful author to try a new “genre”. Many times to increase their reader base and sales, children’s authors try writing teen stories or some young adult writer tries their hand at some fantasy and quite frankly the first attempt disappoints readers. Many authors cannot take the “growing pains” and go back to the same old, same old.
Most likely after years and years of writing fiction crime books Grisham probably felt like doing something “different” and he stepped into the world of “true crime”. I absolutely admire people that take such risks in their careers.
Being the extremely successful author that he is, I believe he’ll welcome the reviews positive or negative of this book. He’ll make adjustments and the next TC book he writes just might be a masterpiece! I’ll even put money on the fact that he does not open it with a description of the town!
December 3rd, 2006 at 4:22 am
Oh great, I’m really glad I bought it now! I had a brief look at it and it seemed OK, but really I wanted to see if he could hack it! I find his novels really formulaic – my first one was ‘The Firm’ and I’d guessed what was happening before I’d read a quarter of it. Oh well! Fiz.
December 3rd, 2006 at 8:13 am
I read Grisham’s book a few weeks ago. I thought it was good, if not formulaic, up to a point.
I can’t remember exactly where, (and I don’t have the book handy as I write this) but it became a real yawner . . . to the extent that I skimmed a fair number of pages toward the end.
It was a bit repetitive and all I could think was, “where was the editor?”
You’re right on . . . he did get bogged down by the research.
A Death in Belmont has similar flaws.
Leave the TC writing to the true TC writers! But, I agree . . . these books can only bring more readers to the TC genre. Andie
December 3rd, 2006 at 11:19 am
Anyone with writing ability and a mind to do so should have the option to do something other than be pigeonholed into a genre. Gregg has branched now into fiction, Grisham has written a work of non-fiction. Discussions of who “should” be writing what seem moot, to me.
I’m still puzzling over how Cricket got “scathing” out of a B+ review. Or anything bitchy in the review.
December 3rd, 2006 at 12:23 pm
I usually consider Grisham books my ‘airplane books’. I buy a used copy, read it on the plane and leave at the hotel for someone else to enjoy. I like them but I don’t insist that my friends borrow my copy and read it so we can discuss it. Nor do I go on a campaign to have everyone in my office read it and buy copies for all my family members for Christmas/birthdays. (Gregg, you know how that works.
)
I bought and read this new one. I still have it. Two others have read it and a couple more have asked to borrow it.
I can’t get upset if a story starts out telling about the setting. One of the most memorable is Jack Olsen’s “Son”. It starts with s description of Spokane, Washington. It’s been years since I read that book but I can’t forget that opening. Maybe that’s because I live near Spokane, but setting the scene in that one really hooked me. (Yes, it’s a TC book and bad guy -Kevin Coe- was discussed here on CR a few months ago.)
After reading the review, I was surprised that you gave it a B+. That’s a fair assessment for the book but the review indicated a lower grade.
December 3rd, 2006 at 12:39 pm
Nona says: After reading the review, I was surprised that you gave it a B+. That’s a fair assessment for the book but the review indicated a lower grade.
****************
My point exactly. The review did indicate a much lower opinion then what the passive B+ was trying to portray…hence the “between the lines” comment.
Steve–”bitchy” was your word–NOT mine.
And I’m still working on my response to your statement/question. Hang in there…it’s coming.
Cricket
December 3rd, 2006 at 3:03 pm
Ok Steve and anyone else interested–here goes. First off I’d like to refresh your memory that the word you used as “bitchy” was NOT mine but rather yours. And how did I come up with a B+ grade as a “scathing” review?
Easy.
The first sentence of the review that stuck out to me, starts out as: “Welcome, thank you and maybe even “Shame on you”. SHAME on you? Shame on him for WHAT? Daring to tread on their hallow ground of TC writing?! Or SHAME on him for doing what many authors who have tired of their previous works did–change and try something new?
The second sentence starts out as: “The book itself is FAIR”. FAIR. Coming from peers this to me IS “bitchy” but in a passive mode.
The third: “It works on some levels while FAILING MISERABLY on others.” Failing and Miserable are verbs and adjectives best left to amateurs, not seasoned writers who work WITH words and know the POWER of a well-placed literary stab–if you will, in the proverbial spine [pun intended].
Fourth: “BOGGED DOWN by research” BOGGED DOWN. Tell me–what author and first novelist can say they didn’t get “bogged down” initially by any research?! We learn by our mistakes, and Grisham deserves this if only BY his sheer success as a TWO-DECADE fiction writer. The SAME courtesy as all other authors get, including these two, so don’t beat him about the head with his first book before he’s had a CHANCE to learn from his new venture.
It gets better–or worse by the usage of words like the following: “overuse” and “ad nauseam” or “hype”, “nothing more” and “some sort of Pulitzer moment”. ALL NEGATIVES or with negative CONNOTATIONS.
And for those who don’t know–”ad nauseam” is a Latin word used for describing something that has been continued or used “to the point of NAUSEA”. Now you REALLY want to ask about “bitchy”?!
Oh and least I forget these; “it PAINS us”. PAINS them? Pains them in what way–maybe selling more then they have? Oh and also “Hacked together”. Then they get better by insinuating and comparing Grishams book to SJ’s “A Death in Belmont” by calling it “flat, and uninteresting”.
The review also stated that “Look, most TC books are meticulously researched; it goes with the territory and is not something that should be commended”. Wait a minute–first you bash him because he got “bogged down” in research then you bash him again by doing what you clearly admit most TC writers do: Meticulously Research. You can’t have it both ways…this review clearly sets the tone for a NO-WIN situation and based solely on your opinion of Grishams book he is in a “Damned if you do and Damned if you don’t, downward spiral spin of your making.
Very unfair.
Oh and lets not forget the much ado about nothing comment, surrounding the amount of “pages” in a TC story. “You can tell which books are RESEARCHED PROPERLY AND WHICH AREN’T by simply looking at the spine of the book: a TC book UNDER 250 pages [even 300] is NOTHING MORE then a recap of newspaper clippings and news accounts of a crime, likely HACKED together in a matter of WEEKS.”
Grishams book is 368 pages. If I remember correctly Matt’s book “A Perfect Poison” was only 477 pages and Gregg’s book “Abandoned Prayers” was 416. Not excluding pictures, of which Grisham has few–that would make their books ONLY [give or take a few pages]…about 177 & 116 pages more then Grishams, respectfully. So what’s the “BIG” deal?!
Finally–this is long enough by now and most will get my point even if you don’t–they go on about how the book’s formula dictates it opening chapter with a description of the town. Matts’ book A Perfect Poison” does too, see the following.
From A Perfect Poison by M. William Phelps–
“There are sections of landscape bordering the quaint New England town of Northampton, Massachusetts, as flat as a tabletop–acres of farmland that, from a birds eye view, might make one think this small section of the Northeast is no different from Indiana or Kansas.” or “Northampton, like Great Barrington is located on the edge of the Berkshires, in mountainous terrain, fenced in by steep, rocky cliffs. It is a quiet place full of agricultural history and laid-back living.” or ” From Interstate-91, the only hint that Northampton exists somewhere within the throng of massive pines, clapboard homes and small businesses is the steeple of the old clock tower, which pokes through the tops of trees like the point of a witches hat.” “Passed on by generation to generation, Northampton, where Calvin Coolidge once sat in the mayors chair, is rumored to be the lesbian captial of the nation.” and finally “Surrounding downtown, and split into three neighborhoods, or “villiages”, as the locals like to say–Leeds, Florence and Bay State–Northampton fits every bit of the Samlltown U.S.A image portrayed in many of nearby Stockbridge resident Norma Rockwell’s paintings.”
From Abandoned Prayers by Gregg Olsen:
“Kleveland, age 44, pulled out of the driveway of his ranch-style home in Chester, a dozen miles due south of Hebron. Chester, a tiny town whose skylines consists of a pair of grain elevators, is within spitting distance of the Nebraska–Kansas state line. To nonresidents, the town doesn’t seem like much, except maybe to gas up or pick up a pack of cigarettes. Hebron and Chester used to be the kind of nice, and friendly prairie towns where people spend their entire lives. Now they are the kind of towns young people abandon for careers in Omaha–or, if they can bear to pull away from the hearts and soul of their parents’ and grandparents’ birthright, they move away even further, to one of the coasts. Family-owned farms have grown more scarce; a few are fallow.”
Point made.
Cricket
PS: In hindsight I must add that if this website was created simply to blow smoke up two very talented authors [in their own right] asses, then you asked the wrong person for an honest opinion.
December 3rd, 2006 at 3:52 pm
LOL, Cricket. You’re never one to hold back! About the review and the grade designation. I think what we’re getting at is that Grisham’s book is a worthy read, but he should be held to a higher standard because of his obvious storytelling skill and enormous fan base. I
think our assessment is correct in that regard. In the often shoddy world of TC writing, Grisham’s talent is most welcome. I guess we
expected more from him. We loved THE DREAMS OF ADA–which is about the same case.
First book? Huh. He’s hardly a newbie.
Look, with the kind of readership Grisham has
comes great responsibility.
December 3rd, 2006 at 4:42 pm
Cricket and Matt, excellent viewpoints, both of you, and very well written. Love an intelligent debate!
December 3rd, 2006 at 5:05 pm
crikcet …… did you read the same review as the rest of us?
mr. phelps’s perfect poison and mr. olsen’s abandon prayers were their first books, i think. am i wrong on that.
your page-count arguement makes little sense. you are not understanding what your reading.
have the crime ranters hit a nerve with you? you are criticizing a piece of criticism, attcking them.
December 3rd, 2006 at 5:18 pm
LeapFrag says: your page-count arguement makes little sense. you are not understanding what your reading.
have the crime ranters hit a nerve with you? you are criticizing a piece of criticism, attcking them.
***********
Huh???? Talk about not making any sense. Geesh.
Cricket
December 3rd, 2006 at 5:26 pm
Matt…LOL…you should KNOW me by now…LOL.
As for the “first” comment I meant being that this was his first TC book…not his first ever.
And I DO understand what you mean by “expecting more” from such a talented writer of his caliber…I just wished that had came across as clear there as it did here, instead of the way it did.
Kimpossible:Thanks.
Cricket
December 3rd, 2006 at 5:42 pm
I think what Cricket is getting at is the first stab at a genre. I have read every one of Grisham’s books.
My critiqe of Grisham is some of his books are cookie cutters of his other ones, while others are so damn compelling you cant put it down. His first book went unnoticed until The Firm, but his first WAS his best. A Time to Kill was his best book ever. The Firm was awesome, but then he got “bogged down” with deadlines and such I imagine and a lot of his books started sounding the same. Lawyer disenchanted with the system for one reason or another. While I still read them all I can see the similarities of his books after the Firm. Other than Painted House of course, which was one I found so boring it was a chore to finish.
That said to hold him to a higher standard because he is so good at legal fiction is hardly fair either, though I havent read it yet I plan to.
B+ is a good rating, especially if you are looking at the book as a first time stab at a genre.
December 3rd, 2006 at 6:04 pm
BTW, the same thing about cookie cutter books can be said about James Patterson, who I know personally in a 7th degree kind of way. He was friends with my late uncle and when I noticed my uncles name and my own late fathers name being used in many of his books I e-mailed him to see if it was a coincidence. Turns out it wasnt. So I dont really KNOW him, but names that you may see popping out as lets say a bus driver, or a security guard, are of my family.
But James has done really well going out of his genre for the first time as well.
As much as like the Alex Cross series and can never put that one down. James can do crossovers very easily.
December 4th, 2006 at 3:24 pm
Please, everyone read the NYTBR of The Innocent Man when it publishes next week (Dec. 10). I just got it in the mail and it is nearly identical—with the exception of our rant about Grisham helping the TC genre—to the review we published.