I am a huge fan of John Grisham and this one did not disappoint. I could not put it down! Thanks to publisher and NetGalley for chance to read this book.

Keith and Hugh grew up together and played baseball on championship teams. But, their lives take different turns. Keith’s father becomes a prosecutor so this leads Keith to go to law school. Hugh’s father becomes the mob boss of the coast and Hugh falls into the family business. Each on opposite ends of the law with many conflicts headed their way.

Now, this is my favorite John Grisham cover! I love this cover. This story though, is not my favorite. And yes I have read every single one. And almost all are 5 stars. This one just seemed a bit long and drawn out. And most of his books are not like that…so…it could be me. I am thinking I am headed for a reading slump…so keep that in mind.

I enjoyed learning about all the insurance trials after hurricane Camille. I had no idea any of that occurred. Plus, the setting of Biloxi and cleaning up the coast was a very unique story line to me. Being from Mississippi, I really did not know about a lot of this…so this book had me researching. And as usual, his characters are some of the best! They are usually flawed and this book is no different. Some very real people exist in this book and I felt like I knew all of them!

And the ending…oh boy!

Need just a dang good book…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

Published by Doubleday on October 18, 2022

The Boys from Biloxi reads like a true crime story that is strong on exposition but weak on drama. Characters are stereotypes of crusading prosecutors and the criminals they put behind bars. John Grisham writes at least one dud for every good novel he pens. Despite some interesting moments, The Boys from Biloxi resides in the dud column.

The novel begins with a brief history of Biloxi in the twentieth century, a city with a prosperous seafood industry that ignored Prohibition, welcomed gamblers, and turned a blind eye to prostitution. The history focuses on Croatian immigrants and their contributions to Biloxi, primarily with good deeds and hard work, later supplemented by vice.

Hugh Malco and Keith Rudy enter the story in the late 1950s as Little League players. Hugh’s father, Lance Malco, is a rising star in Croatian crime, assisted by the muscle and violence of Nevin Noll. Lance becomes known as the Boss of the Dixie Mafia.

Keith’s father, Jesse Rudy, is a World War II veteran who marries a nurse, has four kids while teaching high school, and earns a law degree at night. He eventually gets fed up with corruption, particularly the DA’s failure to go after the sheriff, Fats Bowman, who is paid to ignore the gambling and prostitution that has made Biloxi famous.

Noll teaches Hugh to box. Keith sticks with baseball until he decides that helping his father run for DA would be a more productive use of his time. The criminal forces that run Biloxi paint Jesse as “soft on crime” because he defended criminals as a lawyer, while proclaiming the incumbent DA as “tough on crime” despite his failure to challenge corruption. The public buys it because ignorance and slogans are the driving force of politics. Graveyard votes seal the deal for the incumbent. And then a hurricane and unscrupulous insurance companies turn Jesse into a community hero.

The story follows Jesse has he moves from a civil practice to a career as a crusading prosecutor who promises to clean up corruption in Biloxi. Eventually the story focuses on Keith as he follows in his father’s footsteps. Their targets are the Malcos, Noll, and Bowman. The book plods along at a steady pace, occasionally enlivened by a murder. A story with so many prostitutes and gamblers should be more interesting, but Grisham plays the role of neutral reporter more than storyteller.

The Boys from Biloxi develops a fuel leak as it enters its third act. It doesn’t quite run out of gas, but it starts coasting as it nears the finish line. Legal thrillers typically depend on the drama of trials, but the trial at the end of the novel is far from riveting and leads to a foregone conclusion. The rest of the story reads like a prolonged epilogue, recapping the lives of central characters following the trial.

The novel’s later chapters focus on the death penalty, a topic about which Grisham has written with passion. The Boys from Biloxi is pretty much the opposite of The Chamber. It alludes to the troubling issues that surround capital punishment but fails to explore them.

Without spoiling a major plot point, I can say that one of the most interesting issues involves a prosecutor’s potential conflict of interest in pursuing the death penalty against a criminal who killed a family member of the prosecutor. Grisham handles the conflict in a scholarly way but deprives the issue of its emotional force.

Grisham could also have done more with the personal conflict between Hugh and Keith, close childhood friends who become enemies in adulthood. The story fails to milk the inherent drama of that changing relationship. The relationship arises as a troubling memory at the novel’s end, but the absence of any buildup robs the conflict of its power. It nevertheless furnishes the novel’s most compelling moment. This is another consequence of telling the story from the standpoint of a dispassionate and slightly bored third person observer. I have no problem with novelists telling stories in the third person, but I have a problem with novels that read like dry history texts.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Very different in my mind from the authors other works but enjoyable. It was interesting the build of the story of fathers and sons over several generations ending in tragedy and of course, a sensational legal case. Loved the setting on the coast, the portrait of crime building on itself through greed and family dynamics. Great visuals and character exploration. Wished the ending continued with reflections by Keith.

I looked forward to reading this book, and fully expected to like it. It was therefore disappointing to find it tedious and dry, reading more like a textbook than a thriller. In addition, the conflict between two families and two good friends who took divergent paths seemed to lead inevitably to tragedy in a downward spiral. The movie that is destined to be made of this book will perhaps introduce tension and character complexity that I found missing.

John Grisham has a knack for creating believable characters who reflect the true spirit of the Southern US. His stories are often grounded in reality, if not in actual events. This book is no exception. He recreates the 1950s, 60s, and 70s South in a way that brings you into that world. Biloxi was a "den of iniquity" that was largely ignored by law enforcement. Prostitution, illegal liquor and gambling were not just tolerated, but encouraged as a way to stimulate the local economies. Grisham's story is about two boys, one the son of a righteous DA, the other the son of the head of the syndicate that runs the clubs. Of course, this leads to a confrontation as attitudes change toward the clubs and as the violence increases.

While I enjoyed the book, much of the suspense and drama that made me a Grisham fan 20 years ago seems to be missing here. The writing is almost dry, seemingly just a recounting of the events rather than a show burn to build the suspense of the story. I kept reading, but was rarely surprised or even emotionally involved in the story. It was OK, but I just didn't really care. Even the courtroom scenes seemed to be missing something. I miss the early Grisham books (Pelican Brief, The Firm, etc) that kept me on the edge of my seat. Just a "Meh" this time..

I love love love John Grisham books! They are so fun! This was no exception. It took me a couple chapters to get fully immersed and it did seem to drag a little but it was just fantastic! Crime, law and criminals., exactly what he does so well!

I really enjoyed the time that the author spent describing Biloxi. I felt that I was there, walking down the boulevard, smelling the fresh gulf breezes, seeing the seedy bars/nightclubs come to life every evening.
Even the characters were well developed and I absolutely loved the back and forth in the beginning between the two families.
The courtroom drama between the county attorney and the criminal family was amazing.
This is a fine work that I was expecting from John Grisham.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Boys From Biloxi by John Grisham
Another incredible legal thriller from the king!
This is the story of 2 boys,
Keith Rudy and Hugo Malco who grew up together in the fishing community of Biloxi Mississippi. As best friends and baseball teammates they dreamed of making the majors. But as they reached the end of school their friendship drifted apart. Keith follows in his father’s footsteps heads off to law school and comes back to work at his Jesse’s firm.
Hugh goes into the family business with his father Lance, who is into anything illegal gambling, prostitution, drug trade, as well as the owner several nightclubs.
When Jesse is elected the district attorney, the battles between Jesse and Lance range on.
As time passes Keith and Hugh to become part of the their fathers battle.
This is the second book from Grisham this year! I would consider this a slow burn but feel like the story was done justice. Can’t wait for his next book!

In the 60’s, Keith Rudy and Hugh Malco were childhood friends in Bilixo. Eventually they (as teenagers) went their separate ways. Keith’s father became a famous prosecutor, determined to fight criminals. Hugh’s father became the boss of the Biloxi’s criminal underground which became known as the mafia. Keith ends up going to law school and follows his father’s footsteps. Hugh worked in his father’s nightclub for his father. They were headed for a show down. Will it be in court?

The author’s trademark twists and turns will keep you reading until the conclusion. At least I couldn’t stop reading it regardless of time meaning I enjoyed it that much. It is different from his other books. I will let the reader discover it. It is an excellent novel.

John Grisham is best known for his action/ suspense stories centered in the world of lawyers and the consequences when the character ends up in court. But he also has another side, those stories centered on families, usually from the Southern US, that he fills with history and background and some really great characters. The Boys From Biloxi combine both of his strengths into one skillfully told tale of how Biloxi came to be settled by immigrants, the rise of Biloxi in the underground world during prohibition, Hurricane Camille's destruction and the characters that populate Biloxi's history. The background information he shares gives the reader a very vivid picture of the town and it's people, sharing all of the outside influences that made the coastal towns a mix of families, traditional and Mafia.

John Grisham is one of my favorite authors. As he tells the story, you are drawn into a world populated only by the book's characters. Don't bother talking to me while I'm reading his books, I won't hear you.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest courtroom thriller by the one and only John Grisham - 5 stars!

Keith Rudy and Hugh Malco grew up friends in Biloxi, Mississippi, where their families went back for generations. But when they were teenagers, their families went in opposite directions - Keith's father, Jesse, decided to become a lawyer and fight for the right side, where Lance Malco became a crime boss, ruling over the corruption rampant along the Gulf Coast. The families will come together in a courtroom.

This was pure John Grisham - maybe a bit long with a lot of characters and background, but it all intertwines so perfectly. The courtroom scenes are of course spot on and you can feel the desperation and passion on both sides. And that ending. This is another fabulous read from a master writer!

This is basically a story revolving around the families of Jesse Rudy and Lance Malco, Jesse is a lawyer while Lance heads up many businesses of vice in Biloxi. Their sons, Keith and Hugh, grew up together but began drifting apart in their teens as both looked to follow in their father’s footsteps. Jesse builds a reputation for himself as a straight and narrow lawyer looking out for the little guy - and when Hurricane Camille strikes and destroys Biloxi, his court victories as an underdog against the insurance industry lead him to run for and become elected District Attorney where he can now chase the perpetrators of vice - gambling, prostitution, and so on that have plagued the south Mississippi city. Lance Malco builds his wealth through illegal activities and becomes a target for Jesse. Each of their sons do follow in their father’s footsteps with similar outcomes. John Grisham has set a high standard for himself in writing books about the law. This book, while not the best I have read by the author, does not disappoint. It is an entertaining read with the usual legal insights and courtroom drama we have come to expect from the author. While it is a lengthy read, it is worth the time. My thanks to Doubleday and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel.

How friends during childhood and young adulthood can take such a different path in live.
At times this book fell slow to read but never less kept me engaged in the story. It is not a fast read but I felt it well worth finishing the book.
We have two generations of two emigrant families that emigrated prior to World War II. First generation returns from serving during World War II and it doesn’t take long before marriage and having children within each family. We follow both families as one becomes rich as a result of their criminal activities, the other one becomes a successful layer. The sons become friends during their school years with some of the same interest in sports. As they grow older, they lose the bond and friendship they had as kids and each one follows in their father's footsteps. This ends them both on opposite sides of the law.

I have read and enjoyed many of Grisham's books. Unfortunately, this one does not measure up to his standards.
The book is much too long, with multiple detours that get in the way of the main story. There is virtually no character development. It reads more like a collection of articles than a work of fiction.
That said, it is Grisham, and there are moments of magnificent writing. I recommend this book, particularly to anyone interested in learning more about the mafia groups, crime, and corruption in the strip.

Just not a fan of this book. I found the story content just not interesting, 2 boys grow up together in Biloxi, one goes the way of good and other lives a life of crime. This story was long winded couldn’t wait to finish.

I’ve never been disappointed with a JG novel and this one certainly didn’t either. I really enjoyed the plot. It was entertaining and very well developed. It’s a great legal thriller.

"The Boys from Biloxi" was a good book with an interesting plot, colorful characters, and some good surprises. Although it is billed as a legal thriller, the book reads more like a true crime novel. I even looked up the names of some of the characters to be sure. Grisham uses real events to frame his story, including Hurricane Camille and the Supreme Court cases that temporarily stopped enforcement of the death penalty and then allowed it again. He paints a colorful picture of corruption and vice on the Gulf Coast, and the difficulty of prosecuting the criminals when local authorities are corrupt as well.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Overwhelmed with trying to keep up with the number of people and their involvement in the storyline, I found this book a chore. I usually love this author's books but I found this one to drag along. Lots of tension between the two families! This novel gives readers a realistic glimpse into the backdoor of crime.

I am not interested in organized crime and this Grisham book about two families in Biloxi is based on organized crime. The courtroom scenes are what made me continue to read the book but this was a Grisham book that I could have missed.