A bit different than Grisham's usual fast paced thrillers. A slower start as Grisham sets the scene of corruption in Biloxi and presents the two sides; those building up the crime empire and those attempting to end it. Grisham weaves all the characters' histories and stories together and over the generations, explains how the corruption came to be and then how the law was used to counteract it. While the plot did come together by the end, the characters left a bit to be desired with their one dimensionality.

This is one of my fav authors. I love everything he writes. This one is a bit of a departure. I almost feel like I am reading a true crime novel. I just love the historical nuances that he includes. It makes the story so much more interesting.

This was a dnf for me, the pacing was slow and I lost interest. Thanks for the opportunity to review!

I would normally give John Grisham novels five stars so it pains me to drop a star but I felt this book was slow to get going and did feel like it dragged on a little too long. But even a one star drop still makes a great book! There were a lot of characters in this story that made it confusing at times and sometimes it stops the flow of reading as you try to remember who everyone is.

Keith Rudy and Hugh Malco have grown up together in Biloxi, both from immigrant families and from opposite sides of the tracks. Keith's father is a prosecutor and Keith follows in his footsteps into the law. Hugh's father is deeply involved in the vice scene in Biloxi and Hugh follows into this lifestyle which automatically puts him at odds with Keith, just like his father Lance was with Keith's father Jesse. This story is set mostly in the 60's and 70's, with most of the narrative revolving around Keith's desire to continue his father's work to bring down those responsible for illegal gambling, prostitution, and drugs, who frequently turn out to be mob bosses. There are no major shockers or plot twists, so the story, although there is a lot of legalese, is mostly about the relationships and whether or not they can survive when the take on the mantle from their parents.

John Grisham is an expert storyteller and once again he's written a story that will keep you interested and turning pages. It never lags and the characters are people with strength and integrity that do good. The characters who are not good are still shown to be humans who make mistakes and also those who have no conscience and kill. They are all in this book. I really enjoyed the read and I'm confident you will also.
Jesse became a lawyer but he didn't stop there he went on to become ADA and his mission was to rid Biloxi of prostitution and gambling, to clean up the town, even if the man he's after - the powerful drug lord - is someone he grew up with. Jesse’s son Keith is following in his footsteps and will face off with the drug lords son who he used to be his friend. Thank you NetGalley and publishers Doubleday New York for this advanced read. This is my personal opinion. I recommend The Boys From Biloxi.

If you love courtroom dramas this is the novel to get. The tension in the courtrooms is thick and the liars, cheats, and beyond compare lawyers rule the pages. The entire story of the shady crime bosses in Biloxi from the early days on is fraught with crime and murders.
two boys once baseball friends end up on opposing sides of the law with fathers in the same position. It is a thoroughly engaging story from page one.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

There are several of John Grisham's novels that are on my "top 10 forever favorites" list. So I was elated to be approved for this book.
What a great story!
A bit long but still a wonderful story.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy of this.
I highly recommend!

I’ve read many Grisham novels over the years, and enjoyed most of them. I especially liked the ones that taught me something (Pelican Brief, The Testament) or had memorable characters (A Time to Kill). I didn’t particularly care for the characters in this book - they were underdeveloped and stereotypical. The good guys were good, the bad guys were bad. And the story, which dealt with the underworld of Biloxi Mississippi was not my cup of tea. The book’s description talks about the tension that came from two childhood friends who find themselves on different paths - I thought it would have been much more engaging if these two boys interacted throughout their lives, and not just at the beginning and end of the book.

Thanks to Doubleday and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

The opening chapters of The Boys from Biloxi does a good job of setting the stage for the story to come. They present the background of the story of the two families and their world succinctly and without undue drama. At that point I felt I was ready for the tension and excitement of the clash of Good and Evil which had been promised in the book’s promotional literature. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a most non-thrilling thriller. What had all the ingredients for a powerful family clash turned into a well-written piece of journalism with little attempt at digging deeper.
The closest comparison I can give you is to suggest you read a few of those extended profiles in the magazine, The New Yorker. For this format the author has the luxury of developing the story beyond the usual 5 W’s of journalism and creates a richly detailed world, but maintains his neutrality as an objective observer.
The result is a stimulating academic exercise with plenty of food for thought. It does not, however, lend itself to the genre of gripping fiction.
The corruption in the Mississippi coastal region in the middle of the 20th century as presented in this account is full of injustice, greed, betrayal and death, and yet the litany of evil is presented so matter-of-factly, that the reader becomes almost indifferent to it. Finally one event taking place about 65% of the way into the story is so totally shocking that it wakes even the most indifferent reader from his torpor. One would expect a powerful response from the author but he continues his narrative as dispassionately as any professional reporter.
Any good work of fiction starts with a conflict, and rising action leads us to a resolution of that conflict. The Boys From Biloxi reduces the conflict to a step-by-step procedural describing how the drama is resolved. There is really never any question as to which side will triumph.
And to add insult to injury, the conclusion is left hanging on the final page, almost as if the reporter had to meet his deadline and didn’t have time to wrap it up.
Grisham knows his law and writes clearly, but he forgot to add his voice to the narrative and the book is the worse for it.

Like his later novels, Grisham's The Boys From Biloxi contains less underdogs and more characters that lack sympathy in a "serious" work of fiction.

Yes, there are two main characters that are portrayed in this passage of time novel, and their characters change over the time but remain on the opposite sides of the tracks throughout. They are good character studies to use in the classroom to teach characterization but as a form of entertainment? Not so much. I found myself not rooting for either character because neither struck a sympathetic chord with me as a reader.

Where's Jake Brigance or Rudy Baylor when you need them?

I've read better--and more entertaining--works from this great author.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a preview.

I have not read a John Grisham book in quite some time. This was just as I remembered them. There was so much detail in their lives. I loved, loved the backstory on Keith and Hugh. The ending was perfect. I would definitely recommend this to law fans.

In this book, two boys who are childhood friends, end up pitted against each other in Biloxi. Their families diverge and one becomes lawyers and one has a life of crime. So they end up bitter rivals with years of secrets, tragedies, crime and revenge. Several courtroom battles ensue. Classic Grisham!

A Southern tragedy. The Rudys and the Malcos have been entwined in Biloxi since their ancestor emigrated in the early 1900s. Their paths diverge, though, with the Rudys heading toward the law and the Malcos to, well, illegality. By the 1950s, their sons, Keith and Hugh, are playing baseball together until Hugh starts to work for his father Lance, first just making legal deliveries to Lance's restaurants and other interests, and then in other ways. He's still in high school when he falls for one of the women who work Lance's bars and he becomes a fighter. Keith, on the other hand, follows his father Jesse to the law. Jesse makes his bones as a young attorney taking on the insurance companies who refused to pay policy holders after Hurricane Camille and then he becomes a prosecutor. And its here that the families collide. Biloxi is rife with corruption, gangs, drugs, and bad actors that Jesse is determined to root out. Until.....And then Hugh is on trial. No spoilers but this is, of course, a Grisham novel so the courtroom scenes are aces. This takes a bit of patience as it rambles to the conflict (I was wondering early on where it was going), introducing multiple characters and their backstories in some detail and wandering into what might seem like blind alleys. Grisham has a distinct voice, which is very much in show here. Know, though that the story will come back to itself. And that the last page is devastating. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For his fans and those who have not yet read him.

This was a fascinating story. I did not expect to like it so mich. At the heart of the story are two families, the Malco family and the Rudy family. The young boys of each family, Hugh Malco and Keith Rudy were inseparable. But as they grew up, their paths diverted in different directions. Keith’s father, Jesse, became a lawyer and eventually the D.A. In Biloxi. Hugh’s father, Lance was involved in prostitution, gambling and Hugh followed in his footsteps. Finally, Keith and Hugo were destined to meet in the courtroom. As I said, a fascinating story, filled with corruption, murder, gambling and most of all, greed.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I've been reading John Grisham for decades. My thoughts about him are similar to those of James Patterson. I like both of their earlier works, however, over the last couple of years, I feel like the quantity of books published has outweighed the quality.

This book had potential, in that who doesn't love a good mafia and mayhem story. However, Grisham's latest would have benefited from further editing.

Not only was there a clear plot error (unless someone was reincarnated), but at almost 500 pages, it was way too long. It was a slow burn type of story that left me with 0 emotional connection to any of the characters, until the last 5 pages or so.

Thank you Netgalley and Doubleday for the ARC.

I'll continue to read whatever Grisham writes. I just wish he would slow down.

In my estimation, John Grisham and Stephen King are the reigning American storytellers today. Although they write in different genres, both adept at creating interesting characters and writing compelling books that sweep the reader up, put the pedal down and take off down twisting, winding roads with stories that end all too soon. With this latest book, Grisham again proves he hasn't lost his touch.

Best friends Keith Rudy and Hugh Malco grow up in their larger-than-life father's shadows in the sixties in Biloxi, Mississippi, a city known for it illicit drinking, gambling and prostitution. Jesse Rudy is a crusading district attorney while Lance Malco is the boss of the vice industry, which puts the friendship of Keith and Hugh to the test. All too soon they grow apart as each follows in their father's footsteps. Soon the generational crowns are passed and so, too, the epic battles. Can they continue to be friends or are they also destined to become adversaries?

Spanning generations from immigrants to successful men in their respective fields, this is an American saga that is rich in characters and drama, both inside and outside of the courtroom. Steeped in Southern tradition, Grisham again brings to life characters only he has the imagination to pull off. The family backgrounds are compelling reading and the courtroom scenes make for good theater in this ambitious novel that is not only entertaining but tackles serious issues facing the U.S. today.

Thank you NetGalley and Doubleday Books for an advance copy of this book for review. The publication date is October 18, 2022.

Thank you NetGallery for my ARC ebook as well as the publisher.
Author John Grisham has done it again by writing another one of his great legal novels.
It was a long book,which I love and all the characters were so detailed from page one that you visualize all easily.There were quite a few of those characters but was easy to keep track w/o losing focus of the storyline.
The story is basically your bad guys vs the few good guys in a southern town that’s pretty much lawless and little by little builds to a surprise which I never would have expected.Felt bad when it ended because it ended.
This would make a great movie!

A family saga with all its celebrations and tragedies, but missing the empathy of those joys and victories. The characters never fully flesh out, making it difficult to feel any real connection. Enjoyable but it would be much more enjoyable with about 30% fewer pages. Good and evil simplified, no shades of gray. Legal battles, usually a Grisham strength, are only tepid.

My thanks to Net Galley and Doubleday for allowing me to review this arc. I am a big fan of the author but this one missed the mark slightly. Well written, interesting characters and family saga criminal activities, but this was different. I thought it was going to be more like his earlier court based books or his books like The Whistle-blower or Judges List. Not bad, but not my fave.

This is the best book of John Grisham so far in my opinion. I have told so many, many people about this book!
Two boys grow up together from immigrant families in Biloxi, Mississippi and they obviously go different directions. Keith and Hugh played baseball and went to school together. Hugh’s dad Lance was the corrupt boss on the strip with the casinos and strip joints and Hugh follows in his Dad’s Jesse steps. Keith followed is Dad in becoming a lawyer.

All the corruption that went on during the 60s and 70s in that area was unbelievable for that time. Bombings, bribes and corrupt police officials. This pitted the two best friends against one another.

This book is a long book but you won’t want to put it down. I wanted to know what was going to happen next. Filled with lots of heartbreak, corruption and finally satisfaction.

I received this ARC from Netgalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.