When I read a John Grisham book, I do not expect literary greatness as one would expect when picking up a Charles Dickens tome. However, I do expect a mystery thriller to keep me interested for at least a couple of hours. Well, The Street Lawyer disappointed me.  
 
The novel evolves around Michael Brock, a workhaholic attorney and rising star at the prestigious law firm of Sweeney and Drake, whose life was forever changed when a homeless man took him and a couple other lawyers hostage at the office. The intruder was shot dead but the incident led Brock to major soul searching after which he decided to leave his promising career to become a public interest attorney. Along the way, Brock discovered that his firm was involved in the wrongful eviction of the intruder and he vowed to learn the truth.  
 
Unlike many of his other novels, Grisham failed to create any suspense. There were no twists in the plot to hook a reader - by the middle of the book, the reader already knew what the ending was going to be like and there were no surprises as to how Michael Block got there. The climax of the story involves lawyers meeting in a judge's chamber to discuss a settlement. Exciting? Not really.  
 
Part of the problem may have been due to Grishams overeagerness to educate the readers about the plight of the homeless. While this is no question a noble cause, it was a significant detraction to the development of the story. The subplots about the homeless characters Block encountered ended up overwhelming the main storyline.  
 
I also found Block's transformation from a money-hungry associate striving to make partner in a large firm to an idealistic lawyer hoping to change the world a bit forced and somewhat unconvincing.  
 
If you are a Grisham fan, by all means read The Street Lawyer. But prepare to be disappointed. It is definitely not "The Firm".  
 
 
