book review the rainmaker john grisham

The Rainmaker

John Grisham | 4.22 | 164,443 ratings and reviews

Ranked #2 in Insurance , Ranked #11 in John Grisham — see more rankings .

Rankings by Category

The Rainmaker is ranked in the following categories:

#30 in Lawyers
#38 in Pulp Fiction
#98 in Tennessee

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Home » News » Book Review: The Rainmaker by John Grisham

Book Review: The Rainmaker by John Grisham

The Rainmaker , by John Grisham, 1995

Rudy Baylor is in his last year of law school, struggling to put himself through school. When a promising, prospective job falls through, he finds himself the only one in his class without a job offer at graduation.

Forced to the streets, Baylor takes on an insurance claim that will test him in every imaginable way.

The author pulls the reader irresistibly into Rudy’s world where the new lawyer laments, “I don’t feel stupid, just inadequate. After three years of studying the law, I’m very much aware of how little I know.”

Grisham builds plots that educate the reader about schemes and corporate wrongdoing, and this is where the author’s legal background comes on strong.

The general public often views personal injury lawyers as greedy and sleazy, but Grisham masterfully tempers this view. Rather than defending them as saints, he shows the determination that many a lawyer has felt when fighting for a case worth believing in. As Rudy said, “I’m alone and outgunned, scared and inexperienced, but I’m right.”

The Rainmaker also reveals the various aspects of lawyering that might run contradictory to popular opinions. For example, Rudy Baylor, even when financially broke, knows he must serve his client first and foremost: “A lawyer has a duty to give his client the best possible advice without regard for his own financial circumstances.”

Grisham constructs a balanced attitude toward insurance companies too. He seems to point a scolding finger at an industry with a track record for not paying out as quickly as it could and with a preference for going to court in order to enjoy a higher probability of beating the victim.

The Rainmaker shows the reader why some individuals sue for great sums of money. This is unusual and important because the general public tends to interpret large verdicts against big businesses as frivolous.

This book is fun to read. It gives a realistic and balanced look into the world of personal injury law, with page-turning twists and turns.

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Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Thrillers & Suspense

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The Rainmaker: A Novel Hardcover – April 1, 1995

Print length 448 pages
Language English
Publisher Doubleday
Publication date April 1, 1995
Dimensions 6.46 x 1.29 x 9.54 inches
ISBN-10 0385424736
ISBN-13 978-0385424738
Lexile measure 830L
See all details

Editorial Reviews

From publishers weekly, from the publisher.

Grisham's sixth spellbinding novel of legal intrigue and corporate greed displays all of the intricate plotting, fast-paced action, humor, and suspense that have made him the most popular author of our time. In his first courtroom thriller since A Time To Kill , John Grisham tells the story of a young man barely out of law school who finds himself taking on one of the most powerful, corrupt, and ruthless companies in America -- and exposing a complex, multibillion-dollar insurance scam. In hs final semester of law school Rudy Baylor is required to provide free legal advice to a group of senior citizens, and it is there that he meets his first "clients," Dot and Buddy Black. Their son, Donny Ray, is dying of leukemia, and their insurance company has flatly refused to pay for his medical treatments. While Rudy is at first skeptical, he soon realizes that the Blacks really have been shockingly mistreated by the huge company, and that he just may have stumbled upon one of the largest insurance frauds anyone's ever seen -- and one of the most lucrative and important cases in the history of civil litigation. The problem is, Rudy's flat broke, has no job, hasn't even passed the bar, and is about to go head-to-head with one of the best defense attorneys -- and powerful industries -- in America. Excerpted from THE RAINMAKER by John Grisham. Copyright © 1995 by John Grisham. Reprinted by permission of Doubleday Books, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

From the Inside Flap

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Doubleday; First Edition (April 1, 1995)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0385424736
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0385424738
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 830L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.65 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.46 x 1.29 x 9.54 inches
#652 in Legal Thrillers (Books)
#3,498 in Political Thrillers (Books)
#20,864 in Suspense Thrillers

About the author

John grisham.

John Grisham is the author of forty-seven consecutive #1 bestsellers, which have been translated into nearly fifty languages. His recent books include The Boys From Biloxi, The Judge's List, Sooley, and his third Jake Brigance novel, A Time for Mercy, which is being developed by HBO as a limited series.

Grisham is a two-time winner of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction and was honored with the Library of Congress Creative Achievement Award for Fiction.

When he's not writing, Grisham serves on the board of directors of the Innocence Project and of Centurion Ministries, two national organizations dedicated to exonerating those who have been wrongfully convicted. Much of his fiction explores deep-seated problems in our criminal justice system.

John lives on a farm in central Virginia.

Customer reviews

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5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 68% 23% 6% 2% 1% 23%
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5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 68% 23% 6% 2% 1% 1%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Customers say

Customers find the book engaging and hard to put down. They also say the writing is good and the story entertaining and humorous. Readers describe the plot as satisfying, dynamic, and interesting. They find the characters well-developed and believable. They appreciate the clever plot twist and gripping storyline. Opinions are mixed on the pacing, with some finding it enjoyable and others slow.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers find the storyline clever, interesting, complex, suspenseful, and unpredictable. They also mention that the book is a love story, mystery, and fairytale all in one. Customers also say it's interesting to legal buffs and realistic.

"...It is a love story, a mystery , and a fairytale all in one. I recommend reading it." Read more

"...There is not a dull moment in these 500 pages' book. It grips you until the very last page , with numberless twists in between ...." Read more

"Don't overlook this one. It's just as good as any of the others. Never ending drama with a little humor mixed in." Read more

"...It kind of felt like the plot was dragged a little longer and 50-100 pages of the book felt unnecessary." Read more

Customers find the story entertaining, lively, and interesting. They also say it's not vulgar and does not fail to hold their interest.

"...For a soap-opera-type novel, it wasn't at all vulgar so I didn't have to compromise myself in anyway and what it was lacking in closure, I am more..." Read more

"...The most successful, humorous portrait here is Rudy’s accident-chasing partner, described as nearly unbearably ugly, yet unaware of it; undignified..." Read more

"...And like all former ones, it's a very enjoyable read ...." Read more

"It's always enjoyable to read a story where the underdog overcomes obstacles in his or her way and ends up on top in the end and if not on top right..." Read more

Customers find the book easy to read. They also say that good writing makes for good reading.

"...An easy story to read and certainly entertaining enough but the end fell off for me a little bit because we were left to make a LOT of assumptions..." Read more

"...Grisham is a master of clean prose , which he peppers with humor and satire. His descriptions of human nature are right on target...." Read more

"... Grisham's writing style is superb ; amazingly fast-paced for dealing with legal arcana, and with just enough irony and humor to be compelling." Read more

"...An easy lite read thats well written and keeps me wanting to keep reading into the evening...." Read more

Customers find the plot satisfying, engrossing, riveting, and understandable for those not familiar with courtroom linguistics. They also say it's a great story about a law grad and the groundwork was properly set at the beginning.

"...Grisham is skilled at creating such scenarios , and this book is no different.I finished the book feeling humbled and satisfied." Read more

"...This is one such good story. The groundwork was properly set at the beginning , there were the ups and downs of a startup lawyer; the high energy..." Read more

"...Therefore the novel resulted a little predictable ...." Read more

"...I gave this book four stars because it gave an interesting view of being a lawyer and the many challenges they face in the court room and outside of..." Read more

Customers find the characters well-developed and believable. They also appreciate the author's descriptions of human nature.

"...I thought the characters were developed well enough so that the reader wanted the main characters to fair well and the bad guys to be punished and..." Read more

"...His descriptions of human nature are right on target . If he is sympathetic to some characters, this does not mean he is indulgent...." Read more

"...More than this, I love the realistic characters and scenarios , most especially the emotional highs that emanated from winning a record verdict, only..." Read more

"...wrote a great tale and the characters were well-developed and believable . Bravo, Grisham, Bravo!!! Highly recommended." Read more

Customers find the book engaging and hard to put down. They also say it's enjoyable and has no trouble getting through it.

"...I did enjoy the book and I had no trouble getting through it . I just say that to say that it was pretty typical of Grisham...." Read more

"...I actually found myself impressed that this easy , elementary approach still had me wanting to get to the next page and I was wishing it was longer..." Read more

"...It flows and is, like most of his novels, very hard to 'put down '. If you liked the film, you will enjoy the read even more," Read more

"... Hard to put down ; it was recommended to me and I liked it; so check it out." Read more

Customers find the book great and praise the author as too good.

"I Couldn't put it down! Another great Grisham ! I hated the ending. I did not want it to end! It could have continued ." Read more

"Another GREAT read by Grisham . The only thing I didn't like about this book was the last page......I wanted more story...." Read more

" John Grisham is excellent . I loved The Client more!" Read more

"I couldn't put it down, read it in two days. It is another great book by John Grisham ." Read more

Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing of the book. Some find it enjoyable and gain great momentum, while others say it reads a little slow and rushed to the conclusion. They also mention that the story is boring and everything is written in the present tense.

"...Grisham's writing style is superb; amazingly fast-paced for dealing with legal arcana, and with just enough irony and humor to be compelling." Read more

"...The writing drags on with several story lines that just don't hit the mark. Rudy's little romance for instance is not convincing enough...." Read more

"In an evenly-paced book John Grisham weaves a plot that shoves aside conventional power bases and eliminates the usual winners like a determined..." Read more

"...Which is worse? Fast paced fun to read ." Read more