Night Fall - by Nelson DeMille

What is common between Captain Jack Sparrow and John Corey? Both are the main protagonists of a form of fiction. Both are raunchy, sarcastic with a wonderful sense of humor. And both mouth wonderful one-liners.

‘Night Fall’ is a thriller written by Nelson DeMille that stars John Corey. This book has been in existence for a while now but I got my hands on it quite recently. At the outset, this book looks menacing, running close to 600 pages. But once you start delving into the story; the dialogues, the punch lines and the humor engulf you. Some of you may even curse the author for not making it bulkier.

This is a typical western thriller set around an ex-NYPD detective and his wife who go about investigating a plane crash that took place five years earlier. Though the official reason for the crash was documented as a mechanical failure and the case was closed, Corey has reasons sufficient and powerful enough to believe otherwise. Even coping up with numerous forms of political pressures and non-cooperative bosses, he struggles to get his hands on a piece of evidence which would help justice prevail.

The plot, in itself, is neither novel nor captivating. I mean, seriously, how many hundreds of books have been written on the above lines? Writers like Frederick Forsyth and Robert Ludlum must have written at least fifty books between them, with not very different plots.

Then, what makes this book different?

‘Night Fall’ does not have the serious tone akin to the other books of the same genre. At times, the grim tale is narrated to the point of being frivolous. Quite often, the reader is distracted to forget the main plot of the book and he ends up enjoying the humor in the previous event. The plot, in itself, is wafer thin and about a hundred questions are left unanswered. The ending could have been much better and more conclusive. It seems that DeMille suddenly ran out of both steam and ideas to bring the book to a more logical and justice-always-prevails ending.

The character of John Corey stays with you even after you have finished off the book. His witty one-liners and ‘pissing matches’ (as the author calls them) with his bosses and colleagues, not to mention his wife, are charming, to say the least. Just to give you an idea –

(John Corey is to go to Yemen on a special assignment)
Lady Lawyer: Who do you want to have the power of attorney?
John Corey: Who did Elvis Presley use?
Lady Lawyer: How about your wife?
John Corey: You mean if I am missing or kidnapped, my wife will have access to my checkbook, savings account, credit cards and my salary?
Lady Lawyer: That’s right.
John Corey: What if I show up a year later and find out I am broke?
(The lady lawyer laughs)

Go for this book if all you need is a good and entertaining read. Go for this book if even a lack of a strong and concrete plot does not bother you much. However, if you are also a serious reader like me and want a more profound and satisfying read, there are many better ones to choose from.

This 'Associate' is no catcher

‘The Associate’ is the latest feather in John Grisham’s cap. Figuratively, yes. Metaphorically, no. For, it is nowhere near the master’s best. From the author who has given us books like ‘The Firm’, ‘The Broker’ and others, this book is actually a disappointment.

Like most of Grisham’s literature and as you might have figured out by the name, this book is set in the world of law. The main protagonist of the story, Kyle McAvoy is fresh out of an Ivy League college and on his way of becoming a full-fledged lawyer. Like the rest in his class, Kyle is also in the process of picking up his career and future when a few bad men catch up with him with his dirty dark secret from the past. They threaten to expose his butt for all to see if he does not obey their orders. What follows is a brutal blackmailing game and the goons keep on getting more and more menacing. Whether or not Kyle manages to get out of their clutches forms the book.

The plot is thinner than a metal foil on Indian milk sweet. In fact, the entire book can be reproduced in less than ten lines without missing anything substantial. As said earlier, the story is set in the world of lawyers, law firms and law suits. This is exactly where John Grisham belongs to, but there isn’t anything either fresh or profound. After the first hundred pages, the book becomes annoying and the only reason why it is still bearable is because of the ingenious style of Grisham’s writing.

There is one activity that I must remember to do when I get my hands on a soft copy of this book. I need to Control F for ‘bill’ (as in ‘billing’) and see how many times has this word been used throughout the book. My personal bet is, close to a thousand times. Ok, I am kidding. But seriously, it must be at least five hundred times. I wonder, do law firms are really so notorious for billing their clients?

If this is the first time you are reading a John Grisham, ‘The Associate’ is not a bad place to start. But if you already are a ‘veteran reader of legal thrillers’, going back to ‘The Firm’ even though you have read it earlier, is not a bad idea.