Between the law and the lawless

The story of The Client is an account of unexpected happenings in the lives of two small boys on the outskirts of Memphis, USA. It's a tale of a week's events and yet its breathtaking plot and the vivid portrayal of the characters are left for the reader to recall and savour for days to come. Eleven-year old Mark Sway and his brother Rick are in the woods to take a puff of forbidden cigarette when a black car pulls into a small clearing. Mark, like all curious boys, waits to see what is happening. By sheer coincidence the brothers witness the occupant of the car, the famous lawyer Romney, shooting himself. But before that happens Mark is taken into the car by the drunken lawyer and is told about the location of the dead body of a murdered senator.
Mark, a very bright small boy, is used to hardship living in their trailer. His mother Diane, a single mom, struggles with life while working for a lamp company. Mark goes through a tough life when his alcoholic father had beats and abuses the family. When his mother divorces his father, Mark gets in touch with the law enforcing agents. After witnessing the suicide, feeling that he should do the right thing, Mark calls the police. Once the FBI is there they question Mark, but out of fear Mark lies, leaving out all details of how he was with the deceased and the conversation they have had. But the police trace fingerprints and soon are sure the kid is lying and want to take him into custody. Desperate and scared Mark finds Reggie Love, a lawyer who agrees out of pity to start working for the boy with the retainer money of just a dollar.
The suspense in the story discloses one astounding event after another. Mark's lies give way to other lies and the boy finds himself caught in the snare of justice. Even Reggie is not prepared when she finds herself in the midst of the most horrendous killing of the year. The Mafia and the FBI both are on hot chase of the boy. They want the boy because they suspect that Romney had told the boy about the hidden body of the dead senator. The mob threatens Mark, at knife point, to wipe him out if he opens his mouth and the government prosecutors are willing to break all the rules to make him talk. The mob burns down his trailer home. Rick is hospitalized with post-traumatic disorder and Diane has to be constantly by his side. As Mark's life is threatened by the mafia, Reggie decides that it will be safer if he is under police protection in the juvenile detention centre and agrees to this proposal of the cops. But she has to protect her client against the government lawyer's taking Mark to a court hearing for he will have to reveal the truth of his knowledge of what Romney had confessed before shooting himself. Reggie, being a lawyer, cannot advise Mark to lie under oath.
The climax of the story reaches heart throbbing excitement as Mark escapes from the juvenile centre. Only Reggie knows of his whereabouts but if she helps out Mark she becomes his accomplice. Both Reggie and Mark wonder if they should take another option the government lawyers have given. Mark can change the identity of himself and his family and disappear to a faraway place after helping the FBI find the hidden body. Mark has watched hundreds of crime movies and knows that the Mafia never stops hunting down the people they want. Mark, the eleven- year old boy, faces a dilemma of life and death. He is aware that even if he manages to give everyone the slip the mob will not spare his mother and little brother. But Mark is brave and can take decisions that might be unthinkable for adults and with good luck he has a lawyer who is kind and compassionate enough to risk her license of law practice. However, a decision has to be made and made within the fast tracking hours!
The Client is an engrossing tale of the most unlikely events that fate can hold for people. It depicts a picture of the undercover world of crime, murder and deception. Grisham's perception of starting off the story with two innocent brothers in a wood for a puff of cigarette and leading the tale on to a great story of the Mafia and the FBI caught up in violence and a fight for justice certainly shows the great writer's mastery of storytelling at its best. The characters portrayed are so real and life like that readers could imagine being a part of the whole show, as if they are living with the tormenting life threats of Mark, and can feel their hearts cry out for the seven-year old Ricky as he spends days in the hospital. The unfolding story is truly spell binding!
Grisham fans shouldn't miss the opportunity to read this epic thriller. It keeps the readers on the edge of the seat until they finally reach the last sentence.

Tulip Chowdhury writes fiction and poetry and teaches.