The Judge's List

Informationen zum Autor John Grisham  is the author of numerous #1 bestsellers, including  The Firm, A Time to Kill, The Rainmaker, The Innocent Man, The Whistler, The Boys from Biloxi,  and many more. His books have been translated into nearly fifty languages. 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. Grisham serves on the board of directors of the Innocence Project and 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. He lives on a farm in central Virginia. Klappentext As an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct, Lacy Stoltz sees plenty of corruption among the men and women elected to the bench. In The whistler, she took on a crime syndicate that was paying millions to a crooked judge. Now, in The judge's list, the crimes are even worse. The man hiding behind the black robe is not taking bribes--but he may be taking lives" -- Leseprobe 1 The call came through the office land line, through a system that was at least twenty years old and had fought off all technological advances. It was taken by a tattooed receptionist named Felicity, a new girl who would be gone before she fully understood the phones. They were all leaving, it seemed, especially the clerical help. Turnover was ridiculous. Morale was low. The Board on Judicial Conduct had just seen its budget chopped for the fourth straight year by a legislature that hardly knew it existed. Felicity managed to route the call down the hall to the cluttered desk of Lacy Stoltz. “There’s a call on line three,” she announced. “Who is it?” Lacy asked. “She wouldn’t say.” There were so many ways to respond. At that moment, though, Lacy was bored, and she did not wish to waste the emotional energy necessary to properly chastise the kid and set her straight. Routines and protocols were crumbling. Office discipline was waning as BJC spiraled into a leaderless mess. As a veteran, the veteran, it was important to set an example. “Thanks,” she said and punched the blinking light. “Lacy Stoltz.” “Good afternoon, Ms. Stoltz. Do you have a moment?” Female, educated, no hint of an accent, mid-forties, give or take three years. Lacy always played the voice game. “And to whom do I have the pleasure?” “My name is Margie for now, but I use other ones.” Lacy was amused and almost chuckled. “Well, at least you’re up front about it. It normally takes me some time to work through the aliases.” Anonymous callers were routine. People with gripes about judges were always cautious and hesitant to come forward and take on the system. Almost all feared retaliation from the powers on high. Margie said, “I’d like to talk to you, somewhere private.” “My office is private, if you’d like.” “Oh no,” she snapped, apparently frightened at the thought. “That won’t work. You know the Siler Building, next door?” “Of course,” Lacy said as she stood and looked out her window at the Siler Building, one of several nondescript government addresses in downtown Tallahassee. Margie said, “There’s a coffee bar on the ground floor. Can we meet there?” “I suppose. When?” “Now. I’m on my second latte.” “Slow down. Give me a few minutes. And you’ll recognize me?” “Yes. You’re on the website. I’m in the rear, left side.” Lacy’s office was indeed private. The one to her left was empty, vacated by an ex-colleague who’d moved on to a bigger agency. Across the hall an office had been converted into a makeshift storage closet. She walked toward Felicity and ducked into the office of Darren Trope, a two-year man already prowling for another job. “You busy?” she asked as ...

Product details

• Authors: John Grisham
• Publisher: Vintage USA
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 21.06.2022
• EAN: 9780593157848
• ISBN: 978-0-593-15784-8
• No. of pages: 368
• Dimensions: 133 mm x 203 mm x 19 mm
• Series: The Whistler
• Subject: Fiction > Suspense