The Rainmaker
John Grisham, 1995
★ 4.02 from 212.8k ratings on Goodreads
A broke law student sues an insurance company for a family it refused to help, and finds out what a lawsuit really costs. The story moves quickly with a wry, hopeful voice, mixing courtroom tension with humor and a young lawyer's scrappy ambition.
Feels like hope, humor and joy. About society, ambition and morality.
Who it’s for
You may like it if you enjoy underdog legal cases, quick pacing, and humor alongside a young lawyer's uphill fight. Some readers found the ending flat and the side plots thinner than the main case, so expect a few loose threads.
Why read it
It gives you a fast, funny, and grounded look at what a lawsuit costs, with an underdog case and a lawyer learning as he goes.
A page from the book
The slowest meal you will ever serve, and the most instructive.
An hour passed. Lunch proceeded as if these starving souls were feasting on seven courses with no hope of another meal. Their wobbly forks and spoons moved back and forth, up and down, in and out, as if laden with precious metals. Time was of absolutely no consequence. They yelled at each other when words stirred them. They dropped food on the floor until I couldn’t bear to watch anymore. I even ate my Jell-O. Bosco, still covetous, watched my every move. Miss Birdie fluttered around the room, chirping about this and that. What readers say
Readers found it engaging and fast-paced, with a strong underdog courtroom case and emotional investment; many enjoyed the humor and rooting for the young lawyer. Some were disappointed by the ending and weaker side plots, and a few found the villains or story less convincing.
John Grisham.Grisham practiced law in Mississippi for nearly a decade and served in the state House; he wrote his first novel in the early mornings before work.
Books that feel like this
More by John Grisham
The Pelican Brief
John Grisham, 1992
A law student's hunch about two murdered Supreme Court justices makes her the target of a hunt she never asked for.
The Street Lawyer
John Grisham, 1985
A young associate witnesses a terrifying heist in a high-stakes law firm, forcing him to confront the true power structures that lie beneath the veneer of corporate justice.
Sycamore Row
John Grisham, 2013
After a Mississippi man hangs himself, a handwritten will sets lawyer Jake Brigance against a town determined to bury the past.
Where to get it
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Questions readers ask
- Is The Rainmaker for me?
- You may like it if you enjoy underdog legal cases, quick pacing, and humor alongside a young lawyer's uphill fight. Some readers found the ending flat and the side plots thinner than the main case, so expect a few loose threads.
- What is The Rainmaker like?
- The story moves quickly with a wry, hopeful voice, mixing courtroom tension with humor and a young lawyer's scrappy ambition. Feels like hope, humor and joy. About society, ambition and morality.
- What should I read after The Rainmaker?
- If you liked The Rainmaker, try Sometimes I Lie (Alice Feeney), The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) and Icebreaker (Hannah Grace).
A taste of the feed
The person you meant to be, and the one you settled for.
We are all just ghosts of the people we hoped that we were and counterfeit replicas of the people we wanted to be.
Sometimes I Lie · Alice Feeney
The mirror is honest even when your colleagues are kind.
Langdon had little doubt. His books on religious paintings and cult symbology had made him a reluctant celebrity in the art world, and last year Langdon’s visibility had increased a hundred-fold after his involvement in a widely publicized incident at the Vatican. Since then, the stream of self-important historians and art buffs arriving at his door had seemed never-ending.
The Da Vinci Code · Dan Brown
The moment an eating contest becomes a love language.
You ate twenty chicken nuggets in about four minutes. It was like you were in an eating competition, but you were the only contestant. I’ve never been more in love with you.
Icebreaker · Hannah Grace
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