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The Whistler

By: John Grisham
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
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Summary

From the best-selling author of countless legal thrillers, former lawyer John Grisham has done it again with this riveting thrill ride through Florida's justice system. The richly complex plot has plenty of twists and turns involving a corrupt judge, bribes, gangsters and even homicide in a dangerous game that could soon turn deadly.

The most corrupt judge in US history. A young investigator with a secret informant. The electrifying new thriller.

Lacy Stoltz never expected to be in the firing line. Investigating judicial misconduct by Florida's 1,000 judges, her cases so far have been relatively unexciting. That's until she meets Greg Myers, an indicted lawyer with an assumed name who has an extraordinary tale to tell.

Myers is representing a whistle-blower who knows of a judge involved in organised crime. Along with her gangster associates, this judge has facilitated the building of a casino on an Indian reservation. At least two people who opposed the scheme are dead.

Since the casino was built, the judge has made several fortunes off undeclared winnings. She owns property around the world, she hires private jets to take her where she wishes, and her secret vaults are overflowing with rare books, art and jewels. No one has a clue what she's been doing - until now.

Under Florida law those who help the state recover illegally acquired assets stand to gain a large percentage of them. Myers and his whistle-blower friend could make millions. But first they need Lacy to start an investigation. Is she ready to pit herself against the most corrupt judge in American history, a judge whose associates think nothing of murder?

©2016 Random House Audio; 2016 John Grisham

Critic reviews

"The best thriller writer alive." (Ken Follett)

What listeners say about The Whistler

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  • M
  • 31-12-16

This is

This book has been the straw that broke the camels back for me. I have bought Grisham books for years and loved them. The past few have been so awful I am convinced either he has lost his mojo or someone else is writing them. I won't be buying any more.

The narrator does their best with a really dull,piece of work.

His earlier work is brilliant, buy it - buy it but I would steer clear of his last half dozen books.

27 people found this helpful

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Follow the money; you will stumble on the bodies


A good story with no shining central character, making it hard to believe it will be a series, Lacy Stoltz the only designated logical character to be movable to the next installment is not well developed or fascinating in anyway, she is a bureaucrat that is not moved by much, to compensate for this lackluster we are given her abrasive brother and a sudo FBI boyfriend.

Now the story is a much more developed character and reeks of fact based knowledge, the FBI railroading of informants, or the casino deals in indian territories with all the good and evil that money has created, that is where this book shines and works best, when it is reporting and explaining the ins and outs of the criminal enterprise, but it forgets that is supposed to be a novel with characters we should identify with or at least care for.

A good read with an interesting subject and a well developed plot with insipid characters that do not help the story much.

14 people found this helpful

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Good story, badly let down by poor narration.

This story is certainly worth reading. But, the quality of the narrator makes a pretty poor audio-book.

10 people found this helpful

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Not his finest work

I've read everything j Grisham has written and I'm sorry to say he's getting weaker with every book,tired plot lines and shallow characters that are hard to like,still better than a lot of books out there,

10 people found this helpful

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promising to start

It was moderately engaging, tailed off with a narrative towards the end.

8 people found this helpful

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Always a good read, but...

I download a new JG as soon as it arrives in the site. Both this and his last effort have, however, been well below his best standard. A rather obscure arm of government hunting down corrupt judges gives a different angle from his usual struggling lawyers, and the story and characters grip. Then, in the last act, he runs out of steam, the unravelling of the plot happens at second hand and far too fast. Maybe even Grisham has problems with deadlines.

7 people found this helpful

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Read not listen

This book was spoilt by the narrator who had an irritating voice with false accent. This is one book to be read not listened.

7 people found this helpful

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What a disappointment

Bought this as soon as it was released as I'm a big Grisham fan. It's nothing like as good as his other books. Quite turgid and I think he needs to re-assess whether he can write from a female point of view (I would say not).
The female narrator has a very limited range and as most of the characters are male, really didn't do a great job with male voices. I wonder why it was decided to have a female narrator?
Give this one a miss.

5 people found this helpful

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Good overcoming evil

A bit too detailed in the beginning but, I couldn't put it down a good read.

4 people found this helpful

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first time trialing audio

I loved this book. was very wary at first as first time with audio but narrator was excellent.

4 people found this helpful

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  • Carmel
  • 30-09-17

Nerve wracking Narration

I would have enjoyed the novel so much more if I hadn't had to listen to the worst narration I have ever been subject to. For me, the performance of the Narrator is tantamount to the success of the story. Cassandra needs to buy a florist shop or take many more voice lessons

4 people found this helpful

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  • Nea Costello
  • 20-08-17

A Most Enjoyable Enthralling Book

Great story and excellent narration!!!
I have highly recommended this book to family and friends.

2 people found this helpful

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 17-03-18

The worst narration ever!

Would you try another book from John Grisham and/or Cassandra Campbell?

John Grisham yes.... Cassandra never ever ever

What was most disappointing about John Grisham’s story?

Not listening to the story because of the narration

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator sounded like she was trying to seduce you from the first word!

Any additional comments?

The narrator is the most important part of an audible book, it is the deciding factor to purchase or not, or to continue listening or not. It also adds to the experience of the story overall. Unfortunately this was a very disappointing choice for a John Grisham novel.

1 person found this helpful

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  • Catherine
  • 08-11-16

Another Gresham stunner

Like his other novels Whistler is geographically accurate with legal intertwining and fun relationships. The audio reader was smooth with only a few lapses in accent

1 person found this helpful

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  • Marcia
  • 02-07-20

Cannot finish it

I don't want to hear another minute. such a boring book. Cannot finish it. It drags

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  • Venn
  • 31-10-16

What a boring book

Would you try another book from John Grisham and/or Cassandra Campbell?

I have read all John Grisham's books, but this one just did not intrigue me one little bit.

Would you be willing to try another book from John Grisham? Why or why not?

I would think twice

What didn’t you like about Cassandra Campbell’s performance?

Not bad but quite monotonous, however the content was so boring and predictable I don't blame her.

Was The Whistler worth the listening time?

No

Any additional comments?

Mr. Grisham shouldn't release books of this quality