THE BOYS FROM BILOXI

4 stars out of 5

Despite the fact that this prolific author is one of my favorites, after reading the first couple of chapters of any of his books - including this one - I always suspect I'm not going to enjoy it very much. And every single time - including this one - once I get back in the no-dialogue groove and start paying attention to the expertly crafted narrative that centers on intriguing characters and places, I'm hooked.

So it was with this one, which takes place in the coastal town of (as the title suggests), Biloxi, Mississippi, a popular destination for those looking for great beaches and scrumptious seafood. But to those who lived there, it was also a haven for corruption, with much of the vice under the tightly held reins of the so-called Dixie Mafia. Here is was, in the 1960s, that Keith Rudy and Hugh Malco first became friends as teenagers; but once the glow of their school baseball team faded, they went their separate ways: Rudy to law school, following the path forged by his successful lawyer father, Jesse; Hugh, to follow in the path forged by his equally successful mob boss father, Lance. As Keith's father makes it his mission to rid the city of ne'er-do-wells, Hugh's father vows to bring down those in government and law enforcement who are not in his pocket. That puts the two fathers and their two sons squarely at odds - in and out of the courtroom - that makes readers constantly question who, if anyone, will emerge triumphant and suspect that the story won't end well (some will argue, no doubt, that it didn't).

And that's all I can say without spoiling it for other readers, except to say it's a captivating story that I really didn't want to put down. Kudos (once again)!

The Boys from Biloxi by John Grisham (Doubleday, October 2022); 453 pp.