I’m a huge Grisham fan, I’ve read all his books. However, the opening introduction to the characters dragged on over 40% until the courtroom scenes take place. Grisham does excellent courtroom drama and this book continues that trend. The ending seemed rushed and the bad guys didn’t really get what they all deserved. Not a book I would necessarily recommend but it is Grisham. 2.5 stars

Courtroom thrillers are one of my favorite genres, and this book did not disappoint! It was a slow burn, took some time to really grab me. If you’re struggling to grab onto the premise, be patient and reassess after about 30%! That is when I felt like it really took off. The courtroom scenes and legal aspects were such well written, and Grisham does not disappoint, yet again!

Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

It has been awhile since I read a John Grisham. This book is the tale of 2 boys that took different paths in life as well as sons decisions to either follow in those same paths or trying to diverge to a different one. Hugh's father, Lance, owned several clubs and he started working in them. He gravitated to the nightlife and the liquor, gambling, and prostitution that went with the clubs. Keith's father, Jesse, started out working in the seafood industry but went to school at night to study law. He became a lawyer and eventually district attorney who vowed to clean up the vice in Biloxi. Keith loved the law and started working in his father's law office after graduating law school. Keith and Hugh were childhood friends but are destined to meet in court as adults when their lives took different directions. The story starts out a bit slow but builds when things come to a showdown. Good vs evil. Ultimate consequences of choices made in life. Bright lights and the fast life or working hard and raising a family. Interesting characters. The book is a bit long and slow in spots but the laying of ground work with the lives, paths and good v evil the build up of court as well as government corruption adds to the story and the ending.

Thank you to Netgalley, Doubleday and John Grisham for the opportunity to review.

The opening is too slow, plenty of exposition and barely any dialogue. It took me out of the story...or rather, I never got into it. Weird, because it is one of my favorite authors.

The boys in this novel are from two families and tracks their lives. One chooses a life of crime, the other of public service. We see the boys as they compete in school sports together and then gradually grow apart into their respective careers. One of the things that I like about Grisham is that his characters seem so true-to-life: we are witness to their triumphs and challenges, loves and friendships both won and lost to moments of critical decisions and fate, The plot takes place in and around Biloxi Miss. and the decades around its infamous coastal "strip" of bars, brothels, and gambling parlors. I found the book as engaging as his other novels, and while a bit heavy on the court scenes, no more so than necessary to move the narrative and characters along. Highly recommended.

I was thrilled to be granted this book from Net Galley. I have read some of John Grisham's early novels, but not any of his latest. Such a wonderful writer and weaver of a good story. His courtroom chapters are second to none. The of immigrant's sons who follow in their father's footsteps, one as a lawyer and the other as a Mob boss. I love his descriptions and the way he slowly builds his story. So glad I read this one!

This is a hard title for me to write a review. John Grisham has written many excellent novels that I have enjoyed - but this, sadly, was not one of them. I had to force myself to finish it. I did enjoy the parts within the courtroom - that is what Grisham has always done best - but those parts don't show up until well into the novel and it only consists of a 1/4 of the novel - if that. For me, there was way to much pre-history, pre-setup. The novel seems way to lengthy and quite a bit tedious. The bad guy character didn't stay true to his character in the end. Not a fan of this one! Two stars because it is Grisham.

I expected so much more from this book but it lost me when it started dragging. The historical descriptions were interesting but the story itself lost me. Unexpected from this author.

John Grisham is an extremely talented author who has written 47 bestsellers. I have read almost all of them. I know that when I pick up one of his novels it will be very well written and be well-constructed. His books are not ones you can fly through quickly, and sometimes have parts that are lengthy or dry, but overall are compelling and worth the read. That is the case with this one as well. I found this one to be intriguing - the topic, the time period, the history, and the characters - but it does get lengthy and require patience at times. What I love about this author is his skills and talent with painting the background and characters to then be able to build up the story so that it is easy to become absorbed and invested. I can’t wait to watch the movie of this one (you know there will be one)!

Haven't read John Grisham in awhile, and will need to rectify that. Really enjoyed this book, a moving novel. Enjoyed the characters as they grew through the years. Great plot and pacing. Will definitely be reading more Grisham. #TheBoysfromBiloxi #NetGalley

For The Boys From Biloxi, I sing praises to John Grisham. In my opinion it was one of his better books. The main boys were Keith Rudy, the son of Jesse Rudy, and Hugh Malco, the son of Lance Malco. Keith and High grew up together and we're best friends. They played baseball together for years. Lance decided to get involved with the Dixie Mafia and Hugh followed in his footsteps. Jesse became an attorney and eventually the D.A., and Keith did the same. Their chosen professions drove a wedge between Keith and Hugh.

Lance owned a string of strip clubs that included prostitution and gambling, both which were against the law. There were other strip clubs on the coast as well. As D.A., Jesse pledged to clean up the coast of illegal crime. Before too long he was able to put Lance, the biggest criminal, away in prison. That chapped Hugh's hide and he decided to send Jesse a message. He hired Henry Taylor to blow up Jesse's office. Nevin Noll provided the explosives. Unfortunately, Jesse was in his office and he died a horrible death.

Keith was appointed interim D.A. His plan was to put the guys who killed his father in prison. And that he did, including Hugh, who gave the order.

This book had many twists and turns. John Grisham did an excellent job developing his characters, and, as is Grisham's style, the story line was easy to follow. While there wasn't a great deal of suspense, it did hold my attention and kept me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what was going to happen next. I gave this book five stars. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I’ve always loved John Grisham books and I’m usually drawn into his stories immediately. I felt that this one was a bit slower, much less dialogue and could have been reduced by several pages so it took a while to become engaged. Grisham writes great sports-related stories, good vs evil, legal and courtroom drama along with decades of Mississippi history.

This was a different style of writing than I’m used to from Mr. Grisham and while it’s not my favorite, I continue to look forward to reading any book he writes.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for providing me the opportunity to read this new work.

I really enjoyed "The Boys from Biloxi", John Grisham's latest, wonderful novel. Boys from the same neighborhood grow up to be very different adults in an environment of gambling and corruption. Great characters and depictions of allure of quick money as well as justice, and influences throughout generations, in the backdrop of Biloxi and its social changes. Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

I really liked this book. The author is getting back to what made his books can't miss reading. Great storyline with plot twist throughout. I hope he keeps writing like this vs mass market put books out as fast as you can.

I'm on the fence with this one. Usually John Grisham produces solid yarns. This is a middle of the road, not one of his best, but it certainly isn't bad. It's looong, a lot of characters. At times seems slow; but John is still a good writer and at points throughout it was compelling and a page turner. Would I read it again? Don't think so

Thanks to NetGalley for this early read! It was so tough to rate because it felt very different than other Grisham books. It took me awhile to get through it even though I enjoyed what I read.

The story spans two generations of lawyers fighting to bring crime, prostitution, gambling, and drugs away from the Biloxi coast.

I didn’t do any research so I have no idea if the story is based on true events or completely made up. The descriptions were vivid and the characters so real that I felt like I was reading true crime.

Grisham did a great job as always. The book is chocked full of history in crimes, legal proceedings, jail process, and a good dose of family life. This specific one just didn’t feel like my favorite.

The second half of the book was Grisham at his best. Interesting use of family trees to show how stories are intertwined. Enjoyed the book.

I’m a die-hard John Grisham fan, but The Boys from Biloxi is not one of my favorites of his books. It’s the story of the Rudy family as well as that of the Malco family. Young Keith Rudy and young Hugh Malco had been great buddies, but their lives took completely different paths. Dad, Jesse Rudy, was a very successful lawyer and eventually district attorney, and his son, Keith, followed in his footsteps. Dad, Lance Malco, lived a life of crime and his son, Hugh, followed in his footsteps as well.

The writing style was lacking. Sentences were short, clipped, and choppy, yet the book became too long. This book was more matter-of-fact than ever before. I usually enjoy the legal aspects of Mr. Grisham’s books, but this was borderline textbook with a case from its pages.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Boys from Biloxi.

3 stars. It’s been a while since I’ve read a Grisham book and I don’t think this was the one to jump into because it took way too long to get started, filling pages with background on the coastal town of Biloxi, the Croatian immigrants who settled there, the history through generations until we finally come to the current showdown between two childhood friends whose paths in life diverged – one followed his lawyer father and became a district attorney, the other also followed his father who runs the criminal underworld in the community nicknamed the Dixie Mafia. The setup leads to a final courtroom drama, which Grisham handles like the maestro he is, but it was too little, too late for me. I found myself longing for an editor who would have helped the author trim the fat from this book and fashion it into the faster-paced legal thriller Grisham fans wait for. If you like epic sagas of good vs. evil, personified by two men from opposite sides of the law, this book will delight you. If you’re looking for nuanced story telling with characters who grow and change during the narrative, this might not be the right fit.
My thanks to Net Galley for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

John Grisham is hit or miss for me. His early stuff, like A Time to Kill, is great. The Innocent Man was excellent. The Last Juror was awful. So, when I saw this one on NetGalley, I had no idea what version of Grisham I was going to get. And although this one took me over two weeks to get through, it was only because I’ve been so busy at work. I was excited to read more, every time I picked up this book.

From Goodreads: For most of the last hundred years, Biloxi was known for its beaches, resorts, and seafood industry. But it had a darker side. It was also notorious for corruption and vice, everything from gambling, prostitution, bootleg liquor, and drugs to contract killings. The vice was controlled by a small cabal of mobsters, many of them rumored to be members of the Dixie Mafia.

Keith Rudy and Hugh Malco grew up in Biloxi in the sixties and were childhood friends, as well as Little League all-stars. But as teenagers, their lives took them in different directions. Keith’s father became a legendary prosecutor, determined to “clean up the Coast.” Hugh’s father became the “Boss” of Biloxi’s criminal underground. Keith went to law school and followed in his father’s footsteps. Hugh preferred the nightlife and worked in his father’s clubs. The two families were headed for a showdown, one that would happen in a courtroom.

Life itself hangs in the balance in The Boys from Biloxi, a sweeping saga rich with history and with a large cast of unforgettable characters.

I had to check a few times to make sure this book was actually a novel. It reads like non-fiction, very matter-of-fact. Maybe that’s how Grisham is writing these days, but I couldn’t believe it was fiction. That didn’t detract from my enjoyment, however. There’s not a lot of surprise here. The good guys are good. The bad guys are bad. And the Malco and Rudy families are pulled in several directions. Watching it all play out was the most interesting part. I really enjoyed this book and put it up there with his early works.