I was excited to finally try a Grisham novel but unfortunately this one fell flat for me. It was very info-dumpy which made it hard to connect with the story for me personally. I love a good courtroom/legal drama but in the particular story all the facts were pretty much already given to the reader up front, which made it a bit anticlimactic. After seeing other reviews for this one, it does seem like this is a bit different from the author’s usual stories so I will definitely give one of his ‘hit’ books a try but this one just didn’t work for me sadly.

Long-time Grisham reader. My favorite part of the story was the introduction of the Rudy and Malco families. Keith Rudy and Hugh Malco (born a couple years earlier than this reader) are third generation children of two Croatian immigrant families. The boys love baseball and are on the same team. I could imagine what it was like from sitting in the stands as a young girl watching my brothers. Hugh goes into the bar business and eventually gets involved in the mafia where his father was the boss. Keith eventually becomes a prosecutor like his Dad was. I especially liked his father’s story of service in the military and working and going to night school to become a lawyer and DA. The reader also learns a lot about the canneries and life living through Hurricane Camille. And, then there is the court case. For me, I felt this book needs a good edit. There were times I loved the reading and other times that I had to put the book down and walk away.. I also had to keep a character chart. Way too many characters at times. In the end, I found The Boys from Biloxi a good read but not a great read! My thanks to Doubleday and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions are my own.
3.5 stars raised to 4 stars.

The Boys from Biloxi, by John Grisham,, is a legendary family drama which takes place in historic and modern day Biloxi, as well as in the courtroom.

We get to see Biloxi, well-known for it’s beaches, resorts and nightlife, but to those who know better, there is an underbelly of corruption, crime and murder. This darker world of vice is controlled by mobster families, two in particular, opposing families who once were close friends, but now are rivals. Their sons follow in their father’s respective footsteps; one who chose a life in the law, and one who chose the nightlife of clubs, gambling and crime.

This is a highly descriptive novel painting life at the time in vivid detail. There is mounting tension between the two families as things escalate. There is quite a bit of information shared in the narrative, feeling a bit like a work of non-fiction at times. However, the story is well-written with thoroughly developed characters, a multi-generational plot line, plenty of drama and tension, and in-depth researched. If you’ve enjoyed previous Grisham books, I’m sure you will want to read this one as well.

The Boys from Biloxi by John Grisham, not told in Grisham's usual style but enjoyable and if you are a fan of the author you will like this book!

I've always been a huge fan of Grisham's books. I have to wonder if he actually wrote this one, because it's just not up to par.

There are waaaaaay too many characters, many of whom don't advance the plot – and he's still introducing new ones in the final pages.

Several times, there are repetitive asides. How many times do we need to read that as officers of the court, lawyers have access to areas of the courtroom that mere mortals don't have?

In at least a few instances dialog is wooden – odd, because one of Grisham's many strengths is that his writing tends to reflect how people talk.

I appreciated the opportunity to read a preview of this book provided by NetGalley.

One of the more character/ locale driven books of his later books... Having grown up in Mississippi and southern Louisiana in the era in which this book is set, I was somewhat aware if the ongoing corruption/danger and crime but not of the depth of it. This book was a but of a wake up call to me as my teen years were spent there and were very serene and totally without awareness if all that was around me. The characters were very easy to become emotionally involved in.... and the book kept me reading long into the night. Totally engrossing and enjoyable....

I stopped reading John Grisham because I got tired of the formulaic approach to most of his books. Good Guy, bad guy, courtroom intrigue and drama. I took a break despite Grisham being a really good writer. When I read a book, cover to cover, and don’t take notes, don’t highlight passages, don’t circle back, that book had my complete attention. I have just described my take on The Boys from Biloxi.

Grisham digs deep into the depravity rampant in Biloxi set against a backdrop of beautiful beaches and everyday kids who play on different teams much like their fathers, who walk on opposite sides of the law. Slow burn, slow build up, a foregone conclusion which takes years to play out, but I liked it for just those reasons.

It was more than I expected and a solid reunion with a very good writer. Thank you Doubleday and NetGalley for a copy.

I have not read John Grisham in probably ten years. And had forgotten how good he was, but this book sure reminded me. I love how the two boys in the novel go too different ways as they grow up. I recently saw a video where a judge recognized the criminal standing in the docket was a good friend from grammar school, so this scenario does happen.

I highly recommend and I, myself, will definitely get back on the Grisham track.

I am posting an honest review after reading an advance reader copy of this story.

For me the John Grisham magic was nowhere in sight. I had such a difficult time with the story that I skipped around a bit until the ending. I didn't find the characters compelling in any way. The book read like an article from a newspaper or magazine, dry and full of facts but no pizzaz. Don't get me wrong, I like John Grisham's writing but this book was a disappointment

#Netgalley #TheBoysFromBiloxi #JohnGrisham #contempary .

Of course I rush to read anything by John Grisham, and this is no exception. He writes about his own backyard and the peculiar specialities of the South. The story is about 2 boys who grow up together, yet choose very divergent paths. Drama and courtroom battles ensue- not drama is the same way many are wrttien, but drmamtic nonetheless.
There is a reason he is such a bestselling author......enjoy!

This is a story of two boys, best friends from childhood. The story goes on to show the different paths they take in life and how life brings them back together at the end. They choose to live on different sides of the law in Biloxi where gambling, drugs, and prostitution are rampant. This story is as much about the boys as their fathers. Son's following in their father's footsteps. The story is really a saga about two families and how lives intersect.

This is the story of two families. With long deep ties in Biloxi MS., The story is multi-generational beginning with Jessie Rudy, a dedicated, ethical District Attorney, and Lance Malco, a Dixie Mafia crime boss.

It is a hard book to put down with powerful and masterful storytelling with all its twists and turns! Great strong characters and a diverse cast of characters make it very engaging.

I recommend it to mysteries, thrillers, and contemporary adult fiction readers.

I wish to thank NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the e-book copy for my unbiased review.

Best Grisham I've read in a long time. More of a family saga than a plotted thriller. Rambling at times, and almost certainly bloated, but high on the readability factor. Not as specifically preachy (a turn off for me) like some of his other recent work. Grisham is miles away from the tight suspense novels of his early days, but he remains a very talented storyteller. I enjoyed this one more than expected.

Thank you to Doubleday Books via Netgalley for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own

This is an excellent read that gets you engaged from the first page. It has everything you look for in a great suspense story. As I was reading, all I kept saying was this story should be made into a movie.

Get this book! Then settle down and request that you not be disturbed unless it is a life or death situation.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley but the thoughts expressed are my own. Thanks so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for making such an entertaining read available.

John Grisham's talent in bringing to life the stories of families, friends, conflict and courthouse drama carries on with the story of The Boys from Biloxi. Two young boys grow up as friends into men who are on the opposite sides of the law. Hugh Malco joins the family business where breaking or undermining the law is an everyday occurrence - and acceptable behavior for Biloxi. A violent crime pushes Keith Rudy to follow his father's career as a DA, which brings him face to face again with his childhood friend in a battle where life is at stake. A gripping story in the Grisham manner that keeps you invested in both the characters and their outcome.....right to the last page. Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the opportunity to read and review this advance reader copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #TheBoysfromBiloxi #NetGalley

The Boys from Biloxi is the first John Grisham book I've read in years. But when I read the description of the book, I wanted to read it. It's a LONG book, but it kept my interest.
This story is about who families, two boys who were best friends, but from different types of family. It's your right side vs wrong side of the law story.

But you get to follow the journey of these two families, how they become who they are, and how the two boys go from best friends to being on the opposite side of the law.

Somedays I'll be honest, I didn't think the book would ever end. But I kept reading. I didn't want to put it down.

#TheBoysfromBiloxi #NetGalley #DoubledayBooks #JohnGrisham

The Boys from Biloxi is the story of two families, the Malco's and the Rudy's, who settled in Biloxi. Keith Rudy and Hugh Malco grew up together as friends and in little league baseball. They parted company as one joins the family business and the other goes into the law profession.

With one family following illegal pursuits and another trying to prevent them a father will die as a result and change the course for each family going forward.

Strip clubs, gambling, shady deals, greed, and other vices made this story drag a bit for me. I was looking for another fantastic story with a twist, but this wasn't that kind of story. While the book is good it wasn't what I had come to expect. The book is lengthy with many characters it still is an enjoyable read.

Thanks to Netgalley, for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I almost always enjoy anything Grisham writes, and I particularly enjoy the books with courtroom action - and this did not disappoint! The focus here is on 2 families from Biloxi, one of which winds up as lawyers/prosecutors, and the other of which becomes a wealthy, successful crime family. No ambiguity in either case - the crime family is all about liquor, drugs and prostitution, the prosecutors are straight up for law and order.

There's plenty of conflict, and a lot of death and mayhem. And, a lot of courtroom action! I'd love to go about more details, but I think it's best not to - there are surprises in the book, and you'll be better off coming to them without being told in advance! Also a couple reviewers felt that there was too much sports, I disagree - just a small amount of mention of the sports activities of the characters in little league and high school, enough to set up the fact that they were in fact teammates at one time.

A good Grisham book - particularly watching the main character come to grips with the death penalty!

‘The Boys from Biloxi’ by John Grisham

Boys will be boys in John Grisham’s 31st standalone novel — but they will also be gangsters and thugs, lawyers and DA’s in a not-so-black-and-white dichotomy fueled by the immigrant dreams of those coming to Mississippi’s Gulf Coast at the turn of the 20th century.

From the outset of “The Boys from Biloxi” (Doubleday), Grisham lays out the history of the region — really, you’ll think you’ve wandered into a Michener novel for the first 60 pages — and a time when youth baseball held its own with Friday night lights before those same youths ventured left or right, into Biloxi’s easy-money underworld or the more narrow path of hard work and education.

That underworld was the allure of early, prohibition-era Biloxi where on a single one-mile strip the “vice was so profitable that it naturally attracted the usual assortment of characters … career criminals, outlaws, bootleggers, smugglers, rumrunners, con men, hit men, pimps, leg-breakers and a more ambitious class of crimes lords” — and the “Dixie Mafia” who settled the strip in the late 1950s.

The narrow road was for everyone else who had a dream: “Biloxi prospered because of seafood, tourism, construction and a formidable work ethic” propelled by the immigrants who envisioned a better life than the one they had left in Croatia or other struggling parts of the world.

Into this new world, “the rivalry began as a friendship between two boys with much in common,” Grisham writes. “Both were third-generation grandsons of Croatian immigrants, and both were born and raised on “The Point,” as Point Cadet was known.”

From here, the stories of childhood confidantes Hugh Malco and Keith Rudy diverge with Hugh drawn to the corruption and vice of the strip as heir-apparent of his father’s criminal empire, and Keith the reluctant son of a DA father determined to “clean up the coast.” When the elder Rudy is violently killed in a mob hit that may or may not have been authorized by his former best friend, Keith enters and wins the open DA race, vowing to pick up where his father left off.

Grisham pitches a solid game in “The Boys from Biloxi,” but the story is never hit out of the park. The master storyteller keeping the pages turning, but too much of the novel is centered on variations of themes resurrected in earlier novels: the death penalty, violent crime, drugs top the list. Much of this has been offered in Grisham’s other stories — read 2018’s “The Reckoning” for the most harrowing death penalty story written by any author, ever — and the ball doesn’t move very far down the field here.

Still, Grisham manages a satisfying ending, weaving shades of gray into a final encounter between Hugh and Keith — a final appeal for both absolution and benediction whose bestowal or denial at the 11th hour will shape the reminder of their lives.

I well remember Hurricane Camille, several months later still seeing boats in the trees and utter devastation. I never knew about the Dixie Mafia. The colorful southern characters all ring true. My problem with this book was the length, especially the first 60%. Once we get to the courtroom scenes, Mr. Grisham really shines.