Adaptation of the John Grisham novel The Racketeer being developed by Safe House's Daniel Espinosa

Adaptation of the John Grisham novel The Racketeer being developed by Safe House’s Daniel Espinosa

February 13th 2013, 9:35am

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Do you know it has been nine years since the last John Grisham adaptation? And it was CHRISTMAS WITH THE KRANKS? God does it make me feel old when I think back to the 90s and how it seemed like every couple of months there was another movie “Based on the number one best seller by John Grisham.” OK, I may be exaggerating a bit but he did have a nice little run of seven movies over a five year period.

THR has an exclusive that the latest novel from John Grisham, The Racketeer, is being developed as a directing vehicle by Daniel Espinosa. Espinosa, who has gained plenty of notice after SAFE HOUSE was a box office hit, is also executive producing the film.

So what is THE ROCKETEER THE RACKETEER about? Here’s a slightly lengthy book description from Amazon:

“Given the importance of what they do, and the controversies that often surround them, and the violent people they sometimes confront, it is remarkable that in the history of this country only four active federal judges have been murdered.

Judge Raymond Fawcett has just become number five.

Who is the Racketeer? And what does he have to do with the judge’s untimely demise? His name, for the moment, is Malcolm Bannister. Job status? Former attorney. Current residence? The Federal Prison Camp near Frostburg, Maryland.

On paper, Malcolm’s situation isn’t looking too good these days, but he’s got an ace up his sleeve. He knows who killed Judge Fawcett, and he knows why. The judge’s body was found in his remote lakeside cabin. There was no forced entry, no struggle, just two dead bodies: Judge Fawcett and his young secretary. And one large, state-of-the-art, extremely secure safe, opened and emptied.

What was in the safe? The FBI would love to know. And Malcolm Bannister would love to tell them. But everything has a price—especially information as explosive as the sequence of events that led to Judge Fawcett’s death. And the Racketeer wasn’t born yesterday..”

John Grisham‘s novels can be hit or miss (so I’ve heard; legal thrillers aren’t my cup of tea) and I’ve read kind of “meh” reviews on the book. Still, the synopsis sounds intriguing and if the film ends up with a solid cast it may be worth checking out.