From a Google Image Search – Penguin Random House
John Grisham has written many best-selling books exposing bad practices within our justice system. When his characters comprehend the ways in which the law can be twisted to allow lawyers to profit from borderline irregular or even criminal legal practices, brave protagonists come up with creative plans to end the bad behaviors and restore proper justice. The French Illusion is just such a book. Stuart Nash is just such a protagonist.
A man from Algeria, falsely accused of being a terrorist, subjected to torture at Guantanamo, and then released, decides to get revenge. Since his method includes kidnapping, imprisonment, and torture he feels his actions are justified by the way he was treated. He plans to also be paid back with huge cash settlements through collecting millions in ransom. He’s playing a long game, and the US seems unable or unwilling to track him as he operates out of France, kidnapping honeymooners in Paris. The US eventually gets involved because the young men who are kidnapped are either US government or military people.
In a twist, Graham introduces his main character, Stuart, in a separate (very short) book. We are charged $.99 for this eBook, which, although unusual, hardly seems excessive. Stuart Nash, however, does not appear in The French Illusion for some time.
The story has all the classic John Grisham suspense tempered with a soupçon of a sense that justice has gone off the tracks. Relatives of the kidnapped men are told to tell no one about the kidnapping or the ransom. Over a period of three years the same pattern plays out three times. Eventually what has been kept secret is revealed to the FBI and then the CIA. The crime is interesting; how justice is restored is even more interesting. The plan involves Stuart Nash and he is not alone.
This is a very fast read. Although the plot is fresh, the book seems short and the smaller book that introduces the main character (The Law Student) seems unusual. In the back of your mind you might wonder if Grisham has spent too extravagantly and is now holding us for a bit of ransom. (And you might think twice about planning a honeymoon in Paris.)
