Daniel Espinosa Will Helm John Grisham’s The Racketeer

So, everyone seems to be making a big deal of this Daniel Espinosa guy lately, and I’m not sure why. Sure, Easy Money was good but I thought Safe House was pretty bad, despite its $200 million plus gross. But then again, money talks and Hollywood is opening doors for Mr. Espinosa. First up he has decided to take on the Tom Hardy/Noomi Rapace-starring Child 44. Now, he’s settled on another project, an adaptation of John Grisham’s The Racketeer.

Released four months ago, the novel is already a #1 New York Times bestseller (but then again, what book isn’t?). If you’re not familiar with it, check out the plot summary below via 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 . . .

Nothing is as it seems and everything’s fair game in this wickedly clever new novel from John Grisham, the undisputed master of the legal thriller

So ya, it’s one of those stories. Typical Grisham fare. Not that that’s a bad thing though, I mean, look at films like A Time To Kill, The Rainmaker and The Firm, all solid flicks, right? So who knows? Maybe The Racketeer will turn out ok. Honestly, Espinosa doesn’t inspire much hope in me but if he can get himself an attractive cast, this one could be worth a watch.