Theodore Boone: The Accused - Review in DH

My review of John Grisham's latest Theo Boone novel was carried today by the DH.

 

Theodore Boone: The Accused, John Grisham, Hachette India, Rs.250.

As they say, when it Grishams, it pours.

I reviewed John Grisham’s baseball novel ‘Calico Joe’ in these pages not too long ago and found it a trifle pedestrian. So it was that I picked up ‘Theodore Boone: The Accused’ with nothing approaching tremendous anticipation. But now that I am done with the book, I must admit to being happily entertained for a few hours.

Grisham told The Telegraph, probably only half in jest, that with the arrival of Harry Potter, he was displaced as the number one author in the world and missed occupying that slot. Then, in what was an ‘a-ha!’ moment, he hit upon the character of kid detective Theodore Boone.

Since then Theo has had three outings. ‘Theodore Boone’, ‘Theodore Boone: The Abduction’ and now, ‘Theodore Boone: The Accused’.

By now, readers familiar with Theo will know he’s the thirteen-year old son of lawyer parents and lives in the small town of Strattenburg. He’s an only child with a dog named Judge for company. Happily for his fans, he combines a nose for adventure with an eye for the law, attending the local courthouse often enough to be friends with Judge Gantry - this time, the one with a mild temper, not distemper.

Initially, the accused in ‘The Accused’ is a wealthy inhabitant of Strattenburg charged with the murder of his wife. When he jumps bail and absconds, everybody in town, Theo included, is intrigued. But Theo is robbed of the pleasure of following the course of the law from the side lines, when, in a cruel perversion, he becomes the accused himself thanks to an elaborate and devious plot. Laptops and other electronic items are stolen from a local store and all the leads point to Theo. Laced with a spine tingling dose of malice, this is no ordinary prank, as the plotters spare no effort to malign Theo’s fair name in the local media. Overnight, Theo’s world not only turns upside down as he finds himself at the centre of a controversy he has no clue about, there is also a hint of possible physical harm. The pressure on him is so intense that he thoughtlessly gets into a brawl in school, something from which he stays usually away.

Theo’s allies in such testing times are his maverick uncle Ike, a couple of schoolmates and thankfully, the principal of the school. They provide him with crucial information, analysis and moral sustenance which all help him come through the ordeal.

While he battles to find answers to this dangerous riddle, Theo gets a welcome break by appearing in Animal Court, a petty judicial forum so casual that even a student like Theo can represent litigants. This time, his client’s pet llama, Lucy, has landed her keeper in a spot of bother by spitting at unfriendly security personnel. Theo convinces the judge and the parties to come to a most agreeable compromise.

While I enjoyed this piece of YA fiction from Grisham much more than his regular fare for the not-so-YA, my bright young friends may find a few loopholes in the plot. For one, what detective work did Theo actually do in this story? To me, it appeared he managed well only because of some convenient coincidences and some inspired work by friends. ‘Kid Detective’ didn’t seem too apt a sobriquet for our young friend, at least not in this adventure. For another, the yarn about the missing murderer didn’t seem really relevant to the rest of the story.

Grisham weaves into the plotline situations where Theo’s sense of ethics is put to the test. But in welcome contrast to the monochromatic fulminations in ‘Calico Joe’, Theo’s dilemmas are presented in a more nuanced fashion.

All said and done, I would pick the Theodore Boone series over the fare Grisham churns out these days for us adults. After all, it’s not often that I get to meet spitting llamas in Animal Court.