The Boys From Biloxi by John Grisham

 

They were best of friends, these twelve year old boys.  Keith Rudy and Hugo Malco were the stars of the baseball team and they were sure they would be friends forever.  But as they grew older, their paths diverged and by the time they were grown they were barely speaking.

Keith Rudy's father was a successful lawyer and Keith's mentor.  When his father became the district attorney, Keith was left to run the office as he had become a lawyer also.  His father was determined to clean up Biloxi, to close down the clubs that were havens for prostitution, drugs, gambling and other crimes.  

Hugo Malco was part of that club scene.  His father, Lance, was the king of the Biloxi crime scene and Hugo couldn't wait for the day when he could take over for his father.  He got that chance when Jesse Rudy put his father behind bars for nine years.  Surrounded by muscle and killers, he was determined to get retribution for his father's jailing and it didn't take long.  Far from being best friends, the two men were now enemies, both determined to end the other's way of life.

John Grisham is known for his legal thrillers and this book is marketed that way.  But the underlying story is that of a friendship that started in childhood and how the two boys grew into men who became enemies.  There is lots of legal action for those interested in how the law works but this seems more of a story of how revenge can ruin so many lives.  This book is recommended for readers of legal thrillers and literary ficiton.