Ο δέκατος δικαστής

by Brad Meltzer

Ο Μπεν Άντισον, απόφοιτος της Νομικής Σχολής του Γέιλ, δουλεύει στο γραφείο ενός από τους πιο αξιοσέβαστους δικαστές του Ανωτάτου Δικαστηρίου. Όταν, όμως, από δικό του λάθος, μια κρίσιμη απόφαση του δικαστηρίου διαρρέει πρόωρα, κάποιοι κερδίζουν εκατομμύρια, ένας εκβιαστής τρίβει τα χέρια του κι ο Μπεν αρχίζει να ιδρώνει...

Ο Μπεν στρέφεται για βοήθεια στη συνάδελφό του, τη Λίζα, και στους τρεις συγκατοίκους του: τον Νέιθαν, τον Έρικ και τον Όμπερ. Από τα καλύτερα μυαλά της Ουάσινγκτον, φιλόδοξοι και ανερχόμενοι, του προσφέρουν πρόσβαση ο καθένας σ΄ένα διαφορετικό τομέα-κλειδί. Στο υπουργείο Εξωτερικών, σε μια μεγάλη εφημερίδα και στη Γερουσία. Αλλά πριν το καταλάβουν, οι καριέρες τους -και οι ζωές τους- βρίσκονται σε κίνδυνο...

Ως πού είναι διατεθειμένοι να φτάσουν για να βοηθήσουν τον Μπεν; Πού τελειώνει η αφοσίωση; Πού αρχίζει η απληστία; Και μέχρι ποιο σημείο μπορεί κανείς να βασίζεται στους φίλους;

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Legal, Mystery Thriller, Legal Thriller

460 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 28, 1997

About the author

Brad Meltzer is the Emmy-nominated, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lightning Rod, The Escape Artist, and eleven other bestselling thrillers. He also writes non-fiction books like The JFK Conspiracy, about a secret plot to kill JFK before he was sworn in – and the Ordinary People Change the World kids book series, which he does with Chris Eliopoulos and inspired the PBS KIDS TV show, Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum. His newest kids books are We are the Beatles, We are the Beatles, and I am Simone Biles. His newest inspirational book is Make Magic, based on his viral commencement address.

In addition to his fiction, Brad is one of the only authors to ever have books on the bestseller list for Non-Fiction (The Nazi Conspiracy), Advice (Heroes for My Son and Heroes for My Daughter), Children’s Books (I Am Amelia Earhart and I Am Abraham Lincoln) and even comic books (Justice League of America), for which he won the prestigious Eisner Award.

He is also the host of Brad Meltzer’s Lost History and Brad Meltzer’s Decoded on the History Channel, and is responsible for helping find the missing 9/11 flag that the firefighters raised at Ground Zero, making national news on the 15th anniversary of 9/11. Meltzer unveiled the flag at the 9/11 Museum in New York, where it is now on display. See the video here. The Hollywood Reporter recently put him on their list of Hollywood’s 25 Most Powerful Authors.

He also recently delivered the commencement address at the University of Michigan, in front of 70,000 people, including his graduating son. Entitled Make Magic and called “one of the best commencement addresses of all time,” it’s been shared millions of times across social media. Do yourself a favor, watch it here and buy the book here.

For sure, it’s tough to find anyone being so successful in so many different mediums of the popular culture. But why does Brad thrive in all these different professions? His belief that ordinary people change the world. It is that core belief that runs through every one of his projects.

His newest thriller, The Lightning Rod, brings back characters Nola and Zig in a setting that will blow your mind (you won't believe where the government let Brad go). For now, we'll say this: What's the one secret no one knows about you? It's about to come out. Nearly 2,000 five-star reviews. Raves by everyone from the Wall Street Journal, to James Patterson, to Brad's mother-in-law. Plus that twist at the end! And yes, the new Zig & Nola thriller is coming soon!

His newest non-fiction book, The JFK Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Kennedy -- and Why It Failed, which he wrote with Josh Mensch, is a true story about a secret assassination plot to kill JFK at the start of his Presidency and, if successful, would’ve changed history.

His illustrated children’s books I Am Amelia Earhart and I Am Abraham Lincoln, which he does with artist Chris Eliopoulos, were written for his own children, to give them better heroes to look up to. Try them. You won’t believe how inspired you and your family will be. Some of our favorites in the series are I am Mister Rogers and I am Dolly Parton.

His other non-fiction books, Heroes for My Son and Heroes for My Daughter, are collections of heroes – from Jim Henson to Sally Ride — that he’s been working on since the day his kids were born and is on sale now, as well as History Decoded: The 10 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time.

He’s also one of the co-creators of the TV show, Jack & Bobby.

Raised in Brooklyn and Miami, Brad is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Columbia Law School. The Tenth Justice was his first published work and became an instant New York Times bestseller. Dead Even followed a year later and also hit the New York Times bestseller list, as have all thirteen of his novels. The First Counsel came next, which was about a White House lawyer dating the President’s daughter, then The Millionaires, which was about two brothers who

Reviews

[Ami]

DNF'ed at 29%

At one point, Ben and Lisa's arguments went like this ...

"...Second of all, even if I do go to a firm, I’ll be going for ten thousand dollars more than you will.”
“You will not,” Lisa said.
“I will too.”
“Will not.”

And I realized that I couldn't take it anymore. I know that this is Meltzer's first book and I commended him for being able to write this when he was still in law school. But I found the writing to be rookie-ish and lacked edge which I usually look forward to when I pick up a mystery/suspense book.

I also thought characters here to be shallow and the main protagonist, Ben, to be unbelievably naive. He said about the ethics code of being Supreme Court clerk and a paragraph later he just blurted things out to someone whom he knew only via phone. Okay, I know, I know, it was there in the blurb, but I didn't think it would be THIS careless. The way he was running like chicken trying to cover things out? Yeah it didn't exactly make me sympathize with him. The banters between Ben and his friends also felt childish -- I couldn't take them seriously at all.

My friend, Didi who recommended this to me said that someone would die in this book. Well, I guess I just didn't care. These people (including Ben) could die for their attitudes for all I care.

I am sorry, Didi, guess this one didn't impressed me at all.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to keep reminding myself that this was an earlier book of Meltzer's because I could not think of a dumber main character. Ben Addison, newly graduated from Yale Law School, is chosen to be a law clerk for the Supreme Court. On his first day, during orientation, the clerks are told to keep their mouths closed about cases being decided. Shortly thereafer, Ben blabs a decision ahead of time to someone he only talked to on the phone and is meeting for the first time. Surprise, Surprise! This person, who Ben never checked out, is the lead that will lead to someone making millions from knowing the decision. Then comes a long drawn out account of Ben and his friends trying to track down the nasty people with terrible results. Half the time Ben is whining about how he came up he hard way (what college grad comes up the hard way, has thousands of dollars in debt but takes an extened 6 week European tour before he starts work as Ben did), belittles one of his friends till said friend commits suicide, and the other half is sulking. The main character didn't seem to get any brighter as the book continued. Makes one wonder how he made it through law school with high grades?

[RM(Alwaysdaddygirl) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars. Ben got on my nerves a lot. Yes, he is academically smart. Yes, everyone screws up. Maybe because Ben is so young (one factor) is the reason for his behaviors.


🇺🇸

[Mirjam · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was my second Brad Meltzer read and it did nothing to improve my opinion of him as an author.
The main character is unbelievably unreal, he is supposed to be this highflyer , just out of college young legal egal but has the maturity of an adolescent, his constant responce to just about everything is.... i don`t want to hear it/ i don`t want to talk about it....
The conversation between the 4 friends is haltingly, hackingly written without a natural flow.
Mr. Meltzer has been likened to John Grisham by some but i think that is an insult to Mr. Grisham.
Interestingly it did remind me of Mr. Grishams writing, a name like Frisk reminded me of Ranken Fitz in one of Mr. Grishams novels, frankly, i though the whole book was a jumble of concepts borrowed from the Grisham novels and rehashed in a very amateurish way.
I`ll be looking elsewhere for a good courtroom read.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book could have been so much more with a better ending. Such suspense through the entire story and then the ending was less than stellar. One thing that is very important for me is an author who knows how to close the story and this was just not there. 7 out of 10.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the plot of this book because I worked as a law clerk after finishing law school. The themes hit close to home. It was a good, fast read, though somewhat predictable. My main complaint is that the style is just super cheesy---very Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew---simple language; lame dialogue. I've started The Millionaires and it seems even worse haha.

[Yigal Zur · Rating 3 out of 5]

it is not my cup of thriller. but it is written very well. just the plot is not the most intriguing one. the relations between 4 friends and a co- worker of Ben, the main character are nice.

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

By a large margin, the ending is the best part of this story. 4 of 10 stars

[Ang · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hmmm. Okay, so I bought this book at the airport. Maybe it's better if you read it during vacation rather than starting it on your way home. The characters seemed really undeveloped. So much effort went into making the characters seem clever and funny that they really just seemed to be snarky little brats. As for the plot, I found it to be very predictable. I give Meltzer credit. I certainly couldn't have written a book while attending law school. Maybe that was his problem--he was surrounded by a bunch of soulless people, so that's how his characters are portrayed.

[LJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

THE TENTH JUSTICE - DNF
Meltzer, Brad - 1st book

A Washington-based thriller about four ambitious twenty-something housemates, fresh out of college and eager to make their mark in their careers. When one of them, Ben Addison, is tricked into leaking a Supreme Court decision on a corporate merger in advance, he lands them all in big trouble.

I found the protagonist just TSTL (too stupid to live) and could not even finish the book.

[Jason · Rating 1 out of 5]

I never thought this book would end. I kept hoping it would turn around. It didn't. I should have put it down at 100 pages. The dialogue was terrible and repetitive. The premise was interesting but there was never any build in the plot. Knowing that it was a first novel I'm hoping his later works get better. I'm not sure I'll risk an attempt to find out. It could have been a decent (if not simply far shorter) book with a skilled editor. I blame him/her as much as, if not more than, the author.

[Una Tiers · Rating 2 out of 5]

The books begins with an inviting premise, an innocent, if particularly stupid mistake. Then it unravels into shallow characters, obnoxious eye rolling dialogue and took me to a point where I didn't care about the outcome.

[Adam Schmidt · Rating 2 out of 5]

What to say about this book. It's a horrible book. Not a self-published level of horrible, but a pretty bad one.

There’s so much to go over that I'm really just going to hit the highlights.

The way this book is written makes you wonder if the author knows how human beings generally interact with one another, and also how normal people make decisions.

Most dialog in the book reads as though it was uttered by a fraternity bro. It's just constant "ribbing," to the point of complete absurdity and inappropriateness. Maybe I'm off here, but I'm pretty sure a male-female team who just started working at the US Supreme Court don't start talking about their sex history on Day 1, or launch straight into flirty sexual innuendos. Also, personally, if I meet the friend of a friend for the first time, I don't start a stream of non-stop insults 2 sentences into the moment. But maybe that's me. Maybe I'm a prude. One thing's for sure, though, it's all pretty normal for Brad Meltzer.

That segues nice into the fact that all the characters in this book are so hateable. They make the dumbest decisions on the planet (this book could have ended at various points either 20, or maybe 40, pages in if it's characters had any common sense at all). Also, the general things they say to each other are just outright vile, especially when it comes to the group of absurdly devoted "sitcom friends" the author churned up.

There's an entire thread of the story that serves no purpose at all. (The law firm trying hard to recruit Ben.)

There's a million deliberate red herrings that the author leaves for the reader to the point where I felt very manipulated.

The title (a reference to the influence of a Supreme Court law clerk) has basically nothing to do with the content of the book, because the book is 100% a side story outside of the Supreme Court. Aside from the beginning, there's very little in the way of legal plotwork in here at all.

That's the gist of it. I'm skipping over a lot of other nonsense but the main problems here are the characters and how they behave. Not that the book would be great anyway, but their idiocy definitely overwhelms all the other faults.

[Alan Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben has a dream job: Supreme Court clerk. During his first days on the job, Rick, one of the Justice's former clerks, gives en a call and offers advice on navigating a clerk's overwhelming workload. After several weeks of these calls, they meet for lunch, during which they continue to discuss court business, including the status of an upcoming decision. But it turns out that these conversations have not been innocent. After one of the parties makes millions by "guessing" the outcome of the case Ben discussed with Rick, Ben discovers that Rick has disappeared.

This is the point at which Meltzer asks the reader to take a giant leap into unreality. Rather than going to the Justice and confessing what happened, Ben--a supposedly super-smart guy, decides he would be better off trying to find Rick and somehow entrap him. But, once the reader makes that leap, then the story is off and running full speed for another 300 pages. This is the core of the book, and would rate a five star review. BUT...

Meltzer decides he needs to add one more plot twist. I felt this was one twist too far. Unlikely scenes and characters keep getting added to the plot, one after another, each more unbelievable than the last. It felt like some editor told Meltzer he needed a longer book, so he added a so-so short story onto the end of a great thriller.

In the end, it is still a great book. well worth reading. I just felt let down by the ending.

[Wenzel Roessler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to give this book a better rating because there was so much of it I enjoyed. I like the premise, I like the characters, I love Ober, and there were some very intense parts of the book. But there was no consistency to the story or to how the characters related to each other. Here is how the book flowed to me. First you hear, "Leave me alone I do not need your help." Second you hear, "How come you are not helping me," then "I do not want to hear it." Over and over and over. Also it feels the author had some really good ideas and the book felt like just bridges between the ideas and the overall story suffered because of it. I know I am saying quite a bit of negative but I really did enjoy this and I felt with a bit of work this could have been an excellent (rather than a very good) book.

[Erth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bravo! A good fast read! now i am hooked. This was such a great, easy and creative book. i was hooked after the first page.

The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.

i would highly recommend this author and this book.

[Don · Rating 1 out of 5]

Inelegant writing, unrealistic dialog, and shallow and unlikeable characters. I gave up about a third of the way in.

[Sandie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was so bad that I doubt very much I will ever get the motivation to read one written later in his career. Why did I feel the need to finish it?

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, what a story this turned out to be! I’m not sure how realistic it might be, but to those of us not involved in the legal world surrounding the US Supreme Court, it seemed like it could possibly happen if all the stars aligned correctly. Once the action picked up, I wasn’t able to turn off my audio player to put the book aside – I had to keep listening until I reached the end of the story.

Although I really like the author and his writing style, I’m not a fan of information being withheld from the reader, only to be revealed during the wrap-up at the end of the book. If I had known what some of the characters knew, I may have been able to figure things out too, but then the book wouldn’t have been as exciting as it was. That said, I'll definitely read more of Meltzer's books - they're too good to skip them :)

[Allison Hawkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Randomly selected this book on my audiobook app because it takes place in DC and I thought the plot had potential. Unfortunately I was wrong 😑 I disliked every single character and was not rooting for anyone. They all made dumb mistakes and decisions left and right and I was so annoyed with every single one of them. It was so long (14 hours for what?!) and the plot “twisted” so many times in the most confusing and unnecessary ways… but for some reason I kept going thinking it would get better. Also, there was transition music in between chapters??? Huhhhh what is the point of that. Bummed this was my last book of the year, here’s to actually reading the synopsis in 2023🎧

[Gary Sosniecki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somewhere in this 540-page monstrosity of a book is a plot with potential. But it’s hidden behind unbelievable, immature characters and illogical, overwritten dialogue. It was all I had to read on a nine-hour flight. I challenged myself to finish it before we landed. Made it.

[Honor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always start with the positive... So, yes. I read it, lasted all the way through, and don't think of it as time lamentably and irretrievably lost.

That having been said... Is it too much to ask for books in which the Perilous Plot is advanced by means other than abject stupidity on the part of the primary characters? Particularly characters who are supposed to be so very, very smart in the first place?

It's not fair or intended that this be taken -primarily- as a slight on this particular book, it's just so damnably common a problem. This book, at least, doesn't go as far as another I won't name where the main narrating character - endlessly described as being possessed of profound (if twisted) brilliance - says no less than twelve times something like "My normally brilliant, highly functional brain just wasn't giving me the answers today." as an excuse for the bone-headed moves the author felt were needed to move the story forward.

In the Tenth Justice, a recent top-of-the-food-chain law school graduate brilliant enough to be chosen as a Supreme Court Clerk makes one bone-headed mistake. We all do this, of course, even brilliant law students. In fact, it's probably fair to say "one bone-headed mistake" has firmly taken over from "one catastrophic and unfortunate coincidence" as the primary thriller plot seed.

The main character then spends the next several hundred pages running around like a chicken with his head cut off, overreacting, getting way out of his depth, flailing about like an epileptic octopus, and inducing his friends to do the same.

Every time he effectively screams "OMG!! What am I going to do!?! What am I going to do!?!" the reader is kind of forced to think "Well, if you'd stop staring awestruck at the lofty peak of Mt. Molehill..."

Much, much (much) later in the boo we discover that he really did have -some- cause for concern, but -he- doesn't know that until well after he thinks - for no good reason we can see - that he's out of it. (Fair Disclaimer: His smarter co-clerk sees that he's still in trouble, and He's got good reason (read: character cause) to see himself as out of the woods. It's overconfident, but believable.)

At any rate... My own pet peeves aside, the character development is solid, the plot does move along, and the "Wildly Unpredictable Final Twist" doesn't come from -so- far off in in left field as to cause a brain hemorrhage. If you don't share my unreasonable demand that "brilliant" characters behave at least intelligently, you'll probably have a great ride. Even if you do share it, it's a ride worth taking.

[Mark Louderback · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually read some of the Graphic Novels that Mr Meltzer before reading this book. It is because of his reading his comic books that I wanted to read his novels. In many ways I was not disappointed at all — his dialogue is terrific. I can see how he easily makes the transition to graphic novels. He has an ear for dialogue.

In addition, the plot is fairly tight. It snakes up on you and the various acts in the book (it most clearly is divided into a three part novel) are terrific.

So, why only three stars?

Spoilers:

Brad has a character commit suicide. It makes sense, I understand plot-wise why he does it, but I had a visceral reaction to it. It soured the rest of the novel. I know that much of the story is not about the plot at hand, but about the four friends, but still, killing off the character was pretty sickening for me. It made the finale hard to read. I know that this is just a decision that the author made and I know that it fits into the plot — but I didn't like it. I flat didn't like it and it made the book less enjoyable.

[Chris Holland · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a tough read for me. I knew that there would be twists. In a well developed novel, I believe the story where it is and then get to the twist. Here, I felt I needed to suspend all belief in what I was reading and wait to see what was really happening. Additionally, I never really felt like I got to know the characters well enough, adding to the suspension of belief.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book written by Brad. I have to say I loved it. The plot was original and it kept me turning pages at a rapid pace. The concept that the clerks have a fair amount of power at the Supreme Court is an interesting thought. Hence the tenth Justice name. You will not be disappointed with this book

[em · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was like some stress-fueled fever dream I’d have after exams. 🤨 At a loss for words right now.

[Johnny G. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can’t believe I devoted so much time to a stinker of a story. Where to start...the writing is immature, he dialogue is exhausting, and the book is suffering from a lack of editing, but besides that...
I had often wondered about the clerks and people who are the puppet masters for Supreme Court Justices. This story gets off the rails quickly when a clerk can’t keep his mouth shut, and divulges important information. The rest of the story just goes around and around...

[Marguerite (Margot) Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining but implausible, and Ben is self absorbed and very annoying.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE TENTH JUSTICE by Brad Meltzer

Twisty and action-packed, with moral dilemmas and insights into the workings and ethics of the Supreme Court. Lots of risk and mystery, and captivating characters.
Real world intrusion: I’m left wondering what happened to the ethics and can the honor of the court be restored?

[Lars M · Rating 1 out of 5]

You can tell it is his debut roman. Reading this book felt like work, didn’t like it at all. Heard that the books of this author got better. Probably won’t find out.