Grisham

When talking about novels, John Grisham meets George Orwell : 

John Grisham : “Writing a novel takes so much effort, with such little promise of result or reward, that it must necessarily be a labour of love bordering on madness”.

John Grisham, like most "popular" writer has been much maligned. His court cases have been described as recipes or formulas. I would agree that they are his bread and butter, but they also carry social messages of tremendous impact. 

That's for the content. How about the style ? You want to see what John Grisham can sound like when he puts on hit great writer hat ? Then I suggest his autobiography : "The painted House" for his childhood, and "Bleachers" for his teenage years. Had he written only those two books, he would already deserve to be plced among America's literary giants. But would he be as well known as he is now ?