The Fugitive is the fifth book in the Theodore Boone series by John Grisham. It continues the adventures of Theo and returns to the rather dramatic case from the first book. When visiting Washington D.C. on a school field trip Theo happens to see a fugitive, namely Pete Duffy, who is fleeing a murder charge in Strattenburg. Working with his Uncle Ike and then later the FBI they try to find Pete Duffy and then extradite him back to Strattenburg for a new trial. However, what he doesn’t expect is the scrutiny now placed on himself as he attracts the attention of Pete Duffy and his various associates who are determined to try and keep Duffy out of prison. At the same time Theo also has to work to reassure the eyewitness in the trial that Theo first helped find during the original trial in the first book, Kid Lawyer.
This book is a pretty interesting addition to the series. It continues Theo’s adventures but in comparison to many of the previous books Theo is somewhat hands off for a lot of what is happening. He does identify Pete Duffy but then he pushes the identification and capture onto his Uncle Ike and the FBI and he only steps back in later. The same thing with a lot of what is happening in the later section with him being more hands off. He does a lot of talking and persuading but that is the closest he gets to the actual action in most of this book. This is not a bad thing but it does have a slightly different feel to parts of it because of that. I still enjoyed the story though as the plot was still mildly intricate but kept it relatable for the age range which is important. Something that caught my attention though was the way Theo acted as he is willing to admit in this book that he may not be able to help even if he wants to. Theo is very much a teenager in this series but he is starting to shed the slightly impulsive behavior that characterized part of the earlier books. Not entirely but sometimes. He is starting to realize that sometimes he has to be patient and he may be put in a situation where it is smarter to do nothing. This creates a feeling of growth for the character while also still keeping that continuity so crucial to a series like this one. We see new facets of the main protagonist even as we return to previous villains or enemies and storylines in the process. This was a pretty good addition to a pretty good series, in my opinion, so I am happy giving it four out of five stars.
This is a young adult adventure or thriller novel though it focuses heavily on legal thriller much like most of Grisham’s work does. It also has an element of mystery to it as well. If you happen to be a young adult or teen reader who enjoys that type of story than you might consider trying this book out. While you could potentially read the series as a standalone I would recommend reading them in order to get a more complete picture of Theo’s adventures. The series is good but I highly doubt it would hold a lot of appeal for older readers or for readers who don’t enjoy this type of story. I mean it is a good series but I also think it is a little bit of a niche series as well, if that makes sense. Either way I hope you will consider trying it out if it sounds interesting. If you do feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.