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The Last Juror

by John Grisham (Goodreads Author)

3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 · rating details · 37,064 ratings · 1,026 reviews

In 1970, one of Mississippi's more colorful weekly newspapers, The Ford County Times, went bankrupt. To the surprise and dismay of many, ownership was assumed by a 23 year-old college dropout, named Willie Traynor. The future of the paper looked grim until a young mother was brutally raped and murdered by a member of the notorious Padgitt family. Willie Traynor reported al...more

Hardcover, 355 pages

Published February 3rd 2004 by Doubleday (first published 2004)

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Sep 17, 2010 Traneem rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

رواية ممتعة ، تشدك بتفاصيلها الجميلة ..

قرية صغيرة تحدث فيها جريمة مفزعة ، يحاول البطل يكشف غموض القضية ويحاول يعرف من المجرم ..

أعجبني فيها كفاح البطل ، شلون كون مستقبله الوظيفي من الصفر ..

حماسة الشباب اللي عنده وروح المغامرة ..

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Jan 16, 2012 Nenette rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of Grisham's best I'd say. The author capitalized on what he does best, that's the legal part, then added a lot of heart to it. It combines the thrill and drama of the scenes in the courtroom with the heart and soul and lives of its many colorful characters.

The story spans a decade, the 70's, a period of transformation and awakening, especially in the deep south. It talks about taking risks, commitment, growing up. It demonstrates the power of the written word. It relates how true friendship...more

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Dec 12, 2008 Matthew rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Matthew by: Mother

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Matthew Baltz

Mrs. Baltz

Pre-AP English 10

27 November, 2008

The Last Juror by John Grisham

This four year old book, The Last Juror, by John Grisham makes you think you are back in the 1970s experiencing all that the young Willie Traynor is experiencing. Willie is a young journalist who has just got out of college with a friend that told him the big money is in weekly local newspapers. Fortunately, Willie has a rich grandmother who gives him the money to buy one down Ford County, Mississippi.

Shortly...more

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Nov 13, 2009 Reinhold rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller

Vor dem Hintergrund der Geschichte um einen Vergewaltiger und Mörder erzählt Grisham die Geschichte eines jungen Mannes (Willie Traynor) der die vorm Ende stehende lokale Zeitung übernimmt und zu einem ungeahnten Erfolg führt. Dabei kommt ihm – so zynisch das auch klingen mag – die Tatsache zugute, dass eine junge Mutter vor den Augen ihrer Kinder vergewaltigt und ermordet wird. Verantwortlich dafür ist Danny Padgitt, dessen Familie das gesamte County mit ihren kriminellen Machenschaften beherrs...more

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Jun 27, 2008 WK rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another great “Read” by both author and narrator From beginning to end both the author and the narrator kept me entertained. Set in a small Mississippi town, Grisham is obviously in his element. His vivid portrayal of people and places put you there in the midst of the action. Enjoying lunch with Mrs. Callie Ruffin or laughing till your side aches at the antics of the boys from the card game under seize. As always Grisham gives us a hard look at the corrupt and the inspiring living side by side....more

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Jan 01, 2012 Frederick Bingham rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I listened to this on cassette.This is the story of Willie Traynor. He is a new college graduate who manages to take over ownership of a small town paper in the (mythical) town of Clanton, Mississippi. Clanton is in Ford County in northern Mississippi, the rural south. The story is set between 1970 and 1980 in the years of desegregation, the coming of Wal-Mart and the Vietnam war.Willie reports on the trial of Danny Padgitt, who committed the rape and murder of a young mother. Danny is part of a...more

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Mar 06, 2009 Jacob added it · review of another edition

Jacob Thielemier
Doctor Baltz
Pre-AP English 10
5 March 2009
The Last Juror by John Grisham
There are many small towns across Mississippi. Clanton seems like a normal rural town and has been for many years. But when Willie Traynor came to Clanton everything began to change. Many events happened and all the towns’ people were wandering how this foreigner came to be in control of their weekly newspaper.

Clanton Mississippi is a rural town in Ford County. It is not a well populated city and “Word here g...more Jacob Thielemier
Doctor Baltz
Pre-AP English 10
5 March 2009
The Last Juror by John Grisham
There are many small towns across Mississippi. Clanton seems like a normal rural town and has been for many years. But when Willie Traynor came to Clanton everything began to change. Many events happened and all the towns’ people were wandering how this foreigner came to be in control of their weekly newspaper.

Clanton Mississippi is a rural town in Ford County. It is not a well populated city and “Word here gets around faster than a wildfire” as said by Baggy. The town has a town square where all the old-timers sit and talk about everything they can possibly think of. So when a big event happens in Clanton there is nobody who doesn’t hear about it.

Willie is an average 23 year old guy. He grew up in Memphis and went to college at Syracuse. When he was at college he met a friend whose dad was rich just off a weekly paper. Eventually Willie recognizes he is not a college guy and drops out and moves to Memphis. He hears about a paper going bad and thinks it’s a good chance for him to chase his dreams.

Willie moves to Clanton and the paper there is in debt and the owner is about to die. The paper goes bankrupt and Willie had been working there for a good while. He asks his rich aunt to loan him some money and he buys the paper. Many people in Clanton would agree when someone says, “We don’t take a likin to people who isn’t from here.” Willie is treated as an outcast for a while but when a murder springs up everyone is reading the paper for news.

Rhonda Kassellaw’s murder was a chance for Willie to finally have the town start to like him. With his brave and courageous reporting he earns a great reputation with the people. All except the Padgitts. The main reason they don’t enjoy his presence is because he is reporting the murder of Rhonda who was killed by one of their own, Danny Padgitt. He also makes friends out of this ordeal. His best is Mrs. Callie. She has been reading the paper for years. She loves to give Willie a hard time about all the mistakes and misprints is the paper.
This is a fantastic book and should be read by everyone. It is a great mystery book. I like the fact that this book has many characters along with one main guy. What makes the book so great for everyone to read is the story line and the great theme. The theme that makes the book is how to earn trust you must trust people. The novel is all about Willie winning over the trust of the people of Clanton.

Genre: Mystery
Page Count: 486

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Jan 05, 2009 Antof9 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2004-read, americana, la-cocina, mysterious

Everyone has an opinion on Grisham, and if you don't like him, feel free to skip my review! I read a ton of his books when I was travelling regularly for work (I'd pick one up in the airport book store and leave it when I landed on the other side), but haven't read one in a while. It was good to come back to him with this one! Yes, it was about a trial, and yes, it was in the South, but this time the narrator is the local newspaper's editor/owner. Definitely a different tack, and one I enjoyed....more

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Dec 19, 2008 melydia rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the first Grisham book I've ever read, and it is really not a court drama, despite the implications of the title. In 1970, 23-year-old Willie Traynor moves to the small city of Clanton, Mississippi, and buys the local newspaper, which has recently gone bankrupt. Soon after this, a local woman is raped and murdered by Danny Padgitt, son of the "redneck mafia" that is the Padgitt family. The story vaguely meanders around the trial and subsequent fallout over the next several years, but mos...more

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Feb 16, 2013 Jr Bacdayan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There are many Grisham works that I have read, many that I remember. The Last Juror is something of an oddity. I really like this book, yet somehow when Grisham is mentioned to me, I would't think of this. When you consider this work alone without the author and all his other books, you would find this book really good, a four-star would be fitting. But when you put everything into perspective, you'd notice a fatal flaw. It's forgettable.

The writing is crisp, Grisham usually finds his stride wh...more

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Dec 19, 2012 June Ahern rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

John Grisham is just a good, no, an excellent writer. The Last Juror might not be as much a thriller as it is an insightful story about the deep south - Mississippi during the late 1970's. The characters are as colorful as the characters in the book. The main character, Willie Traynor is not a good ol' boy and not from Clanton in Ford Country, Miss, but he is the 23 yr old who bought the town's only newspaper. In a short time he and Callie Ruffin, a wise and strong black woman with several grown...more

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Sep 09, 2012 J rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I DON'T HIDE MY REVIEWS FOR SPOILERS. ON THE OTHER HAND I DON'T PUT THEM OUT ON ANY FEED.

This may be my favorite Grisham novel of all!

The law provides a layer to the story -- as to criminal sentencing, parole, business transactions, elections, divorce, probate -- but I was surprised it was not the key framework.

Instead, this is the tale of a dying weekly newspaper and the brash young Northern-educated Memphis journalist who buys it, turns it around, and during the process sinks roots into the ti...more

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Jul 18, 2012 Edy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Buku ini merupakan salah satu karya penulis John Grisham dengan seting daerah Misissipi – US pada tahun 1970an dimana integrasi rasial kulit hitam dan kulit putih sedang didorong di berbagai bidang kehidupan.

Buku ini bercerita dengan tokoh Wilie Traynor seorang mahasiswa drop out yang mengambil alih kepemilikan sebuah koran mingguan lokal Ford County Times. Koran lokal itu dibeli seharga US$ 55.000,- dalm kondisi mendekati kebangkrutan. Koran lokal semacam itu dibutuhkan oleh penduduk lokal untu...more Buku ini merupakan salah satu karya penulis John Grisham dengan seting daerah Misissipi – US pada tahun 1970an dimana integrasi rasial kulit hitam dan kulit putih sedang didorong di berbagai bidang kehidupan.

Buku ini bercerita dengan tokoh Wilie Traynor seorang mahasiswa drop out yang mengambil alih kepemilikan sebuah koran mingguan lokal Ford County Times. Koran lokal itu dibeli seharga US$ 55.000,- dalm kondisi mendekati kebangkrutan. Koran lokal semacam itu dibutuhkan oleh penduduk lokal untuk mengetahui perkembangan lokal di daerah mereka karena sarana komunikasi dan informasi saat itu masih minim.

Suatu ketika terjadi kasus pembunuhan secara kejam oleh Danny Padgitt terhadap seorang wanita malam. Danny merupakan seorang anggota keluarga Padgitt yang menjadi mafia di daerah itu. Keluarga Padgitt berusaha membeli kebebasan Danny dengan mempengaruhi sheriff, yuri, saksi dan lain-lain. Namun upaya itu tidak sepenuhnya berhasil. Walau berhasil menghindarkan hukuman mati, Danny harus menjalani hukuman seumur hidup. Danny yang merasa geram dan tidak puas, kemudian mengancam akan membalas dendam kepada tim yuri.

Willie Traynor berusaha menegakkan keadilan dengan memberikan informasi-informasi secara berimbang kepada pembaca terhadap kasus pengadilan Danny. Koran Times semakin mendapatkan hati di masyarakat ketika koran ini berani membongkar borok-borok rezim setempat yang korup dan cenderung melindungi Danny. Lama kelamaan jumlah pelanggan semakin meningkat mencapai 5.000 - 6.000 exemplar per minggu.
Kasus pengadilan Danny merupakan sebuah kasus dimana warga kulit hitam mulai bisa duduk sebagai anggota Tim Yuri. Hal ini menarik perhatian Willie dan dia mulai terjun untuk membangun integrasi rasial melalui korannya. Dia mengangkat kasus-kasus human interest seperti persahabatannya dengan keluarga Miss Callie, yang merupakan warga kulit hitam namun 7 orang anaknya sukses memperoleh gelar PhD. Dia juga sukses menarik perhatian pembacanya dengan mengangkat hasil kunjungannya ke gereja-gereja lokal di daerah itu ataupun kisah menolak gerakan mobilisasi militer dan lain-lain.

Kesuksesan koran Times menarik perhatian pengusaha besar yang menawarkan nilai US$ 1,3 juta untuk mengambil alih koran itu. Willie yang masih bujangan dan mulai merasa jenuh dengan jurnalisme, bimbang ingin menjual koran itu. Namun saat itu muncul kejadian mengejutkan bahwa Danny Padgitt menerima pembebasan bersyarat. Hal itu disusul dengan adanya teror berupa tewasnya dua orang anggota Tim Yuri dan satu orang yuri cedera setelah selamat dari pemboman. Orangpun mengaitkan pembunuhan itu dengan ancaman Danny terhadap Tim Yuri sewaktu di persidangan. Publik kemudian menuntut Danny untuk dijebloskan kembali ke penjara. Namun dalam persidangan, Danny yang baru memasuki ruang sidang ditembak mati oleh penembak jitu yang bersembunyi di langit2 gedung pengadilan. Akhirnya terbongkar bahwa penembak Danny dan juga penembak para yuri adalah mantan kekasih wanita malam yang dibunuh Danny. Laki-laki bernama Hank itu menderita kelainan jiwa dan dia mempunyai dendam tak terkendali terhadap Danny. Dia membunuh para yuri, karena yuri yang dibunuhnya merupakan 3 orang yuri yang menentang hukuman mati bagi Danny di pengadilan pertama.

Kisah ini kemudian ditutup dengan meninggalnya Miss Callie karena sakit jantung. Willie yang menjadi sahabat baik Miss Callie merasa sangat kehilangan, dan artikel meninggalnya Miss Callie menjadi artikel terakhirnya untuk Times karena pada akhirnya dia setuju untuk menjual koran itu seharga US$ 1,5 juta.

Secara umum, alur cerita buku ini cukup menarik dan runtut. Bahasa yang digunakan juga cukup mudah dipahami. Dalam beberapa hal terjadi alur2 yang menegangkan dan penuh kejutan. Namun sayangnya saat mendekati akhir, jalan cerita agak mudah ditebak sehingga unsur kejutannya kurang terasa.
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May 14, 2012 Sandy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In 1970, Willie Traynor came to Clanton, Mississippi, in a Triumph Spitfire and a fog of vague ambitions. Within a year, the twenty-three-year-old found himself the owner of Ford County’s only newspaper, famous for its well-crafted obituaries. While the rest of America was in the grips of turmoil, Clanton lived on the edge of another age—until the brutal murder of a young mother rocked the town and thrust Willie into the center of a storm. Daring to report the true horrors of the crime, Willie m...more

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Oct 14, 2011 Sol Gonzalez rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2004

Quedamos de vernos en el cine, desafortunadamente a mí me gusta llegar temprano, así que para cuando me dí cuenta tenía demasiado tiempo antes de que alguien se presentara. Lo mas a la mano fué el Sanborns (lo sé…).
Mi madre disfruta mucho las novelas policiacas, de abogados, de investigación. Me dice que es mucho más fácil para ella imaginarse presentes posibles que las novelas de Fantasía y CF que leo yo. Ahí encontré el último de Patricia Cornwell (espera, pero ese no es del que hablamos). Cua...more

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May 05, 2011 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 15, 2011 Yvann S rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So much better than The King of Torts. This is written by a young regional newspaper editor, an outsider in a small country community – so much of the subject matter is social observation, alongside the usual riveting legal case. We touch on segregation and de-segregation, mob families, huge families, the role of an editor in a small town, insanity, the Vietnam War, the popularisation of drugs, and the difficulties of being accepted into a closed community, in 500 short pages (I whipped through...more

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Nov 22, 2010 Joan rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I think this was the most overrated - over written- over plotted of any Grisham I have ever read. To be fair, I didn't read it in a book. I listened to it on tape. I liked Willie Traynor, the protagonist and Narrator, who bought a small town weekly newspaper and became a 23 year old celebrity in the town. There was a murder, of course - a vionent murder. Danny Padgit, the murderer was not sentenced to death. So far so good - but the title is "The Last Juror" We expect that the jurors will die on...more

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Jul 20, 2010 Jerry rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Grisham story-telling talents on best display, with a twist!

We've sometimes complained one doesn't know what to expect from Grisham: long-winded drama ("Chamber"); gripping suspense ("Pelican Brief"); humor and whimsy ("Skipping Christmas"); or just plain yarn-spinning ("Painted House"). To us, he nearly perfectly combines all these elements in "Last Juror". Really two-thirds of the book is a charming and often funny account of how recent college graduate Willie Traynor buys the Mississippi sma...more

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Jul 16, 2010 Amanda rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Wow, I am shocked at the amount of people who actually liked this book. Every two years or so I get the urge to read a Grisham novel in the hopes that it will be as good as his early work, but the last three books I've read have been a big disappointment (The Last Juror, The Broker and The King of Torts)

It's fine if Grisham wants to write something different than a legal thriller, but I wish his publishers didn't advertise this book as if it was. I really didn't want to read a book about small t...more

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Dec 12, 2009 Brittany rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Danny Padgit. It was Danny Padgit," is what Rhoda whispered to Mr. Deece the night that she was murdered. John Grisham's The Last Juror captivated me with its tale of a town, who stays under the wrath of one family.

Willie Traynor tries to build the newspaper that has so long, been dwindling in subscribers. Wilson Caudle mainly wrote obituaries when he ran it. Rhoda Kassellaw's murder changed the lives of a alot of people in Ford County. Everyone's convinced Danny Padgit murdered Rhoda. Callie R...more

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Nov 30, 2009 Manda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2008

This book was badly named. The name, plus the blurb that talked about the retribution starting when the murderer is released, gave me to understand that only one juror was left alive, and predisposed me to think that the book was about the hunting down of that last juror. Wrong. Once I forgot those expectations I enjoyed the book, but I did find the beginning slow as I was waiting for the action, and the killing to begin.

This story is about Traynor (23) who gets a job on a small newspaper way do...more

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Nov 22, 2009 Joe rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Legal novel from John Grisham. But wait! Maybe not quite what you were expecting!

I picked this book up because I was in the mood for an easy read, and Grisham is usually quite dependable: he'll give you a good, basic story -- maybe a little too long for how much actual meat is there, maybe slightly convoluted in its plot, but a fine book nonetheless. This book didn't disappoint, but it surprised me a little bit.

First of all, it seemed a little bit tighter than most of his other books. Some autho...more

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Jun 18, 2009 Tony rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

John Grisham- The Last Juror (Dell Publishing 2004) 3.5 Stars

Willie Traynor, a 23-year-old man with dreams and ambitions, moves to Clanton, Mississippi in 1970. He has just bought the town’s newspaper and wishes to make something of himself. A brutal rape and murder shake the town to its foundations. The guilty man just happens to be part of a rich and troublesome family who live apart from the rest of the town, stuck out on an island. Willie Traynor attends the trial and records everything, de...more

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Apr 09, 2009 Penni rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

John Grisham novels are mostly quite readable. They are fast-paced and keep your interest. Although it has been a long time since I've read one of his books, this one seemed quite different. It wandered a lot, was somewhat less fast-paced, and was really more about human relationships and much less about plot. It was a little disconcerting to keep expecting the book to be one thing (completely plot-driven and breathless) and never to see that materialize. While I thought the book was going to be...more

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Mar 29, 2012 Marla rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, adult, audiobook, mystery

Listened to it. Different from Grisham's typical lawyer thriller, sweeter, more character driven and less action.

Likes:
* Newspaper editor point of view, instead of lawyer's
* Characters in the small town who work for Willie and/or are his friends
* Miss Callie Ruffin, Willie's standing Thursday lunch date
* Miss Callie's family of 7 professors and Sam
(view spoiler)

Dislikes:
* Title implied that this was going to...more

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Jan 04, 2011 Remi Immler rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The year was 1970. That was the year that everything had gone down hill for "The Ford Times" newspaper. That was the year that they felt like black people deserved to be in the obituary column when they died. Too bad they were the only whit people who felt like that. Then that one story came.
Willie Traynor, the junior writer, finally got his big break. Rhoda Kasselaw was just a regular woman. Except for one thing. She knew this man named Danny Padgitt. He was kind of messed up in the head, but...more

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Jun 12, 2010 Bonnie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am seldom disappointed by John Grisham and this book was no exception. Michael Beck's reading of it greatly added to my enjoyment. The story was really a sort of fictional memoir of the narrator Willie Traynor's career as the owner of a newspaper in the small southern town of Clanton, Mississippi in the 1970s. Many of the events of the story relate to a horrific rape/murder by a member of the Padgett clan. The Padgetts live on Padgett Island and outside the law making moonshine, growing mariju...more

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Jul 17, 2009 Purplelynne rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am an avid fan of John Grisham, and have read most of his books. Unfortunately I was let down by the dreadful Bleachers, which proved a big mistake for Grisham (in my eyes at least), as he moved away from a genre which had made his name, and made him a whole host of fans.
Luckily enough, The Last Juror, has gone some way into allowing him to redeem himself. It’s not the best that he has written, but is very good. However, he still fails to capture the passion and suspense which was apparent in...more I am an avid fan of John Grisham, and have read most of his books. Unfortunately I was let down by the dreadful Bleachers, which proved a big mistake for Grisham (in my eyes at least), as he moved away from a genre which had made his name, and made him a whole host of fans.
Luckily enough, The Last Juror, has gone some way into allowing him to redeem himself. It’s not the best that he has written, but is very good. However, he still fails to capture the passion and suspense which was apparent in The Pelican Brief and The Firm.
The Last Juror is set in Ford County, Mississippi in the early 70’s, and is the first of his novels to do so since A Time to Kill. The lead character is Willie Traynor, a young and naïve journalist from Memphis. He gets a job as a reporter on a small newspaper; The Ford County Times, in Clanton.
The editor is Wilson Caudle, a World War One veteran in his seventies, who loves writing obituaries. Not long after joining the paper, Caudle and his newspaper becomes bankrupt. Spotting a good little money earner, Willie borrows money from his rich grandmother, and buys the paper at a low price.
Overnight he becomes the editor and owner of this ailing weekly. Willie’s worry that he will not make a go of the business is rapidly put aside as a young mother is murdered and the incident makes front-page news.
Rhoda Kassellaw is a young widow, bringing up two children on her own. One night she is brutally raped and murdered by a local man called Danny Padgitt. She runs, bleeding and bruised to her neighbour’s house, screaming her accusers name before dying on her neighbours swing.
There is no doubt that the killer is Danny Padgitt and he is swiftly arrested by the local Sheriff. However, the Padgitt family have a name in Ford County, they run an illegal moonshine and a marijuana business and are virtually untouchable. The Padgitt clan live on an island in the middle of nowhere, and have enough money to bribe local officials and residents.
Willie Traynor reports on the murder and includes a photograph of Danny Padgitt entering the jail, covered in blood. The town is shocked by these photos and the graphic details of the murder. They no longer feel safe in their Southern homes, and demand justice.
Meanwhile Willie befriends Callie Ruffin, a local black resident, who has a large family of college professors. Willie decides to write an article on Callie’s extraordinary family, and so a life long friendship begins.
Willie enjoys lunch with Miss Callie every Thursday, and we are introduced to her world and family. Their lunches are described in glorious detail, and makes the reader salivate in envy! You can almost smell the aromas seeping from her kitchen!
The story follows the trial and Padgitt’s sentencing to life imprisonment (this isn't a plot spoiler, it's on the jacket blurb). He reacts by shouting at the jurors, and stating that he will ‘get everyone of them’. Unfortunately for Willie, Miss Callie is a member of the jury, and in those times, life did not always mean life!
Willie’s newspaper goes from strength to strength after the reporting of the murder and subsequent trial. Willie takes the reins from Caudle and begins to write long and lengthy obituaries. The newspaper begins to become a success and Willie’s life in Clanton is sealed.
The story is told from Willie’s viewpoint, and this proves to be a success in my opinion. Grisham’s usual courtroom dramas are told from the perspective of the lawyer, and this is a welcome change from norm. There is no shortage of shady lawyers however, and you are unsure which lawyers the Padgitt family have corrupted.
Grisham tells the story of the newspaper; it’s staff and the families from the County leading up to, and after the grisly murder of Rhoda Kasselaw. There are good times, and bad times, all explained in delicious detail by the writer. His style allows the reader to emphasise with the characters and their lives.
Grisham handles the racial prejudice of the time very well, and the reader feels frustrated and angry at the way the races are divided so cruelly. However, it is a time of change, and the characters in the story come across desegregation with eventual acceptance and understanding.
I really enjoyed this book, and felt that Grisham has returned to form -to a degree. His writing always intrigues me, and holds my interest from the very first page. But this story fails to excite me as much as his earlier work, which was groundbreaking at the time, but now seem to be almost generic.
There is one minor quibble though, and that is the misleading title. The blurb on the book states that when Danny Padgitt is paroled and returned early to his hometown “the retribution begins…” This happens quite late in the story, and this is when I questioned the significance of the title.
I still rate Grisham as a top class author and a leader of his field and would recommend this book to his fans, but I feel that he has lost the plot a little along the way – think The Testament and The Partner, which I didn’t enjoy at all. This book redeems my faith in his classic courtroom dramas. I realise that we all benefit from change, but in this respect I believe that if it ‘ain’t broke, don’t fix it!’.

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Jan 21, 2013 Kelley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I enjoyed this book despite myself saying I shouldn't. I honestly received this book by mistake from a seller who then sent me the correct book, but didn't want this back. I picked this up as an easy read on a flight and vacation so wasn't expecting much except a low level of entertainment. Boy was I pleasantly surprised.
This is not really focused on lawyers or courtroom drama. It's main character is the owner and editor of a local small newspaper a young man who comes in to turn things around a...more

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About John Grisham

"Long before his name became synonymous with the modern legal thriller, he was working 60-70 hours a week at a small Southaven, Mississippi law practice, squeezing in time before going to the office and during courtroom recesses to work on his hobby—writing his first novel.

Born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to a construction worker and a homemaker, John Grisham as a child dreamed of...more "Long before his name became synonymous with the modern legal thriller, he was working 60-70 hours a week at a small Southaven, Mississippi law practice, squeezing in time before going to the office and during courtroom recesses to work on his hobby—writing his first novel.

Born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to a construction worker and a homemaker, John Grisham as a child dreamed of being a professional baseball player. Realizing he didn't have the right stuff for a pro career, he shifted gears and majored in accounting at Mississippi State University. After graduating from law school at Ole Miss in 1981, he went on to practice law for nearly a decade in Southaven, specializing in criminal defense and personal injury litigation. In 1983, he was elected to the state House of Representatives and served until 1990.

One day at the DeSoto County courthouse, Grisham overheard the harrowing testimony of a twelve-year-old rape victim and was inspired to start a novel exploring what would have happened if the girl's father had murdered her assailants. Getting up at 5 a.m. every day to get in several hours of writing time before heading off to work, Grisham spent three years on A Time to Kill and finished it in 1987. Initially rejected by many publishers, it was eventually bought by Wynwood Press, who gave it a modest 5,000 copy printing and published it in June 1988.

That might have put an end to Grisham's hobby. However, he had already begun his next book, and it would quickly turn that hobby into a new full-time career—and spark one of publishing's greatest success stories. The day after Grisham completed A Time to Kill, he began work on another novel, the story of a hotshot young attorney lured to an apparently perfect law firm that was not what it appeared. When he sold the film rights to The Firm to Paramount Pictures for $600,000, Grisham suddenly became a hot property among publishers, and book rights were bought by Doubleday. Spending 47 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, The Firm became the bestselling novel of 1991.

The successes of The Pelican Brief, which hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list, and The Client, which debuted at number one, confirmed Grisham's reputation as the master of the legal thriller. Grisham's success even renewed interest in A Time to Kill, which was republished in hardcover by Doubleday and then in paperback by Dell. This time around, it was a bestseller.

Since first publishing A Time to Kill in 1988, Grisham has written one novel a year (his other books are The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Chamber, The Rainmaker, The Runaway Jury, The Partner, The Street Lawyer, The Testament, The Brethren, A Painted House, Skipping Christmas, The Summons, The King of Torts, Bleachers, The Last Juror, and The Broker) and all of them have become international bestsellers. There are currently over 225 million John Grisham books in print worldwide, which have been translated into 29 languages. Nine of his novels have been turned into films (The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, A Time to Kill, The Rainmaker, The Chamber, A Painted House, The Runaway Jury, and Skipping Christmas), as was an original screenplay, The Gingerbread Man. The Innocent Man (October 2006) marks his first foray into non-fiction.

Grisham lives with his wife Renee and their two children Ty and Shea. The family splits their time between their Victorian home on a farm in Mississippi and a plantation near Charlottesville, VA.

Grisham took time off from writing for several months in 1996 to return, after a five-year hiatus, to the courtroom. He was honoring a commitment made before he had retired from the law to become a full-time writer: representing the family of a railroad brakeman killed when he was pinned between two cars. Preparing his case with the same passion and dedication as his books' protagonists, Grisham successfully argued his clients' case, earning them a jur(less)

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Quotes from The Last Juror

“What keeps life fascinating is the constant creativity of the soul.” — 92 people liked it

“The more boundless your vision, the more real you are.” — 52 people liked it

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