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Nov 08, 2011

Stephen rated it:

This well-written, emotionally-charged thriller is considered by many to be Grisham’s best novel. Though I’ve only read a few, I can certainly see why. While a fast-paced page-turner (what I would call a popcorn-read), there is a gravity and social conscience that pervades the story and adds a greater depth than you might be expecting. Despite my gripes over some of the language used in the book (one word in particular), Grisham does a nice job of capturing the setting and there is an authentic More...

32 comments like (37 people liked it)

Jun 10, 2011

Paul rated it:

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0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 03, 2008

Charlotte rated it:

Continuing with my reading of all Grisham titles. This is the first I've read of the southern trial novels. Extensive use of the N word was disturbing but it's used for an accurate portrayal of the voice of white southerners of the period, not gratuitously. Much more disturbing was the scene of the violent attack on a little girl that's the basis of the story. Again, not gratuitous. This novel was based on a true story. A thoughtful and thought provoking reminder of the cruelty and racial More...

3 comments like (7 people liked it)

Mar 13, 2008

Jennifer rated it:

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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 30, 2007

Jenny rated it:

There are 104 pages of review on this book, and I read two pages worth and agreed with a dozen or so. I always wondered why cheap thrillers like this book never get discussed in great literature classes and I think I can answer that question. 1. Because there is no interpretation. Books like this are no brainers. Little thinking is required.
That's really it.
Now for the book review. First of all, Grisham needed like 1 or 2 more pages to close out. He rushed the ending.
Sure it More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Nov 19, 2008

David rated it:

I have always had mixed feelings about Grisham, but this is one of his best. The inherent drama of a death penalty story, with a background in the crime of rape, makes this a natural for an audiobook, where the high drama can really be brought out.

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 18, 2009

Melanie added it

I've actually never read a Grisham book before. Don't everyone throw tomatoes at me at one. Maybe the reason I haven't read one before was 'cause I was afraid I would be compelled to buy the rest of his books and I'd rather save the money for purchasing my very own movie studio.

8 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 02, 2011

Sanchita added it

"A Time To Kill" by John Grisham has to be one of his better books. He generally writes a lot of well written garbage. "Rainmaker" was way better than this.

The book is about a young juror trying to convince an all white jury about the "innocence" of his black client, who shot, in cold blood, two white males who raped his ten year old daughter. He is attacked on multiple occasions, along with his secretary, his clerk and his family, not to mention that his house is b More...

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Feb 18, 2010

Kevin added it

A Time to Kill
By: John Grisham
Review by: Kevin Walther

A Time to Kill is written by John Grisham. It takes place in Clanton, Alabama in the spring and summer of one year in the 1970’s. This is a time where racism is still very evident in southern states, and is a major issue in the book. The story revolves around a trial in which a black man has killed the two white men who brutally raped his eleven year old daughter.
The man who kills the two men who rapped hi More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 06, 2009

Antof9 rated it:

This was one of the first books I've ever read *after* seeing the movie. Although that isn't my preferable book/movie order, it wasn't too bad!

I thought the movie was a decent adaptation. A few interesting exceptions -- Sandra Bullock's character shows up early in the movie. In the book, I had almost decided she was added for the movie because she came into the story so late. I was also really surprised that the comments made by one of the jurors (no spoilers) were essentially Ma More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 29, 2008

The other John rated it:

I'm tempted to think that this one is about truth, justice and the American Way gone wrong. The story is set in Mississippi and opens with the account of a ten-year-old girl, Tonya, being raped by two men. They abuse her, try to kill her but end up abandoning her to die in a ravine. She is found, taken to the hospital and, eventually, the two men are arrested. The wheels of justice begin to turn, but Tonya's father, Carl Lee, decides to take matters into his own hands and guns down the rapists a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 02, 2011

Cheryl rated it:

First off let me say that I enjoyed this book so much because it is based off of an real event. This book is about a lawyer who goes on trial to defend a Black man who murders two white "rednecks" who attack and rape of his daughter. Carl Lee (the father) is married with three sons and a daughter. He is the main source of income in his family working at a paper mill, and he is a Vietnam War Hero. The man he murdered Billy Ray Cobb and James Louis Willard are both well known drug abuser More...

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Jul 27, 2011

Saimah rated it:

'A Time To Kill' is John Grisham's take on racism and its legal repercussions in Mississippi. The story is about a black man Carl Lee Hailey who brutally shot down two young white men acquitted of raping his ten year old daughter. The existing laws of the county had been different for such a crime for whites and blacks, and that is when Jake Brigance, a young white lawyer, takes up the case of defending Carl Lee. Inspite of the continuous threats and losses Jake sticks to the case, having its ow More...

0 comments like

Jul 07, 2011

Meita rated it:

Sempet dibuat males saat baca The Firm dan bingung waktu baca The Rain Maker ternyata tidak membuatku kapok untuk membaca buku John Grisham. Nyatanya,, A Time To Kill ini lebih seru dan lebih sederhana dari kedua buku yang sebelumnya kusebutkan.
Kisahnya tentang peradilan yang dialami oleh seorang kulit hitam, Carl Lee Hailey, setelah membunuh 2 orang kulit putih yang telah memperkosa anak gadisnya yang berusia 10 tahun yang membuat heboh kota Clanton. Tokoh utamanya sendiri adalah pengacara More...

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Jun 09, 2011

Phillip rated it:

Racism is one of the main theme is the book and it causes many problems that I feel I have a lot of outside information to know about. Tonya, a black girl was brutally murdered by a guy name Pete Willard and Billy Cobb who didn't have a legitimate reason for their actions. Carl, who is the father of Tonya remembers a case similar like this a while ago, when 4 white men raped a african american girl and got away with their crime. Carl was a man who would never let something like this go away j More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 14, 2011

Graham rated it:

I have to admit I read this book a while back. I also saw the movie a while back. But while waiting at Boston Logan airport I saw the book on the shelf and knowing I wouldn't get much sleep I decided to buy the book in the hope that I could use my time during the 6 hour flight.

Hand on heart I am not a massive crime fan, but having read the Firm, I have been a fan of John Grisham, so please bear that in mind.

The backdrop of this book, the deep south, back when the Clan More...

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Apr 28, 2011

Em rated it:

I had read this book when I was still in my juniour years in high school. I cant remember exactly the exact date of the time i had finished reading it. So, I cant exactly give an exact review for this book for now. I had to review it again to be fair. :DD

Any way, it was among those books that had wrenched my heart. I will never forget how I'd cried then because of the mishap that the little black girl who was raped ( cant remember her name :(( ) had experienced. What happened to her More...

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Mar 28, 2011

John added it

Christian Mario Tony by name

Current City: :Frisco City, Alabama :Hometown: Edinburgh, United Kingdom

About my self ........................
I always like to meet new people and try new things. I don't make quick judgments about others and expect the same in return. I am educated and professional. I am very stable in financially. I am a good hearted, honest, loyal, caring, considering, loving, intelligent, confident, responsible, dedicated, generous, compassionate More...

0 comments like

Mar 27, 2011

Moises rated it:

This was the first John Grisham book I ever read. I remember not being able to put it down. I think I finished it in a couple of days. I loved it so much that I ended up buying each and every Grisham release after each year for about ten years.

If I'm not mistaken, it was over 15 years ago when I last read this book. I picked it up last week and read it again. I still love this book. I won't go into character development or the plot. Most people should know what this is about. A bl More...

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Mar 22, 2011

Remi rated it:

Clanton, Mississippi, a usually peaceful area. That is, until 10 year old Tonya Hailey was beaten and raped by some to KKK followers, James Louis "Pete" Willard and Billy Ray Cobb. After police finding her body hanging from a cross in the middle of a corn field and rushed to her hospital, the case gets soon taken to court. But wait, the possibility of the rapists getting to be set free is higher than them being convicted? Now put yourself in Carl Lee Hailey's shoes (father of Tonya). More...

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Feb 17, 2010

Rachel rated it:

A Book not worthy of a reread, and most certainly did not belong on my Contemporary Literature reading list. Unfortunately, it was assigned, and I found myself tortured to have to pick it up again and again.
Our main protagonist is Jake Brigance, a puke-bucket of a character who I found hating and hating the more I read the book. He acts out at everyone, is often rude, and is an over all narcissist - And this is supposed to be our "Hero".
John Grisham is very transparent with More...

12 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 21, 2010

Tony rated it:

This addictive tale of a young lawyer defending a black Vietnam war hero who kills the white druggies who raped his child in tiny Clanton, Mississippi, is John Grisham's first novel, and his favorite of his first six. He polished it for three years and every detail shines like pebbles at the bottom of a swift, sunlit stream. Grisham is a born legal storyteller and his dialogue is pitch perfect.
The plot turns with jeweled precision. Carl Lee Hailey gets an M-16 from the Chicago hoodlum he'd More...

0 comments like

May 17, 2009

Tony rated it:

John Grisham- A Time to Kill (Island Books 1992) 4.75 Stars

When I first bought this book I was really excited. I had seen the movie years ago and I had always known that it was a book I just never had the chance to read it. Now that I have read A Time to Kill I am very glad that I have, it did not disappoint. John Grisham is a famous author with a whole lot of story-telling skill. Brigance, his main character, is a small town criminal justice defence lawyer who is thrown the case of More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 31, 2010

Lucille rated it:

When I started this book, I had a very clear image in my mind of what the lawyer, Jake, was going to be like: noble, dignified, patient, wise, he would be a heroic warrior for the oppressed and victimized. In short, I opened the book and hoped to find the second coming of Atticus Finch. I was disappointed. Jake wasn't a bad character, he was more realistic than Atticus in a lot of ways, but I just couldn't help but compare the two and find Jake somewhat less than amazing. There was also a commen More...

0 comments like

Jan 17, 2012

Pythia rated it:

Primo romanzo di Grisham che leggo, e spero non sarà l'ultimo: l'ho sempre evitato, convinta che avrei trovato pagine di incomprensibili divagazioni giuridiche - eppure ho digerito svariati North Patterson, che col senno di poi è davvero incomprensibile.
Entro il primo capitolo mi sono resa conto di aver visto l'adattamento cinematografico, anni fa, di cui ricordavo solo il finale: questo non ha rovinato la lettura. Avvincente, profondo, duro: un gran bel romanzo.
Con qualche difetto, pe More...

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Aug 08, 2011

Jaime rated it:

The debut legal thriller of John Grisham. Carl Lee Hailey's little girl is viciously raped and beaten by two local punks. On the way to the courthouse, he opens fire and kills them. Hot young lawyer Jake Briggance, hoping to make a name for himself, takes his case. The story was interesting because just about everyone knows Carl Lee was perfectly sane when it happened, and the crime was premeditated. But, the men savagely attacked his little girl. Would an all-white jury, in a deep Southern town More...

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Nov 19, 2010

Autumn rated it:

First off let me say that I enjoyed this book so much because it is based off of an real event. This book is about a lawyer who goes on trial to defend a Black man who murders two white "rednecks" who attack and rape of his daughter. Carl Lee (the father) is married with three sons and a daughter. He is the main source of income in his family working at a paper mill, and he is a Vietnam War Hero. The man he murdered Billy Ray Cobb and James Louis Willard are both well known drug abuser More...

0 comments like

Mar 13, 2011

Manugw rated it:

In the US, in the Deep South, in the state of Mississippi, racism goes above politics and politics and corruption surpass justice, even though this is unfair, that is the way life goes down there according to Mr Grisham, himself a southerner. A black father kills two ignorant low life whites who have raped and almost killed his 10 year old daughter, the black man is caught and goes on trial, the prosecution seeks the Death Penalty, will he be convicted or not ? Will racism and politics beat just More...

0 comments like

Mar 03, 2010

Russ rated it:

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

0 comments like

Mar 18, 2011

Eric rated it:

After recently reading two of Michael Connelly's Mickey Haller legal thrillers, I realized there was an entire genre of books I'd ignored that I'd potentially enjoy. So I picked up John Grisham's A Time To Kill, as he is generally regarded as one of the best of the genre.

I am glad I did. I got to see a much different, although equally well done, perspective of the trial lawyer and the legal process. Where Connelly focused more on the main characters, from a first-person point-of-vi More...

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