The Runaway Jury
by John GrishamSign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of this book.
discuss this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 10746)
The Runaway Jury is one of those old favorites that I do actually reread periodically. I find it hard to review a book like this because I do know the plot and the characters so well that it is impossible to recapture the sense of suspense and mystery that I know I experienced the first time I read it. Nevertheless, the fact that I still enjoy reading this book even without the mystery is a testament to the quality of this Grisham nov...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
As i currently read this book, i have discovered many things about john Grisham. He is a man of detail and has found incredible ways of making court jargon clear. I have had a hard time putting down the book when i get started. I dont like somethings though. He sometimes spends too much time on certain items and people. He spent two whole pages describing one witness and it was the only part of the book that required me to force myself while reading. I love the book, but detail can be a little m...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
After I read the book “The Runaway Jury”, I can see the power and the influence of large organizations in America, particularly the tobacco companies. They always have ways that can defend themselves from the relatives of people who have died from lung cancer after smoking their whole life. The main details in the book are that the lawyer Rankin Fitch of the tobacco company Pynex are trying to win the court case which is sued by Celeste Wood, a widow of a man who died from lung cancer a...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I just read the book The Runaway Jury by John Grisham and it was a very good book. He kept me interested throughout the whole book.
This book is about a widow who sues a tobacco company for killing her husband due to their product and throughout this court case a bunch of things come up and new people are introduced each playing an important role. What I like about this book like in other John Grisham books is that you are into the book throughout the whole story. The suspense and the questio...more
Like this review?
yes
1 comments
Read in July, 2008
John Grisham's concept is intriguing , but there's not much else to his credit when it comes to this novel. This is one of those instances in which Hollywood completely improved upon the story. The characters and the plot were improved upon in film- even the subject matter itself, gun control being a hotter topic than the corrupt tabacco industry. I had already seen the movie when I started reading, so my perception of the book was tainted quite early on.
There was something really bother...more
There was something really bother...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2002
Like "The Rainmaker", this is the story of an average joe (or joes) who take on a huge corporation. There is a trial in Biloxi, Mississippi to hold a major tobacco company responsible for smoking-related deaths. The tobacco company does what they always do, bringing in experts to choose their jury, hiring the best lawyers, and sometimes resorting to criminal activity, to assure their win. But one man has infiltrated the jury, despite all their control measures, who plans on turning ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
recommended to Jenny by:
Summer Reading
recommends it for: Everyone
recommends it for: Everyone
Well, I absolutely enjoyed this book. Marlee was some character I have to admit. Grisham's descriptive words definitely put you in it. But nothing compares to his cleverness. Nicholas and Marlee made a wonderful team and an awesome couple. They were beyond genius. Intelligent is an understatement of what they were. Sly and coy is insulting.
Everything he wrote from the lawyers to the jury was impeccable. It was straight-forward yet very suspenseful. I recommend this highly. I know very littl...more
Everything he wrote from the lawyers to the jury was impeccable. It was straight-forward yet very suspenseful. I recommend this highly. I know very littl...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
This book is about a million dollar case that is overtaken by one juror. This juror somehow gains control of the entire jury and has the abilty to persuade them to vote either way. However, he also has the help of an outside resource. Together they convince the jury to vote for one side depending on which lawyer will give up the most money. The twist is the reader doesn't know which side until the end. I find this book to be very useful in my content area becuase it shows a trial case and a...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 2006
recommends it for:
Twisted Law Freaks
This book rocked. And yes - I did go see the damn movie. And of course - it was AMAZING. John Cusak portrayed the main character beautifully. As a matter of fact - I re-read this book after the movie - and it made so much more sense to me why they chose him to be the actor. The twists and turns that the main character pull with the jury make it seem very interesting that nothing like this (or maybe it has) has really happened in the legal system today. The ending was definitely a surprise ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in June, 2008
Predictable. Admittedly interesting is how complex and calculated jury selection is for a high profile case ("victim" v. cigarette company). A mystery swirls around a potential juror (where is he from, who is he)He then meticulously sways the other jurors to his mindset. Having a background in trial prep (granted not for high profile matters), I was left expecting more from this one. I've thoroughly enjoyed other Grisham books because of the suspence and character development. Because ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 1996
THE RUNAWAY JURY - Poor
Grisham, John - Standalone
Millions of dollars are at stake in a huge tobacco-company case in Biloxi, and the jury's packed with people who have dirty little secrets. A mysterious young man takes subtle control of the jury as the defense watches helplessly, but they soon realize that he in turn is controlled by an even more mysterious young woman. Lives careen off course as they bend everyone in the case to their will.
I usually like Grisham but this was boring. I...more
Grisham, John - Standalone
Millions of dollars are at stake in a huge tobacco-company case in Biloxi, and the jury's packed with people who have dirty little secrets. A mysterious young man takes subtle control of the jury as the defense watches helplessly, but they soon realize that he in turn is controlled by an even more mysterious young woman. Lives careen off course as they bend everyone in the case to their will.
I usually like Grisham but this was boring. I...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
possibly the only john grisham book that didnt make me fall asleep. he definitely writes following a formula (said formula being, end everything on a cliffhanger so that when the inevitable movie is made, the writer/director/whoever will have an easy time of parsing out the scenes), but it works here, as opposed to everywhere else.
also, i found it interesting that the issue is changed from smoking to guns in the movie -- way to make an ambiguous issue a whole lot less gripping, hollywood. bu...more
also, i found it interesting that the issue is changed from smoking to guns in the movie -- way to make an ambiguous issue a whole lot less gripping, hollywood. bu...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1997
I'm generally not a fan of Grisham but I really liked this book. During the time that I read it, I was working for the American Lung Assocation and all of the secret tobacco files had just come out, stating that they knew for years that tobacco was addictive and covered it up. The entire American Lung office was reading this book. We knew it was fiction, but it rang true for those of us who were working in the field at the time. We felt that Big Tobacco was capable of anything. So, this book hol...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Pynex, a tobacco company, was sued. They cannot lose this case because they had to face everyone whose health was inifluenced because of smoking. Both of side were very careful to choose the members of the jury. However, every juror had different prupose to attend to the jury. Also, there is a woman who seemed to have super power to predict what would happen in the future, and she kept senting the message to the lawyer of the tobacco company. what did she want?
Like this review?
yes
1 comments
Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in January, 1996
recommends it for:
anyone
The movie didn’t do this book justice. Even though I don’t agree with his portrayal of helpless victims to the tobacco Company, I loved the way Grishham unfolds this story. Grishham is a master of taking the reader on a suspenseful ride and even when you know the ending you are never sure of the outcome. If you want a book to bring you on a journey and not let you off to till the end this is a great book.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2006
I made a profound mistake literally hours after finishing this book: I went to the movie. Please, please, please...don't ever make that mistake!
The movie was a joke. It was a liberal tyrade preaching a pro-gun control agenda. The book, however, attacked Big Tobacco with an agression I related to and grately appreciated.
It was a fun book that kept you guessing. But the movie was terrible!
The movie was a joke. It was a liberal tyrade preaching a pro-gun control agenda. The book, however, attacked Big Tobacco with an agression I related to and grately appreciated.
It was a fun book that kept you guessing. But the movie was terrible!
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in April, 2000
recommends it for:
anyone who has interest with legal system in the u.s.a.
read this novel around the time when i saw "the insider".
both featured the story about ferocious lawsuit battle against what is now termed as 'big tobacco'.
this novel offered a very interesting insight on how does the legal system worked, law being imposed and justice being served in the united states of america, from inside the courtroom.
haven't seen the movie adaptation, tho'!
both featured the story about ferocious lawsuit battle against what is now termed as 'big tobacco'.
this novel offered a very interesting insight on how does the legal system worked, law being imposed and justice being served in the united states of america, from inside the courtroom.
haven't seen the movie adaptation, tho'!
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2004
recommends it for:
no one
I do own Grisham books, but only because family members keep buying them for me on birthday's and xmas's. I smile politely and thank them, wishing they would include the receipt. I have read this, and i don't recommend it unless you are 10 years old and want to start reading adult fiction. Dull, dull, dull. How this man is a best-selling writer is reflection of today's society's IQ.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2003
This is the only book that I have read where the Movie version is better!
This one deals with litigation over a tobacco company.
The movie: a gun company.
Which defendant would you care more about? The widow of a smoker who dies of lung cancer (due to his OWN smoking) or the survivors of a school shooting (victims of someone else's choices)?
'Nuff said.
This one deals with litigation over a tobacco company.
The movie: a gun company.
Which defendant would you care more about? The widow of a smoker who dies of lung cancer (due to his OWN smoking) or the survivors of a school shooting (victims of someone else's choices)?
'Nuff said.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
You really have to suspend your disbelief in this legal thriller, but the ride sure is fun. Twelve members of a jury are at the center of a multimillion dollar tobacco trial. The lawyers will stop at nothing to secure the verdict they want. But unbeknownst to them, Juror #2 is a ringer. He has planned every move to make sure things go his way. A fun Grisham.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
