Lee Allen's Blog - Posts Tagged "jake-brigance"

Sycamore Row by John Grisham

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A powerful sequel to the classic legal thriller ‘A Time to Kill’.

Seth Hubbard, terminally ill, hangs himself from a sycamore tree on his expansive property. His suicide triggers his carefully planned final wishes – a hasty funeral and the terms of his recently written last will, which disinherits his greedy, white family and leaves his fortune to his black housekeeper, Lettie Lang.

Jake Brigance has been appointed attorney for the estate as part of the decedent's final wishes. Though they never met, he claims Jake is the only lawyer he can trust, based on his reputation for fighting for justice against the tide of societal discrimination and corruption, and charges him to defend his final will and testament at all costs.

But Seth’s family refuse to accept the validity of the will and contest it. Once again, Clanton becomes the epicentre of a legal battle that is as much about race as it is about the law, vultures circling and flocking to claim a piece of the fortune.

John Grisham’s debut novel ‘A Time to Kill’ remains one of his most powerful novels, a modern classic of legal and crime fiction, and a fable about prejudice and moral justice. Many years later, Grisham has returned to the central character of Jake Brigance in ‘Sycamore Row’ – an immersive and captivating legal thriller; this time the central case a civil, rather than criminal, trial. The novel’s themes of racial prejudice, the shades of grey in which the law and morality may differ, and a fight for justice are deftly handled and superbly laced through its gripping, fast-paced plot. Building to an intense and dramatic climax, the case hinges on a dark family secret that may just unlock Seth’s motivations for his final actions.

Brimming with an array of well-drawn characters, with many returning from its predecessor, the novel demonstrates how a dark chapter in human history continues to leak into our modern society – its powerful and moving message timely and crucial. Through the setting of a small town, we see prejudice and attitudes that are mirrored all around the globe; in many ways as potent today as it ever has been in the past.

While ‘Sycamore Row’ can be enjoyed as a self-contained story, it references many of the events of ‘A Time to Kill’ – so I would highly recommend starting with the first novel (or alternatively watching the brilliant, and mostly faithful, film adaptation). Jake and his family make for endearing characters and the overarching themes shared by both novels make this a superlative series – one that continues in Grisham’s recent novel, ‘A Time for Mercy’.

Packed with legal wrangling and courtroom drama, fraught with poignant and tragic moments, ‘Sycamore Row’ is an emotive and enthralling thriller and a worthy successor to a masterpiece.



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A Time for Mercy by John Grisham

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A gripping thriller which explores how the law and justice may sometimes be at odds.

Josie and her children anxiously await her partner’s return home, hoping to avoid the usual escalation into violence that follows his drinking. But their hopes are in vain. Erupting into a frenzied rage, he beats Josie unconscious. Her children believe she is dead. Fearful for their lives, young Drew Gamble takes the man’s own gun and shoots him dead.

Jake Brigance is reluctant to take the case. The dead man was a police officer, well liked and respected in the community, which is demanding justice be done. Defending his killer could be career suicide and he is currently busy with a potentially lucrative civil case.

But as Jake gets to know his new client and his family and learns more about their circumstances, he becomes determined to save him from death row. Nevertheless, a man is dead and the law is very clear. If Jake is to build a successful defence, he must pose a question to the jury and hope to provide them with its answer – it is possible that homicide can ever be justified?

‘A Time for Mercy’ is the third novel featuring Jake Brigance, following 1989’s ‘A Time to Kill’ and 2013’s ‘Sycamore Row’, taking place in the fictional town of Clanton, Ford County, in 1990, just five years after the Hailey trial. Like the first in the series, the novel centres around a criminal trial which causes much unrest and divided opinion in this traditional American county.

Much like the ‘victims’ in the first novel, the murdered man is a vile example of humanity and the world is doubtless better off without him, but his behaviour in his role as a police officer and as part of the wider community differs to how he behaves at home and while under the influence of alcohol. However, someone’s behaviour behind closed doors if often far more indicative of their true nature than the persona they present to the wider world – though this is something that many, unfortunately, cannot appreciate. While I would never advocate vigilantism, when circumstances arise which result in harm to a violent and abusive individual it may appear ludicrous to seek to punish their attacker – particularly in a country that still uses capital punishment. Is that ironic, or simply hypocrisy?

Exploring themes of domestic abuse and violence, how society views victims of abuse and members of law enforcement, and a plethora of ethical and moral dilemmas, while racial prejudice remains ever present, the novel poses many questions which remain timely to this day. We follow Jake as he builds his case and forms a bond with this broken and damaged family, forming a picture of their tragic circumstances, building to the climatic courtroom scenes.

The Brigance family’s personal life is interspersed with the legal case; I love Jake’s relationship with Carla and Hanna. Portia makes a return from the previous novel, working as Jake’s paralegal and about to embark on her studies at law school. Other characters also return from the previous two novels – making this as much a personal drama as a legal one, and the continuing story of the town and community of Clanton, with an emotional core and a moral conscience.

Thought-provoking and suspenseful, ‘A Time for Mercy’ is an engrossing legal thriller and a fantastic addition to the series. I hope we will get to return to Clanton for another of Jake’s cases in the future.



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