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The Partner / The Street Lawyer / A Time To Kill
Justice is served in this exciting three-pack of Grisham novels, designed to appeal to both his devoted fans and new readers. Wrap up your holiday shopping with this boxed set, which includes the author's first novel, A Time To Kill.
Set includes 1 mass market paperback edition each of:
The Partner
The Street Lawyer
A Time To Kill
Set includes 1 mass market paperback edition each of:
The Partner
The Street Lawyer
A Time To Kill
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
7 people are currently reading
159 people want to read
About the author
John Grisham
507 books91.1k followersJohn Grisham is the author of more than fifty consecutive #1 bestsellers, which have been translated into nearly fifty languages. His recent books include Framed, Camino Ghosts and The Exchange: After the Firm.
Grisham is a two-time winner of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction and was honored with the Library of Congress Creative Achievement Award for Fiction.
When he's not writing, Grisham serves on the board of directors of the Innocence Project and of Centurion Ministries, two national organizations dedicated to exonerating those who have been wrongfully convicted. Much of his fiction explores deep-seated problems in our criminal justice system.
John lives on a farm in central Virginia.
Grisham is a two-time winner of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction and was honored with the Library of Congress Creative Achievement Award for Fiction.
When he's not writing, Grisham serves on the board of directors of the Innocence Project and of Centurion Ministries, two national organizations dedicated to exonerating those who have been wrongfully convicted. Much of his fiction explores deep-seated problems in our criminal justice system.
John lives on a farm in central Virginia.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 16, 2025
1. The Partner ⭐⭐
A Lost Bet by Grisham
When one embarks upon a novel by John Grisham (or at least, when one did so in the 1980s…), one typically anticipates a tightly woven plot, palpable suspense, and characters operating in the murky borderlands of legality. Regrettably, with The Partner, Grisham delivers a work that resembles a draft more than a fully realised thriller.
The premise, admittedly, is enticing: a lawyer who fakes his own death in order to abscond with ninety million dollars. However, what ensues is a tangle of clichés, clumsy twists, and characters so thinly drawn that they resemble mere sketches.
The pacing of the novel is excruciatingly uneven. While it begins with a certain vigour, it soon descends into pages upon pages of narrative inertia. Interrogation scenes and legal minutiae—once Grisham’s trademark—here feel perfunctory, as though inserted solely to pad the manuscript.
The protagonist, Patrick Lanigan, never quite convinces. He functions more as a narrative device than as a fully fleshed-out character. His decisions seem arbitrary, often defying logic, while his supposed inner turmoil is obscured by the anaemic development of his psychological portrait.
The climax, far from cathartic or shocking, is merely... infuriating. The final twist—or rather, the glaring absence of one—feels like an act of authorial indolence. There is no emotional payoff, no cleansing resolution. Only a flat denouement to a tale that promised much and delivered precious little.
It is a pity when a writer of Grisham’s talent (scoff if you must, but he has delivered solid work within the genre) and experience turns in something so tepid and uninspired. The Partner is not merely a mediocre novel. It is a sobering reminder that even the most successful authors can become lost in their own formula, or unwilling—or contractually obliged—not to say no to one book too many.
2. The Street Lawyer ⭐
At the moment when junior partner (promising, eager young lawyer and wannabe yuppie) Michael Brock is wiping off the blood and splattered brains of the homeless man—who had taken a group of corporate lawyers hostage, including Brock himself, only to be shot dead by a police sniper—he experiences a full-blown crisis of conscience and resolves to fight for what is right and what is just.
Since, at the time the book was written, the internet was still non-existent (fax machines were all the rage), instead of launching an OnlyFans account on Insta, spouting conspiracy theories on Facebook, or having earnest SJW-style online spats with strangers, Brock is forced to act in the real world: he takes up a post at a legal aid office, parts ways with his already emotionally distant wife (a doctor, who is utterly appalled that Michael will now be working for less moneyyyAAARGHH), starts feeding people at soup kitchens and dicing onions for the homeless stews, and, quite suddenly, begins to genuinely care whether each of his addict clients has stayed off crack for more than 24 hours.
In short, he becomes one of the vanishingly few lawyers in Washington with anything resembling a conscience—while all the other jaded cynics are still charging rabidly after MONEYYYAAARGHH.
Tragic and poorly written works like this are precisely the reason I no longer pre-order Grisham’s books. I simply wait a few months post-release and pick them up for… approximately £0.99. Because that’s all they’re worth. A pity, really, given that the author has, in the past, delivered some truly fine novels.
3. A time to kill ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A Time to Kill is a harrowing and profoundly emotional legal thriller that marked the striking debut of John Grisham—long before some of his later, less compelling works captivated the public and… made their way to the silver screen. Set against the backdrop of the American South and a racially charged society, the novel poses fundamental moral questions which remain pressing to this day.
The story centres on the trial of an African-American father who kills the two white men who brutally raped his ten-year-old daughter. Grisham constructs the courtroom tension with remarkable deftness, holding the reader in suspense throughout. The characters are skilfully developed, especially Jake Brigance, the young lawyer tasked with defending the father, who must also confront a community seething with rage and prejudice.
Grisham’s prose is gripping and rich in detail, balancing the legal intensity with moments of genuine humanity that lend depth to the narrative. While the plot does slow somewhat at certain junctures—a forgivable trait in one’s first novel—the overall effect is undeniably powerful.
Overall, A Time to Kill is a compelling novel that does not shy away from confronting the reader with thorny moral dilemmas. It is a work well worth reading—not merely for its plot, but for the strength of the themes it so boldly engages with—especially when contrasted (one might say, in stark antithesis) with Grisham’s later and, dare one say, lamentable publications.
A Lost Bet by Grisham
When one embarks upon a novel by John Grisham (or at least, when one did so in the 1980s…), one typically anticipates a tightly woven plot, palpable suspense, and characters operating in the murky borderlands of legality. Regrettably, with The Partner, Grisham delivers a work that resembles a draft more than a fully realised thriller.
The premise, admittedly, is enticing: a lawyer who fakes his own death in order to abscond with ninety million dollars. However, what ensues is a tangle of clichés, clumsy twists, and characters so thinly drawn that they resemble mere sketches.
The pacing of the novel is excruciatingly uneven. While it begins with a certain vigour, it soon descends into pages upon pages of narrative inertia. Interrogation scenes and legal minutiae—once Grisham’s trademark—here feel perfunctory, as though inserted solely to pad the manuscript.
The protagonist, Patrick Lanigan, never quite convinces. He functions more as a narrative device than as a fully fleshed-out character. His decisions seem arbitrary, often defying logic, while his supposed inner turmoil is obscured by the anaemic development of his psychological portrait.
The climax, far from cathartic or shocking, is merely... infuriating. The final twist—or rather, the glaring absence of one—feels like an act of authorial indolence. There is no emotional payoff, no cleansing resolution. Only a flat denouement to a tale that promised much and delivered precious little.
It is a pity when a writer of Grisham’s talent (scoff if you must, but he has delivered solid work within the genre) and experience turns in something so tepid and uninspired. The Partner is not merely a mediocre novel. It is a sobering reminder that even the most successful authors can become lost in their own formula, or unwilling—or contractually obliged—not to say no to one book too many.
2. The Street Lawyer ⭐
At the moment when junior partner (promising, eager young lawyer and wannabe yuppie) Michael Brock is wiping off the blood and splattered brains of the homeless man—who had taken a group of corporate lawyers hostage, including Brock himself, only to be shot dead by a police sniper—he experiences a full-blown crisis of conscience and resolves to fight for what is right and what is just.
Since, at the time the book was written, the internet was still non-existent (fax machines were all the rage), instead of launching an OnlyFans account on Insta, spouting conspiracy theories on Facebook, or having earnest SJW-style online spats with strangers, Brock is forced to act in the real world: he takes up a post at a legal aid office, parts ways with his already emotionally distant wife (a doctor, who is utterly appalled that Michael will now be working for less moneyyyAAARGHH), starts feeding people at soup kitchens and dicing onions for the homeless stews, and, quite suddenly, begins to genuinely care whether each of his addict clients has stayed off crack for more than 24 hours.
In short, he becomes one of the vanishingly few lawyers in Washington with anything resembling a conscience—while all the other jaded cynics are still charging rabidly after MONEYYYAAARGHH.
Tragic and poorly written works like this are precisely the reason I no longer pre-order Grisham’s books. I simply wait a few months post-release and pick them up for… approximately £0.99. Because that’s all they’re worth. A pity, really, given that the author has, in the past, delivered some truly fine novels.
3. A time to kill ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A Time to Kill is a harrowing and profoundly emotional legal thriller that marked the striking debut of John Grisham—long before some of his later, less compelling works captivated the public and… made their way to the silver screen. Set against the backdrop of the American South and a racially charged society, the novel poses fundamental moral questions which remain pressing to this day.
The story centres on the trial of an African-American father who kills the two white men who brutally raped his ten-year-old daughter. Grisham constructs the courtroom tension with remarkable deftness, holding the reader in suspense throughout. The characters are skilfully developed, especially Jake Brigance, the young lawyer tasked with defending the father, who must also confront a community seething with rage and prejudice.
Grisham’s prose is gripping and rich in detail, balancing the legal intensity with moments of genuine humanity that lend depth to the narrative. While the plot does slow somewhat at certain junctures—a forgivable trait in one’s first novel—the overall effect is undeniably powerful.
Overall, A Time to Kill is a compelling novel that does not shy away from confronting the reader with thorny moral dilemmas. It is a work well worth reading—not merely for its plot, but for the strength of the themes it so boldly engages with—especially when contrasted (one might say, in stark antithesis) with Grisham’s later and, dare one say, lamentable publications.
May 28, 2013
(I only read The Street Lawyer)
Michael Brock had everything going for him. He worked in a big law firm on his way to making millions a year, one of the youngest to do so. Of course, that was before the incident with Mister. Acclaimed author John Grisham did a very good job writing this refreshing legal fiction novel, The Street Lawyer. One February morning, a shabby man in bulky layers of clothing reeking of the stench of one who hasn’t washed, walks in to the elevator behind Michael. After briefly wondering what this man would be doing in the esteemed offices of Drake and Sweeny Michael promptly forgets about him. No less than five minutes later Michael in locked in a conference room being held a gun point by the same man, who instructs his hostages to call him Mister. Mister asks each of the nine hostages how much they gave to charity and the homeless during the last year. Each one is ashamed to say very little or none. Michael is stuck for eight hours wondering if each minute will be his last. After hours of waiting, he is rescued and returns home, badly shaken, but he must go back to the office in the morning because staying at home would be considered a sign of weakness. Obviously, Michael is not okay, and begins to look into Mister’s story. Digging leads Michael to a small legal clinic that specializes in helping the homeless. Michael is moved by the generosity of its three employees and finally hands in his resignation to his law firm, literally walking away from millions. Not too long after, while collecting the rest of his personal items from his office, Michael borrows a file he thinks has something to do with Mister, fully intending to return it when he finished copying it. There was no way for him to know that he would be hit by a speeding Jaguar driven by drug dealers outrunning the police. The file’s absence is immediately noticed and all evidence points toward Michael as the thief, but file holds condemning information that could potentially cost the company millions if a lawsuit was brought against them. Michael is determined to serve justice, but how can he do that when he is faced with revocation of his lawyering license? The only way to avoid it seems to be dropping the charges against Drake and Sweeny…
While this book was well written and mildly suspenseful, it did not keep me on the edge of my seat or beg me to read late into the night. I enjoyed reading it and never minded when I had to pick it up again, but it was not a story that made me wait impatiently for the end of school so I could read it. It was a very good story of redemption, and shows a man’s change of heart from greediness to generosity. There are several plot twists and promises to keep a reader interested from the beginning. Much of the book centers around the homeless and their hardships and was very moving to see how a few brave people cared for the homeless when no one else would. I was interested enough to want to know what was going to happen, though not enough so that I couldn’t put the book down. If you are a reader interested in fast paced adventure novels, you may want to pass on this book. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy legal fiction or a moderate drama. I would consider this a great book to bring on vacation because it is a pleasant plot that keeps you interested enough but allows for you to take your time reading it.
Michael Brock had everything going for him. He worked in a big law firm on his way to making millions a year, one of the youngest to do so. Of course, that was before the incident with Mister. Acclaimed author John Grisham did a very good job writing this refreshing legal fiction novel, The Street Lawyer. One February morning, a shabby man in bulky layers of clothing reeking of the stench of one who hasn’t washed, walks in to the elevator behind Michael. After briefly wondering what this man would be doing in the esteemed offices of Drake and Sweeny Michael promptly forgets about him. No less than five minutes later Michael in locked in a conference room being held a gun point by the same man, who instructs his hostages to call him Mister. Mister asks each of the nine hostages how much they gave to charity and the homeless during the last year. Each one is ashamed to say very little or none. Michael is stuck for eight hours wondering if each minute will be his last. After hours of waiting, he is rescued and returns home, badly shaken, but he must go back to the office in the morning because staying at home would be considered a sign of weakness. Obviously, Michael is not okay, and begins to look into Mister’s story. Digging leads Michael to a small legal clinic that specializes in helping the homeless. Michael is moved by the generosity of its three employees and finally hands in his resignation to his law firm, literally walking away from millions. Not too long after, while collecting the rest of his personal items from his office, Michael borrows a file he thinks has something to do with Mister, fully intending to return it when he finished copying it. There was no way for him to know that he would be hit by a speeding Jaguar driven by drug dealers outrunning the police. The file’s absence is immediately noticed and all evidence points toward Michael as the thief, but file holds condemning information that could potentially cost the company millions if a lawsuit was brought against them. Michael is determined to serve justice, but how can he do that when he is faced with revocation of his lawyering license? The only way to avoid it seems to be dropping the charges against Drake and Sweeny…
While this book was well written and mildly suspenseful, it did not keep me on the edge of my seat or beg me to read late into the night. I enjoyed reading it and never minded when I had to pick it up again, but it was not a story that made me wait impatiently for the end of school so I could read it. It was a very good story of redemption, and shows a man’s change of heart from greediness to generosity. There are several plot twists and promises to keep a reader interested from the beginning. Much of the book centers around the homeless and their hardships and was very moving to see how a few brave people cared for the homeless when no one else would. I was interested enough to want to know what was going to happen, though not enough so that I couldn’t put the book down. If you are a reader interested in fast paced adventure novels, you may want to pass on this book. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy legal fiction or a moderate drama. I would consider this a great book to bring on vacation because it is a pleasant plot that keeps you interested enough but allows for you to take your time reading it.
July 1, 2015
John Grisham writes so well it's enjoyable to read his books, USUALLY....This book dragged on...had to force myself to finish it. Which I was glad I did because the action at the end made the book worth while.
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December 7, 2016ef
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews