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The Runaway Jury
Every jury has a leader, and the verdict belongs to him. In Biloxi, Mississippi, a landmark tobacco trial with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake beginsroutinely, then swerves mysteriously off course. The jury is behaving strangely, and at least one juroris convinced he's being watched. Soon they have to be sequestered. Then a tip from an anonymousyoung woman suggests she is able to predict the jurors' increasingly odd behavior. Is the jury somehow being manipulated, or even controlled? If so, by whom? And, more important, why?
This edition includes an excerpt from John Grisham's The Litigators.
This edition includes an excerpt from John Grisham's The Litigators.
498 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1996
2720 people are currently reading
58894 people want to read
About the author
John Grisham
461 books87.8k 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 - 30 of 2,997 reviews
February 24, 2024
Another big court action against the tobacco industry is doomed to fail as usual with the powerful and highly effective consultant working for the 'big four' tobacco companies using any means necessary to prevent any anti-tobacco legal precedents. Unknown to them another group has been actively trying to get on to one of their juries, and in this case they finally do! An innovative look at the American legal system and how the abuse of power can compromise it; and in this case how 'white-hats' can play them at their own game. A 6 out of 12, Three Stars marked down mainly because of nowhere enough of actual court/trial action for me; although I now have an intense urge to watch the cinematic adaptation :)
2024 read
2024 read
April 27, 2022
She was pondering the option of law school, the great American baby-sitter for directionless postgrads.After a run of less-than-satisfying John Grisham novels, I decided to go back and re-read The Runaway Jury, one of my favorites. It doesn’t disappoint. Is the plot wildly far-fetched? Sure. Is it dated reading now about the unbeatable tobacco industry? Yes. But this book is just loads of fun anyway.
What I did not remember was that The Runaway Jury has the same flaw that weaken many of Mr. Grisham’s later books. It is ultimately another of his cause books, with surprisingly long sections all about the evils of smoking. The difference is that earlier in his career, Mr. Grisham came up with better plots (jury tampering from inside the jury room!) and better villains (Rankin Fitch—how can someone with that name not be a great villain?) to make the medicine go down. If you have never read a John Grisham novel, this is definitely one of the best ones to start with.
April 12, 2012
I'm glad I didn't pay for this book. Our apartment building has a bookcase in front of the elevator, and someone in the building must be a Grisham fan, because I've picked up several of his books from the communal bookcase. This is the worst of the Grishams that I've read.
What annoyed me the most was the sheer implausibility of the whole story. The civil tobacco trial itself was plausible enough, but the jury foreman protagonist and his accomplice on the outside have a plan to influence the trial (via the jury verdict) that is so ridiculously far-fetched that it's impossible for anyone with common sense to buy into the idea that this could succeed. Without giving anything away, they've been hopping from tobacco trial to tobacco trial (in other states where big tobacco trials have been scheduled previously), changing names, registering to vote in each new state, and *miraculously* getting called for jury duty right when the big tobacco case was happening, and *miraculously* getting called to be in the jury pool for that particular trial (as opposed to the myriad other civil and criminal trials happening on the same day that also need jurors), only to fall just short of getting seated on a jury -- until this case, when they finally manage to get the protagonist on the jury and put their master scheme into action. The whole plot just unacceptably begs belief, and I lost patience with it rather quickly.
After about the 1/3 point, I was just reading to see how it ended, not because I cared about any of the characters or the outcome of the trial, but just to get answers to the protagonists' true intentions and motivations, which you don't learn until the very end. I think this is why it was such a frustrating book for me. I would prefer to have someone to root for in a book, and when you are not privy to the motivations or goals of the main character (when, in essence, you have no idea whether he's a decent guy or a selfish jerk) you can't feel invested in that character or the story.
What annoyed me the most was the sheer implausibility of the whole story. The civil tobacco trial itself was plausible enough, but the jury foreman protagonist and his accomplice on the outside have a plan to influence the trial (via the jury verdict) that is so ridiculously far-fetched that it's impossible for anyone with common sense to buy into the idea that this could succeed. Without giving anything away, they've been hopping from tobacco trial to tobacco trial (in other states where big tobacco trials have been scheduled previously), changing names, registering to vote in each new state, and *miraculously* getting called for jury duty right when the big tobacco case was happening, and *miraculously* getting called to be in the jury pool for that particular trial (as opposed to the myriad other civil and criminal trials happening on the same day that also need jurors), only to fall just short of getting seated on a jury -- until this case, when they finally manage to get the protagonist on the jury and put their master scheme into action. The whole plot just unacceptably begs belief, and I lost patience with it rather quickly.
After about the 1/3 point, I was just reading to see how it ended, not because I cared about any of the characters or the outcome of the trial, but just to get answers to the protagonists' true intentions and motivations, which you don't learn until the very end. I think this is why it was such a frustrating book for me. I would prefer to have someone to root for in a book, and when you are not privy to the motivations or goals of the main character (when, in essence, you have no idea whether he's a decent guy or a selfish jerk) you can't feel invested in that character or the story.
March 2, 2020
02/03/2020 update - I just watched the film and I've got to say, it was rubbish in comparison! If you've seen the film, don't be put off reading what is indeed an excellent legal thriller.
Wow what a book! It's my first John Grisham after many years of procrastinating, but dang is it a corker.
It was one of those stories that when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about the fact that I wanted to be. If you're after a book that grabs you, this is a good one.
I've never been that interested in law, but watching such a big legal battle unfold on paper was something pretty epic. Grisham explored the themes of jury tampering so cleverly that it leaves you wondering just how much of it could be true.
My one gripe was the number of characters and separate stories gets slightly confusing, but the story is worth it.
Wow what a book! It's my first John Grisham after many years of procrastinating, but dang is it a corker.
It was one of those stories that when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about the fact that I wanted to be. If you're after a book that grabs you, this is a good one.
I've never been that interested in law, but watching such a big legal battle unfold on paper was something pretty epic. Grisham explored the themes of jury tampering so cleverly that it leaves you wondering just how much of it could be true.
My one gripe was the number of characters and separate stories gets slightly confusing, but the story is worth it.
November 2, 2018
Saw the movie before reading the book and glad it closely followed the story written by Grisham. They did one minor change, or a major one depending on one's perspective. In the book the lawsuit was aimed at the tobacco industry. The movie targets the gun industry, both powerful industries.
When a family decides to take on the tobacco industry and hold them accountable for the death of a family member who got hooked on their product, the tobacco industry pulls no punches, employing a legal expert who directs the law team handling the defense from behind-the-scenes. With millions of dollars in the bank for him to use at his discretion, Rankin Fitch employs the latest hi-tech needed to track potential jurors and get into how they think. This allows him to choose jurors who will likely vote the way he wants them too.
....But then the unexpected happens!
Someone who is not who he appears to be worms his way onto the jury and turns out to be a wild card. As things develop it turns out this 'someone' has an agenda who wants to bring the tobacco industry down, and his powers of persuasion are quite strong. With the help of a young, strange woman on his team, this juror begins a twisted battle with those favoring the tobacco's case, and soon Fitch realizes he no longer has the jury following his lead. Thus, Fitch employs a more dangerous plan which will begin costing people's lives if he proves successful.
I read this book sometime after I saw the movie in 2004 because I enjoyed it so much. Grisham writes with superb detail that intrigue the reader's psyche. It's all the more entertaining because the author is an experienced lawyer, so one will appreciate the truth in his fictional account of what likely happens behind the scenes. And this makes one a bit unnerved because if this is the case, then what is our judicial system doing (if anything) to prevent such action from tainting a jury? This book is highly recommended and I've kept it for reading again and again like I have some of his other books which are favorites of mine.
When a family decides to take on the tobacco industry and hold them accountable for the death of a family member who got hooked on their product, the tobacco industry pulls no punches, employing a legal expert who directs the law team handling the defense from behind-the-scenes. With millions of dollars in the bank for him to use at his discretion, Rankin Fitch employs the latest hi-tech needed to track potential jurors and get into how they think. This allows him to choose jurors who will likely vote the way he wants them too.
....But then the unexpected happens!
Someone who is not who he appears to be worms his way onto the jury and turns out to be a wild card. As things develop it turns out this 'someone' has an agenda who wants to bring the tobacco industry down, and his powers of persuasion are quite strong. With the help of a young, strange woman on his team, this juror begins a twisted battle with those favoring the tobacco's case, and soon Fitch realizes he no longer has the jury following his lead. Thus, Fitch employs a more dangerous plan which will begin costing people's lives if he proves successful.
I read this book sometime after I saw the movie in 2004 because I enjoyed it so much. Grisham writes with superb detail that intrigue the reader's psyche. It's all the more entertaining because the author is an experienced lawyer, so one will appreciate the truth in his fictional account of what likely happens behind the scenes. And this makes one a bit unnerved because if this is the case, then what is our judicial system doing (if anything) to prevent such action from tainting a jury? This book is highly recommended and I've kept it for reading again and again like I have some of his other books which are favorites of mine.
June 28, 2015
Nicholas Easter, juror number 2 and a mysterious woman known as Marlee conspire to manipulate the jury to secure a verdict in a landmark trial involving a widow plaintiff (whose husband died of lung cancer because of cigarette addiction) and a big tobacco company. They have to play with both sides (the plaintiff and the defense) and go up against a cunning jury consultant Rankin Fitch who is an expert in jury manipulations. Fitch works for the defense.
The Runaway Jury is an intensely suspenseful legal thriller. I could feel my heart pounding as I read the last pages of the book. I was hooked by Grisham's narration as a child mesmerized by bedtime storytelling. The book tackles a lot of important points about cigarette smoking which make the story more interesting. Perhaps Grisham's novels are like cigarettes with nicotine substances which make them so addictive.
The Runaway Jury is an intensely suspenseful legal thriller. I could feel my heart pounding as I read the last pages of the book. I was hooked by Grisham's narration as a child mesmerized by bedtime storytelling. The book tackles a lot of important points about cigarette smoking which make the story more interesting. Perhaps Grisham's novels are like cigarettes with nicotine substances which make them so addictive.
June 3, 2018
Thank God this is a work of fiction.
If the book had even the tiniest modicum of truth it would render trials by jury obsolete.
As a work of fiction, it is a very enjoyable read.
I enjoyed all the manipulative skulduggery of both the tobacco industries team and to two wunderkinds who are trying to sabotage the tobacco industries attempts to avoid paying a gross amount of compensation to a widow who lost her husband to lung cancer.
The lengths that the tobacco magnates are prepared to go to in an effort to corrupt the jury would make the CIA look like a bunch of amateurs. But not to be outdone, the two wunderkinds, one in the jury and the other one on the outside, are just as good at the art of skulduggery.
Ridiculous, but really enjoyable.
Recommended for readers who like a page turner and don't mind reality being stretched really thin.
If the book had even the tiniest modicum of truth it would render trials by jury obsolete.
As a work of fiction, it is a very enjoyable read.
I enjoyed all the manipulative skulduggery of both the tobacco industries team and to two wunderkinds who are trying to sabotage the tobacco industries attempts to avoid paying a gross amount of compensation to a widow who lost her husband to lung cancer.
The lengths that the tobacco magnates are prepared to go to in an effort to corrupt the jury would make the CIA look like a bunch of amateurs. But not to be outdone, the two wunderkinds, one in the jury and the other one on the outside, are just as good at the art of skulduggery.
Ridiculous, but really enjoyable.
Recommended for readers who like a page turner and don't mind reality being stretched really thin.
July 30, 2023
The first John Grisham book I have been disappointed reading.
September 15, 2019
This is not my favorite John Grisham novel, nor has it aged particularly well since the mid-1990s, when it was first published. The story of a major products-liability contest that pits Big Tobacco vs. Plaintiffs' Rights, in John Grisham's knowledgeable hands, becomes a story not so much of good versus evil as the despicable versus the contemptible. While the jurors themselves are far from innocent, they are but pawns in this big-money game in which things aren't ever what they should be, and rarely seem to be. It is great that Grisham lets us in on he central workings of this cynical machine, but the cynicism may be too much for some. Don't forget, there's a good movie out there too, though by the time it was made (2003), the offending product had been changed to handguns.
August 31, 2014
The Good:
The beginning and very end of this book were very fast-paced and enticing. I enjoyed the mysterious characters and that the author allows the reader to know what many are thinking and feeling through various viewpoints. The plot-line of this book was very original.
The Bad:
I felt like I was reading the Bible at times: So many characters were introduced throughout the entirety of the book, and it was difficult to keep up with them and their various personalities. It was also difficult to keep up with the varying attempts to sabotage a fair trial.
The Ugly:
I got bored towards the middle of the book and had to force myself to continue reading. If I hadn't been 200+ pages in already, I probably wouldn't have finished it.
The beginning and very end of this book were very fast-paced and enticing. I enjoyed the mysterious characters and that the author allows the reader to know what many are thinking and feeling through various viewpoints. The plot-line of this book was very original.
The Bad:
I felt like I was reading the Bible at times: So many characters were introduced throughout the entirety of the book, and it was difficult to keep up with them and their various personalities. It was also difficult to keep up with the varying attempts to sabotage a fair trial.
The Ugly:
I got bored towards the middle of the book and had to force myself to continue reading. If I hadn't been 200+ pages in already, I probably wouldn't have finished it.
June 19, 2024
আপনি কি একজন ধূমপায়ী? সিগারেট খান? যদি খেয়ে থাকেন, তাহলে আপনার কী মনে হয়?
সারাজীবন সিগারেট টেনে শেষ পর্যায়ে কেউ যখন ফুসফুস ক্যান্সারে আক্রান্ত হবেন, তখন নিচের কোন কারণটি আপনি যুক্তিযুক্ত মনে করবেন?
১. এক্ষেত্রে দোষ অবশ্যই তামাক কোম্পানির। কারণ তারা নানা রঙের, নানা ঢঙের, নানা দামের সিগারেট বানিয়ে এমন বিজ্ঞাপন তৈরি করে, মানুষ তো আকৃষ্ট হবেই! তারা যদি চাইত মানুষ সুস্থ থাক, তাহলে এসব বানাবে কেন?
২. দোষ অবশ্যই ব্যক্তির। তিনি কি চোখ হাতে নিয়ে সিগারেটের মোড়ক খুলেন? সেখানে তো সচিত্র বলা-ই আছে– 'ধূমপান স্বাস্থ্যের জন্য ক্ষতিকর।' তবে? নিজের লিমিট বুঝে খাব��ন না, আবার দোষ দেবেন তামাক কোম্পানির! হাহ! দিনে কয়েক প্যাকেট ফোঁকার সময় ফুসফুসের কথা মনে থাকে না, তাই না??
▫️▫️▫️
উপন্যাসটি এক মামলার জুরিবোর্ডের সদস্যদের নিয়ে। বাদী এবং বিবাদী পক্ষে প্রচুর তথ্যপ্রমাণ উপস্থাপনের পর জুরিরা কী সিদ্ধান্ত নেয়, সেটা জানতে হলে পড়তে হবে শেষ পর্যন্ত। তবে সেখানেও টাকার খেলার কথা মাথায় রাখতেই হবে। টাকা দিয়ে কেনা যায় না এমন কোনো জিনিস আছে? রায় কোনো ব্যাপারই না!!
অল্প কথায় যা বলা যেত, তা টেনে বেশ খানিকটা লম্বা করে ফেলেছেন– এটা একটা মাইনাস পয়েন্ট। এছাড়া মোটামুটি আছে সবই, পড়তে খারাপ লাগেনি।
সারাজীবন সিগারেট টেনে শেষ পর্যায়ে কেউ যখন ফুসফুস ক্যান্সারে আক্রান্ত হবেন, তখন নিচের কোন কারণটি আপনি যুক্তিযুক্ত মনে করবেন?
১. এক্ষেত্রে দোষ অবশ্যই তামাক কোম্পানির। কারণ তারা নানা রঙের, নানা ঢঙের, নানা দামের সিগারেট বানিয়ে এমন বিজ্ঞাপন তৈরি করে, মানুষ তো আকৃষ্ট হবেই! তারা যদি চাইত মানুষ সুস্থ থাক, তাহলে এসব বানাবে কেন?
২. দোষ অবশ্যই ব্যক্তির। তিনি কি চোখ হাতে নিয়ে সিগারেটের মোড়ক খুলেন? সেখানে তো সচিত্র বলা-ই আছে– 'ধূমপান স্বাস্থ্যের জন্য ক্ষতিকর।' তবে? নিজের লিমিট বুঝে খাব��ন না, আবার দোষ দেবেন তামাক কোম্পানির! হাহ! দিনে কয়েক প্যাকেট ফোঁকার সময় ফুসফুসের কথা মনে থাকে না, তাই না??
▫️▫️▫️
উপন্যাসটি এক মামলার জুরিবোর্ডের সদস্যদের নিয়ে। বাদী এবং বিবাদী পক্ষে প্রচুর তথ্যপ্রমাণ উপস্থাপনের পর জুরিরা কী সিদ্ধান্ত নেয়, সেটা জানতে হলে পড়তে হবে শেষ পর্যন্ত। তবে সেখানেও টাকার খেলার কথা মাথায় রাখতেই হবে। টাকা দিয়ে কেনা যায় না এমন কোনো জিনিস আছে? রায় কোনো ব্যাপারই না!!
অল্প কথায় যা বলা যেত, তা টেনে বেশ খানিকটা লম্বা করে ফেলেছেন– এটা একটা মাইনাস পয়েন্ট। এছাড়া মোটামুটি আছে সবই, পড়তে খারাপ লাগেনি।
January 28, 2021
5 Stars for The Runaway Jury (audiobook) by John Grisham read by Frank Muller. This is really an amazing story. Grisham has a way of keeping you on the edge of your seat for the whole story. Both of my parents died from smoking so this really speaks to me. The narrator did a wonderful job too.
August 25, 2025
This might be my favorite John Grisham novel. The main storyline on the tobacco industry litigation was complex yet very fun & fascinating. In the second half of the book, there is an unexpected plot twist that made the storyline a lot more interesting. To me it is very clear who the good guys & who the bad guys are in this novel & I found it very easy to root for “good guys (the protagonists)”. I love how Nicholas and Marlee outsmart Fitch, the tobacco CEOs, and the defense lawyers at every turn. I loved the pacing of the subplots & how the author concluded the storyline. I really thought the ending was very satisfying, which is not always the case in Grisham novels. I would definitely recommend this novel to any readers, not just John Grisham fans.
December 30, 2023
'No legally manufactured product in the history of the world had killed as many people as the cigarette. And their makers had pockets so deep the money had mildewed.'
Following’The Firm’ I had to read another Grisham. This was the first book pulled from my stash. Have stayed up all night to finish it. The story of the selection and manipulation of a jury involved in the case of a man who died of lung cancer and the action taken against the Tobacco manufacturers.
The courtroom focus is on the jury selection and how one young man influences their behaviour. Absolutely fascinating read. Yet another romping Grisham that ironically finishes up in the Cayman Islands, as in The Firm. It kept me guessing until the end.
Following’The Firm’ I had to read another Grisham. This was the first book pulled from my stash. Have stayed up all night to finish it. The story of the selection and manipulation of a jury involved in the case of a man who died of lung cancer and the action taken against the Tobacco manufacturers.
The courtroom focus is on the jury selection and how one young man influences their behaviour. Absolutely fascinating read. Yet another romping Grisham that ironically finishes up in the Cayman Islands, as in The Firm. It kept me guessing until the end.
August 20, 2020
4.5 Stars
rounded up to 5 Stars. This book was first published in 1996 and a few years later litigation against the tobacco industry in the real world started to happen. Here are two links that highlight the verdicts. Thank goodness the jury tampering was fictional but it sure made for a good story.
https://www.foxnews.com/story/court-f...
Tobacco Litigation: History & Recent Developments: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encycloped...
https://www.foxnews.com/story/court-f...
Tobacco Litigation: History & Recent Developments: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encycloped...
May 10, 2022
4 Stars
February 1, 2018
Another excellent work by a world revered writer. The kernel of the theme here is seemingly encapsulated when the odious Fitch ponders: "Oh the questions he wanted to ask. He d love to start with the two of them and ask whose idea it was, such an ingenious devious plan to study litigation, then follow it across the country then plant oneself on the jury so a deal could be cut for a verdict. It was nothing short of brilliant. He could grill her for hours, maybe days about the specifics but he knew there would be no answers...."
But of course the plot cannot be that simple; and we have to wade through this tantalizing work to know the unadorned truth in the end. Typical of his works, the author reveals the sleazy nature of the law and legal practitioners. For example we read: "They did the dirty work that had to be kept to themselves. Most of the other lawyers used runners like Clive to spread cash and chase cases and perform dark little deeds not taught in law school, but none of them would ever admit to such unethical activity..."
This steaming work is also about big business, big money, the ruthlessness of the corporate world in certain cases; here the tobacco conglomerates. How well we know here in Africa how the monolithic companies trample those who dare to get in their way! Yet the author clearly pitches his tent with the victims of smoking, as the story peters to an end. Those against smoking carry the day, and it becomes illuminating as we read: "(My parents) were wonderful people...they got hooked on cigarettes when they were in college... They hated themselves for smoking but could never give it up. They died horrible deaths. I watched them suffer and shrivel and gasp for breath until they could not breathe anymore..."
August 2, 2018
3.75 stars.
Not my favourite John Grisham novel, but it was face paced and a overall good time!
Not my favourite John Grisham novel, but it was face paced and a overall good time!
January 20, 2023
3 stars
Original title: The Runaway Jury
An enjoyable, if light and stretching credibility a bit, thriller from Grisham. It's aged badly due to the subject matter (big tobacco), but the twist at the very end was still a surprise.
I found this to be one of the funniest Grishams I've run across. The blind juror, Mr Grimes, had me in stitches as did the descriptions of some of the other jurors. No idea if that was on purpose or not.
Original title: The Runaway Jury
An enjoyable, if light and stretching credibility a bit, thriller from Grisham. It's aged badly due to the subject matter (big tobacco), but the twist at the very end was still a surprise.
I found this to be one of the funniest Grishams I've run across. The blind juror, Mr Grimes, had me in stitches as did the descriptions of some of the other jurors. No idea if that was on purpose or not.
June 15, 2025
I’d like to start this by saying that I’m proud, as a normal man past retirement age, that I’ve never had to pay for my pleasure – meaning, of course, reading John Grisham novels. (What else COULD I mean?) They’re readily available in whatever swapping point because almost no one holds onto them for a second read, they just pass them on, and I do the same. Of course, the problem with reading a book for free is that sometimes you get what you pay for.
John Grisham is most famous for his legal thrillers, so how thrilling was this one? The set-up: a widow is suing a tobacco company for liability over the death of her husband. Widow vs. big tobacco – gee, I wonder who’ll win? (This reminds me of those books where China, Russia, Arab terrorists, drug cartels, aliens and whoever else team up in World War III against the USA – who do you think will win?) So, this part isn’t much in doubt, let alone thrilling. The tobacco companies have hired a high-priced expert on jury-selection – our obvious bad guy, because we KNOW he won’t play fair, so we have our villain. He (and the claimants) have fairly complete dossiers on everyone in the jury pool, but there’s one who’s a mystery to all and we learn that he’s been in other jury pools for “big tobacco” liability trials in other cities – well, this must be the “good guy”, of course, and the second “of course” is that he’s seated at the last moment. (Otherwise, there’s no book.) Not only that but there’s a mysterious woman making phone calls to our jury-selection expert, tipping him off on things which will happen during the trial – and “amazingly”, she’s right! If you can’t see at this point where it’s all headed, it’s because you have your “Johns” mixed up – but this is “Grisham”, not “LeCarré”, so there are no characters floating around with dubious loyalties or for sale to the highest bidder – John Grisham doesn’t play that way, he’s always almost straightforward, never looking for the literary “sleight of hand.”
What follows is one cat-and-mouse game between our expert and the “mysterious” woman, who doesn’t stay all that mysterious for long, and another between our “mysterious” juror and the other members of the jury, as well as machinations by the expert to tilt the jury in his clients’ favor. It’s fun, I’ll admit, but not particularly thrilling unless you’re wondering if “big tobacco” will triumph over the poor widow. (I didn’t.) The motive of the juror and woman, and the connection between them, wasn’t particularly mysterious, either. What WAS a mystery for me is how someone can continuously move from town to town, changing his name and continuously not only be called for jury duty but always for the same type of case – how did he manage that? As well as how easy it was to manipulate juries, plant incriminating evidence, and just screw around with the whole process – but it’s fiction and as is often the case, it’s best that you don’t think too much, just go with it.
I never enter into a John Grisham book with particularly high expectations; for me, he tends to be a steady 2- or 3-star read, rarely dull but rarely spectacular; this is my personal taste, nothing more. There are others, of course, who devour his books and they have every right to their opinion, too. I read the GR reviews of this book and some consider this their favorite and others consider it his worst, so there you are: a hung jury.
John Grisham is most famous for his legal thrillers, so how thrilling was this one? The set-up: a widow is suing a tobacco company for liability over the death of her husband. Widow vs. big tobacco – gee, I wonder who’ll win? (This reminds me of those books where China, Russia, Arab terrorists, drug cartels, aliens and whoever else team up in World War III against the USA – who do you think will win?) So, this part isn’t much in doubt, let alone thrilling. The tobacco companies have hired a high-priced expert on jury-selection – our obvious bad guy, because we KNOW he won’t play fair, so we have our villain. He (and the claimants) have fairly complete dossiers on everyone in the jury pool, but there’s one who’s a mystery to all and we learn that he’s been in other jury pools for “big tobacco” liability trials in other cities – well, this must be the “good guy”, of course, and the second “of course” is that he’s seated at the last moment. (Otherwise, there’s no book.) Not only that but there’s a mysterious woman making phone calls to our jury-selection expert, tipping him off on things which will happen during the trial – and “amazingly”, she’s right! If you can’t see at this point where it’s all headed, it’s because you have your “Johns” mixed up – but this is “Grisham”, not “LeCarré”, so there are no characters floating around with dubious loyalties or for sale to the highest bidder – John Grisham doesn’t play that way, he’s always almost straightforward, never looking for the literary “sleight of hand.”
What follows is one cat-and-mouse game between our expert and the “mysterious” woman, who doesn’t stay all that mysterious for long, and another between our “mysterious” juror and the other members of the jury, as well as machinations by the expert to tilt the jury in his clients’ favor. It’s fun, I’ll admit, but not particularly thrilling unless you’re wondering if “big tobacco” will triumph over the poor widow. (I didn’t.) The motive of the juror and woman, and the connection between them, wasn’t particularly mysterious, either. What WAS a mystery for me is how someone can continuously move from town to town, changing his name and continuously not only be called for jury duty but always for the same type of case – how did he manage that? As well as how easy it was to manipulate juries, plant incriminating evidence, and just screw around with the whole process – but it’s fiction and as is often the case, it’s best that you don’t think too much, just go with it.
I never enter into a John Grisham book with particularly high expectations; for me, he tends to be a steady 2- or 3-star read, rarely dull but rarely spectacular; this is my personal taste, nothing more. There are others, of course, who devour his books and they have every right to their opinion, too. I read the GR reviews of this book and some consider this their favorite and others consider it his worst, so there you are: a hung jury.
June 11, 2018
The Runaway Jury is a legal thriller about jury corruption and manipulation of a verdict. When the jurors were selected to be in a landmark tobacco trial in Biloxi, Mississippi no one expected the jury to have some controlling and manipulation their verdict. The jurors are behaving strangely and Nicholas Easter jury no 2 complained about being watched. The readers of The Runaway Jury will continue to follow the twist and turns in the tobacco trial and observe the goings on in the jury room to see what happens to Nicholas Easter and the other jurors.
I do not always enjoy John Grisham books, but I did enjoy reading The Runaway Jury. The way John Grisham portrayed his characters and the setting of The Runaway Jury enable me to engage with the plot and his characters. The Runaway Jury is a fantastic legal drama and was well written and researched by John Grisham. At times I had to laugh with what John Grisham characters get up to in The Runaway Jury.
The readers of The Runaway Jury will learn about The United States of America Jury system and procedures. Also, The Runaway Jury highlights the legal system in The United States of America for the readers.
I recommend this book.
I do not always enjoy John Grisham books, but I did enjoy reading The Runaway Jury. The way John Grisham portrayed his characters and the setting of The Runaway Jury enable me to engage with the plot and his characters. The Runaway Jury is a fantastic legal drama and was well written and researched by John Grisham. At times I had to laugh with what John Grisham characters get up to in The Runaway Jury.
The readers of The Runaway Jury will learn about The United States of America Jury system and procedures. Also, The Runaway Jury highlights the legal system in The United States of America for the readers.
I recommend this book.
September 23, 2024
The Runaway Jury is fast paced and thriller story. I like it. It is adrenaline pumping. The plot and the characters are so put together and you can not guess how it is going to end.
4 stars
4 stars
March 13, 2011
Very entertaining. Very worthwhile. I wish more romance authors would write like him, but add romance.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
For another book someone wrote “literary slugger John Grisham returns with a story about...” I thought how true. He is a literary slugger – almost always on the New York Times best seller list. I periodically read John Grisham to remind me of great writing.
I have loved several John Grisham’s books, and this is another one. A number of things had me chuckling with surprise. The ending was feel good which is important to me. The ending had something I didn’t expect. During the story I enjoyed the way bad guy Fitch was frequently surprised and shocked at what Marlee and Nicholas did with the jury. I too was surprised with Marlee and Nicholas.
Grisham is so good at character development. I love how he “shows” things. We see some characters doing smart things and some characters doing stupid things. I was engaged from the start. It was hard to put down. I was always eager to get back to it.
One of the things Grisham does in this story that too many other mystery and suspense authors don’t do is watching Fitch and his people do smart things to solve the mystery. We see how they slowly learn more and more details about Nicholas and Marlee. That was neat. In too many other books the cops/investigators talk to people, try to get evidence, and frequently are helpless victims as well. They don’t do neat things to solve the mystery. They win through luck or accident not skill or smarts.
The book was not perfect, but it was so enjoyable it was still worth 5 stars. The main problem was too much technical talk about nicotine, addiction, cigarettes, and research during the trial. It was tedious a few times. I wish he would have condensed those scenes. But the rest of the book was so good, it was worth it.
STORY BRIEF:
A tobacco company is being sued by the widow of a man who died of lung cancer. Several tobacco companies contribute to the defense fund because a bad verdict for one could start a slew of cases for all of them. They hire Fitch to make things happen. Fitch is in the background. He hires the appropriate local legal counsel for the trial. He also hires investigators and bad guys to do things to influence jury members.
The story starts with lawyers and jury consultants studying every member of the potential jury group. One of the members is Nicholas Easter. They can’t find out much about him other than he is a part-time student and works in a computer store. Nicholas ends up on the jury. Once the trial begins, Marlee contacts Fitch. She tells him in advance things the jury members will be doing, which surprise Fitch when they happen.
DATA:
Unabridged audiobook length: 14 hours 10 minutes. Narrator: Frank Muller. Swearing language: none that I recall. Sexual content: none other than indirect references. Setting: current day mostly Biloxi, Mississippi. Copyright: 1996. Genre: legal suspense thriller.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
For another book someone wrote “literary slugger John Grisham returns with a story about...” I thought how true. He is a literary slugger – almost always on the New York Times best seller list. I periodically read John Grisham to remind me of great writing.
I have loved several John Grisham’s books, and this is another one. A number of things had me chuckling with surprise. The ending was feel good which is important to me. The ending had something I didn’t expect. During the story I enjoyed the way bad guy Fitch was frequently surprised and shocked at what Marlee and Nicholas did with the jury. I too was surprised with Marlee and Nicholas.
Grisham is so good at character development. I love how he “shows” things. We see some characters doing smart things and some characters doing stupid things. I was engaged from the start. It was hard to put down. I was always eager to get back to it.
One of the things Grisham does in this story that too many other mystery and suspense authors don’t do is watching Fitch and his people do smart things to solve the mystery. We see how they slowly learn more and more details about Nicholas and Marlee. That was neat. In too many other books the cops/investigators talk to people, try to get evidence, and frequently are helpless victims as well. They don’t do neat things to solve the mystery. They win through luck or accident not skill or smarts.
The book was not perfect, but it was so enjoyable it was still worth 5 stars. The main problem was too much technical talk about nicotine, addiction, cigarettes, and research during the trial. It was tedious a few times. I wish he would have condensed those scenes. But the rest of the book was so good, it was worth it.
STORY BRIEF:
A tobacco company is being sued by the widow of a man who died of lung cancer. Several tobacco companies contribute to the defense fund because a bad verdict for one could start a slew of cases for all of them. They hire Fitch to make things happen. Fitch is in the background. He hires the appropriate local legal counsel for the trial. He also hires investigators and bad guys to do things to influence jury members.
The story starts with lawyers and jury consultants studying every member of the potential jury group. One of the members is Nicholas Easter. They can’t find out much about him other than he is a part-time student and works in a computer store. Nicholas ends up on the jury. Once the trial begins, Marlee contacts Fitch. She tells him in advance things the jury members will be doing, which surprise Fitch when they happen.
DATA:
Unabridged audiobook length: 14 hours 10 minutes. Narrator: Frank Muller. Swearing language: none that I recall. Sexual content: none other than indirect references. Setting: current day mostly Biloxi, Mississippi. Copyright: 1996. Genre: legal suspense thriller.
February 28, 2023
ای جان گریشام شیطون 😁
April 2, 2017
4.5*
I loved this book.
I thought it was a little long, and at times I got bored, which I justified by putting myself is in the shoes of those poor jurors who spent all that time in court. Besides, the unraveling of Marlee's secret wasn't that great. I don't know; it seems a little flimsy. Her parents died of lung cancer because they smoked, so she spends her adult life and her inheritance making tobacco companies pay.
We also don't really know why Nicholas/Jeff goes along with this, the whole living in secrecy and moving around every few years, following every single tobacco trial. Well, other than the fact that he loves her, and, predictably, doesn't like tobacco companies either ever since he worked at a law firm. Overall, I would say that this novel lacks a few details that could really flesh out the characters and provide the readers with their motivations. However, it is pretty appropriate that we don't know a lot about these characters: the Jury, this twelve-headed justice monster, is such an important amorphous character in this play. Also, we only know about Marlee and Nicholas what they want us to know about them. And they choose to remain in the shadows, disclosing little bits of information as deemed necessary and so that's what we'll know.
Finally, I don't understand the stock market so I really don't get how she made so much money short selling, so that big reveal was lost on me.
All of that being said, I gave this book those five stars for a reason. It was incredibly engaging. This book was a mystery, a drama, a moral dilemma, all wrapped in a magnificent bundle. I enjoyed it a lot and would definitely recommend it.
I loved this book.
I thought it was a little long, and at times I got bored, which I justified by putting myself is in the shoes of those poor jurors who spent all that time in court. Besides, the unraveling of Marlee's secret wasn't that great. I don't know; it seems a little flimsy. Her parents died of lung cancer because they smoked, so she spends her adult life and her inheritance making tobacco companies pay.
We also don't really know why Nicholas/Jeff goes along with this, the whole living in secrecy and moving around every few years, following every single tobacco trial. Well, other than the fact that he loves her, and, predictably, doesn't like tobacco companies either ever since he worked at a law firm. Overall, I would say that this novel lacks a few details that could really flesh out the characters and provide the readers with their motivations. However, it is pretty appropriate that we don't know a lot about these characters: the Jury, this twelve-headed justice monster, is such an important amorphous character in this play. Also, we only know about Marlee and Nicholas what they want us to know about them. And they choose to remain in the shadows, disclosing little bits of information as deemed necessary and so that's what we'll know.
Finally, I don't understand the stock market so I really don't get how she made so much money short selling, so that big reveal was lost on me.
All of that being said, I gave this book those five stars for a reason. It was incredibly engaging. This book was a mystery, a drama, a moral dilemma, all wrapped in a magnificent bundle. I enjoyed it a lot and would definitely recommend it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2015
My 5th Grisham book! The plot held my interest from beginning to end, and was very fast paced. I had seen the movie a while back starring John Cusack, Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman, and Rachel Weisz, and the book had kind of the same premise but only the book is about a lawsuit of a Tobacco company, and in the movie it's a gun manufacturer.
Some parts of the book were complicated and hard to follow but it still held my interest wondering what would happen next. Highly recommended to anybody who likes a good legal thriller.
Some parts of the book were complicated and hard to follow but it still held my interest wondering what would happen next. Highly recommended to anybody who likes a good legal thriller.
July 24, 2021
I read this at the same time a huge anti-tobacco trial was getting underway. The similarities were frightening, although the outcome in real life was radically different from Grisham's book. Relying heavily on the concept that jury-tampering is a real thing and far too easily done, this novel will shake your beliefs in the justice system. Without giving away anything further, there's a female character in the jury box you will fall in love with.
January 9, 2023
Er moet een jury samengesteld worden voor een proces tegen de tabaksindustrie. De eiseres is een weduwe wiens man gestorven is aan longkanker.
Nicolas Easter zorgt er voor dat hij als één van de twaalf gezworenen gekozen wordt. Want Nicolas heeft een eigen programma....
In het begin vond ik het grappig hoe Nicolas telkens weer alles naar zijn hand kon zetten. Naarmate het proces vorderde, en we beide partijen en de juryleden beter leren kennen, wordt het spannend. De corruptie van beide partijen is ongelooflijk. Eigenlijk zo ongelooflijk, dat ik het écht niet meer geloofwaardig vond. De schrijver komt echter met vele argumenten die aantonen dat dit écht wel zou kunnen....Maar ja, tenslotte is dit toch een fictie-boek.
Ik was eigenlijk direct mee in het verhaal, en heb er van begin tot eind van genoten. Goed boek.
Nicolas Easter zorgt er voor dat hij als één van de twaalf gezworenen gekozen wordt. Want Nicolas heeft een eigen programma....
In het begin vond ik het grappig hoe Nicolas telkens weer alles naar zijn hand kon zetten. Naarmate het proces vorderde, en we beide partijen en de juryleden beter leren kennen, wordt het spannend. De corruptie van beide partijen is ongelooflijk. Eigenlijk zo ongelooflijk, dat ik het écht niet meer geloofwaardig vond. De schrijver komt echter met vele argumenten die aantonen dat dit écht wel zou kunnen....Maar ja, tenslotte is dit toch een fictie-boek.
Ik was eigenlijk direct mee in het verhaal, en heb er van begin tot eind van genoten. Goed boek.
September 10, 2019
The Runaway Jury might have worked as fantasy but as a legal thriller set on planet Earth is not merely outlandish or asinine. It is bat shit crazy. Grisham doesn't have any inkling to how willing suspension of disbelief works. It works as long as the in-story logic is sound. So in a Superman story I might believe in a flying alien but I will scream bad writing when he survives Kryptonite, which supposedly kills him. But nothing that happens here could really work except in some La La Land, so there are some uphill battles if you want your books to not treat you as completely braindead.
I live in a country where the jury system does not even exist. (We buy judges here, more foolproof 😈) So if all of this seems outside the realms of possibility to me, imagine how it would appear to anyone who actually has a much keener understanding of how the legal system works in USA. I love legal dramas. 12 Angry Men is one of my favorite movies, so I was pretty much the perfect audience and still it often lost my attention.
In the biggest civil suit against a major tobacco company, a jury member - Nicolas Easter with the help of his accomplice plays both sides with the promise of delivering the verdict for the right price. The plotline is not done to death like other thriller tropes and I would have loved a more grounded look at jury tampering and jury deliberations. I was ready to buy into the premise that a man can get into juries with a fake name repeatedly, can collect all necessary information about the secretive corporate structure of tobacco companies and get hold of a rare poison at the drop of a hat. Enough money and planning will get you those things. A good author would have focussed more on the planning stages but I could have lived without being shown how they got hold of all that.
The trouble starts when everyone behaves like an idiot to accommodate Easter. The judge employs Easter as his private spy to keep tabs on the rest of the jury. He comes off as a gullible grandma hungry for gossip. Easter manipulates other jury members into being recused. There are quite a few times when he says one thing to his fellow jury member and another to the judge. It's the sort of strategy that depends completely on luck because just a two minute chat can expose Easter. But that never happens, so bad plotting all around by Grisham. Even the shady operative - Fitch, who is hired by tobacco companies to oversee the trial behaves like an idiot. His hare brained schemes have no idea about risk reward. Without spoilers, he is like a kid who thinks blowing up the school is the best way to skip exam. Obviously when Fitch is caught, it backfires spectacularly.
The writing goes into unnecessary detail about trial procedure, the testimony gets tedious and the page count is too high for a potboiler. See/ read the seminal Inherit The Wind to understand how courtroom cross examination can flourish. For all its faults The Runaway Jury can be dumb fun and I would have gone for 3/5. But the ending didn't work for me and further decreases the rating. Easter acknowledges the verdict will be appealed and it won't probably stand up, so they must have done it for the money. Their actions contradict that inference too, so after 500 pages even their motivation is iffy. Grisham ruined the ending by trying to make his protagonists look nicer than they are in the rest of the story. Rating - 2/5
PS. I rated this much higher a decade ago as a teenager. Re reading this one has been an eye opener will probably reduce a lot of my older ratings now.
I live in a country where the jury system does not even exist. (We buy judges here, more foolproof 😈) So if all of this seems outside the realms of possibility to me, imagine how it would appear to anyone who actually has a much keener understanding of how the legal system works in USA. I love legal dramas. 12 Angry Men is one of my favorite movies, so I was pretty much the perfect audience and still it often lost my attention.
In the biggest civil suit against a major tobacco company, a jury member - Nicolas Easter with the help of his accomplice plays both sides with the promise of delivering the verdict for the right price. The plotline is not done to death like other thriller tropes and I would have loved a more grounded look at jury tampering and jury deliberations. I was ready to buy into the premise that a man can get into juries with a fake name repeatedly, can collect all necessary information about the secretive corporate structure of tobacco companies and get hold of a rare poison at the drop of a hat. Enough money and planning will get you those things. A good author would have focussed more on the planning stages but I could have lived without being shown how they got hold of all that.
The trouble starts when everyone behaves like an idiot to accommodate Easter. The judge employs Easter as his private spy to keep tabs on the rest of the jury. He comes off as a gullible grandma hungry for gossip. Easter manipulates other jury members into being recused. There are quite a few times when he says one thing to his fellow jury member and another to the judge. It's the sort of strategy that depends completely on luck because just a two minute chat can expose Easter. But that never happens, so bad plotting all around by Grisham. Even the shady operative - Fitch, who is hired by tobacco companies to oversee the trial behaves like an idiot. His hare brained schemes have no idea about risk reward. Without spoilers, he is like a kid who thinks blowing up the school is the best way to skip exam. Obviously when Fitch is caught, it backfires spectacularly.
The writing goes into unnecessary detail about trial procedure, the testimony gets tedious and the page count is too high for a potboiler. See/ read the seminal Inherit The Wind to understand how courtroom cross examination can flourish. For all its faults The Runaway Jury can be dumb fun and I would have gone for 3/5. But the ending didn't work for me and further decreases the rating. Easter acknowledges the verdict will be appealed and it won't probably stand up, so they must have done it for the money. Their actions contradict that inference too, so after 500 pages even their motivation is iffy. Grisham ruined the ending by trying to make his protagonists look nicer than they are in the rest of the story. Rating - 2/5
PS. I rated this much higher a decade ago as a teenager. Re reading this one has been an eye opener will probably reduce a lot of my older ratings now.
April 1, 2011
In this saga, Grisham examines more closely than in his other novels the process of choosing a jury that can best respond to both the plantiff and the defendent without filling the 12 chairs with people who have too much prejudice for either side. There are people hired to help in the jury picking process, and they study every aspect of a potential juror's life. The culprit on trial in The Runaway Jury is the tobacco industry and the plaintiff is someone who lost a family member to lung cancer due to smoking. The process by which a team manages to maneuver a jury in a series of clever and sneaky moves is really interesting. In the film version, it was made when school shootings were more of an emotional threat to the country than the sale of cigarettes, and it changed the guilty topic of the trial from smoking to gun control. I think this was very effective. Whether it's cigarettes or guns, there is going to be a lot of emotion among jurors, and these 12 people hold virtually all the power for the outcome. This book explains in a most interesting way how juries can be manipulated by both sides, and how smart, but unscrupulous and manipulative, people can benefit in a monetary way from their tricks.
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