Sycamore Row - spoilers - chapters 1-5

[Ann]

Chapters 1-5 The first person to post may provide a synopsis of these chapters.

[BarryP]

1.
Seth Hubbard, Man found hanged at start of story.
Calvin Boggs-handyman.
Ozzie wells, sheriff, one of only 2 balck sheriffs, he took illegal campaign cash from Seth.
2.
Jake Brigance-lawyer from previous book. Wife Carla, Daughter Hanna.’Marshall Prather-deputy.
Andy Furr- Mechanic.
Dell- coffee shop lady
Harry Rex Vonner-lawyer, and friend to Jake.
Mark Stafford- lawyer who disappeared with client money.
Rufus Buckley- old DA.
3.
Roxy-Jake’s secty. Not a very good one.
Jake receives a letter from the hanged Seth shortly after his death. Seth states that he is dying of lung cancer and in great pain. The envelope also contains a holographic will and instructions on how to probate it. Executor is Russell Amburgh. 90% goes to friend Lettie Lang, 5% to his brother, 5% to the church. Nothing to the ex wives and kids.
Seth was white, Lettie is black.
Jake brings the sheriff up to date.
4.
Herchel, the son, makes the trek to his father’s town, but ther is not much that was between the two. He greets Lettie, the housekeeper. While Herchel is snarky, Lettie thinks about the $5000 that Seth loaned her and forgave for her son in prison.
Ramona Dafoe is the daughter. She arrives crying and wailing driving a Mercedes she cannot afford. Appearances matter.
The kids quickly get to the matter of the will, but Jake has been instructed to not reveal it until after the funeral.
5.
Seth had mentioned that he hated lawyers. His earlier communication included that no other lawyer should profit from his probate.
Jake goes to Harry Rex to learn more about Seth.
The family, not knowing the estate was going to Lettie, is conspiring to let her go because they think she is overpaid. And they do not want to see that money come out of the estate. All Lettie knows is that Seth said he would leave her “a little something”.
Cypress=Lettie’s mother. A heavy gal.

[Donnajo]

okay since I've been doing a chapter a day. I'm up to chapter 6 so can read this thread.
It took me awhile to figure out or remember who seth was then I looked at the website and watched the video of a time to kill and realized jake is the lawyer. I like the chapter size so far.
Barry thanks for telling us who is who I was thinking how we are going to keep everyone straight.
I thinking Jake is telling too many people about the letter and the new will. my guess is when the son and daughter find out they might hire Harry Rex.
This seems like a good book so far.

chapter 6 starts on page 55
chapter 16 starts on page 154

[BarryP]

There were an awful lot of characters, I figured it would help me to keep them straight if I cataloged them.

[Sandi]

Barry wrote: "There were an awful lot of characters, I figured it would help me to keep them straight if I cataloged them."

Thanks for the excellent summary, Barry. I am listening to the audio and sometimes when there are so many characters that can be a challenge.

[Carol/Bonadie]

Barry, excellent job with the synopses! I just finished Chapter 5 and thought I'd hop over here before I forgot where Chapter 5 ended and other chapters continued.

Some random reactions:

I am already hooked! I love legal thrillers, and don't read that many other than the Mickey Haller series. I was cruising along until Jake got the will, and there is where I started salivating. The possibilities for drama are thrilling!

I was almost starting to feel sorry for Herschel, after immediately assuming if Seth wanted to cut him out of the will, he must be a bad apple. Then there was a bit of narrative about how crappy a father Seth was, and I wondered "is this all a setup? we're supposed to believe Herschel is bad, but he isn't? Then he showed up at the house and said to Lettie "Get me a cup of coffee." and he lost me. And the other deadbeats showed up and I already want them run out of town on a rail. But I know with many more chapters to go it won't be that simple.

I was surprised that Jake immediately told his secretary Roxy about the will. We were being led to believe she was unreliable. Then he runs to tell Harry Rex and then Ozzie. That seemed wrong to me, after Seth had written that he should keep the contents of the will quiet, by which I thought he also meant keep the existence of it quiet. I hope this doesn't come back to haunt Jake.

I spent the first few moments with Jake trying to recall the plot of A Time to Kill, by which I mean reimagining the movie, and trying to remember who played whom and how it might have differed from the book. Didn't get very far on that, though, and I suppose it doesn't really matter.

Looking forward to the comments and then it's on to Chapter 6!!!

Barry wrote: "1.
Seth Hubbard, Man found hanged at start of story.
Calvin Boggs-handyman.
Ozzie wells, sheriff, one of only 2 balck sheriffs, he took illegal campaign cash from Seth.
2.
Jake Brigance-lawyer from..."

[Carol/Bonadie]

My thoughts exactly, DJ!! I don't like to think of Jake going up aginst Harry Rex, since he was an ally in the last case. But I imagine the money would be too much for any attorney in that small town to turn down.

Donnajo wrote: "I thinking Jake is telling too many people about the letter and the new will. my guess is when the son and daughter find out they might hire Harry Rex..."

[Carol/Bonadie]

You are right. Barry had told me he listed the characters, but I also started writing them down as I listened because I was afraid I would forget who was who. And Sandi, isn't the narration delicious?? I just love Michael Beck's various southern accents representing the different social classes.... the lawyers, the cops, the diner denizens, Lettie and her family, and the deadbeat children of Seth.

Sandi wrote: "Thanks for the excellent summary, Barry. I am listening to the audio and sometimes when there are so many characters that can be a challenge. ..."

[Sandi]

Carol/Bonadie wrote: "You are right. Barry had told me he listed the characters, but I also started writing them down as I listened because I was afraid I would forget who was who. And Sandi, isn't the narration delicious?? I just love Michael Beck's various southern accents representing the different social classes.... the lawyers, the cops, the diner denizens, Lettie and her family, and the deadbeat children of Seth...."

Yes, Michael Beck's narration is great. I remembered that he did a fantastic job with A Time to Kill too so I was glad that my library had a copy on Overdrive to download.

[BarryP]

I spent a fair amount of time stationed in the rural south when I was in the service. i found my various and sundry contacts with people there made Sycamore Row that much richer to me.

[Ann]

Having just finished chapters 1-5 (I am actually into chapter 7 now...) I have to echo my thanks for the great summary and character line-up, Barry! I have a feeling I will check back to this thread often. Seeing the names helps, since for the most part I am listening to the audio and just checking my progress percentage on the Kindle. The narration accents are very realistic sounding.

One writing style / character comment, having just finished listening to the latest Mickey Haller installment, I was struck by the different way Michael Connelly writes strong smart women ; and whether because it is 1988, or just the differences in styles, John Grisham leaves a lot to be desired in the portrayal of the female characters so far.
While I realize the demeaning and discriminatory dialog is representative of prevailing attitudes, attitudes like this make me cringe.

[LizH]

About to start chapter 6, so I thought I would stop by. First thoughts are that I love the way John Grishom writes. Love the full bodied characters, and rich settings that instantly transport me into the book. IMHO, few authors can do this with such ease. Thanks to Barry for the summary, as others have mentioned, I will be back to refresh my memory as I continue reading. Ann, just a thought, do you think his women are not as strong because they are "southern"? As opposed to the "northern" women who are portrayed as outspoken and opinionated?