Rating: 
Summary: a wonderful mix of Grisham's styles
Review: William Traynor, a 23 year old, takes over a small Southern
town's newspaper with some financial help from a rich relative.
A brutal rape/murder by a member of a feared family who has previously been above the law begins a chain of events that lead William to some dangerous circumstances. William learns of Miss
Callie Ruffin, a black woman who has put 11 of her 12 children through college. Some of my favorite moments are when William visits Callie once a week and savors her wonderful home-cooked meals, the likes of which he has not experienced before. Miss
Callie becomes the first black juror in the town's history against the accused murderer. A trial ensues, a verdict rendered, etc. However, the strength of this novel is not the
courtroom scenes, but the depiction of William's strength as a
journalist and his relationship with Miss Callie. The book is
more "The Painted House" than "The Runaway Jury."
My favorite Grisham remains today "A Time to Kill." Very moving.
Rating:
Summary: Two books
Review: This is a tale of one town Clanton Mississippi but in a way it is two books. The first is a story of the Danny Padgett case and the young crusading newspaper editor who makes his smalltown weekly on the strength of his coverage of the trial.It is also a tale of race relations in rural Mississippi as change finally comes to Clanton. Unlike several of Grisham's latest legal tomes, the trial story rings with authenticity. I would have preferred greater development of the Padgett case, leaving the second story as an excellent subplot. Both stories would have been more meaningful. But make no mistake, while this is not A Time To Kill (also set in Clanton) it is his best legal thriller in many years. It could have been more thrilling, thats all.
Rating: 
Summary: Polemic of the day
Review: The problem with being a fan of a bestselling author like Grisham is this: you read him because you know what to expect. Or at least you THINK you know what to expect. Here lies the problem with THE LAST JUROR. Those who liked THE FIRM and that genre probably skipped A PAINTED HOUSE, and vice versa. But in his latest book, Grisham has combined all of his styles into one big, mature, and new form. The result it more literary than his courtroom thrillers and a little faster than books like SKIPPING CHRISTMAS or PAINTED HOUSE. I'm sorry guys, but this latest effort is his best and should be read. Also recommended: McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD
Rating:
Summary: A good read on a rainy weekend
Review: The Last Juror did not have the usual flair that Grisham's books have but still a nice read. I would recommend it to anyone that enjoyed A Painted House.
Rating: 
Summary: Slightly entertaining
Review: The book had a good, typical Grisham start however, midway through it became boring and lost the earlier developed crispness. It would not hurt the author to seriously think about having his books reviewed by readers and not friends and specialists. This way he would get the best suggestions. However, the element of surprise may be lost in there. Overall an average book which will sell well because of author's previous reputation.
Rating: 
Summary: zero stars for this book
Review: What a disappointment- the introduction sounded soooo interesting; well, the book was interesting up to the point of the trial and conviction of Danny Padgitt; Then, instead of projecting ahead as the book promises after Padgitt gets out of jail in 9 years, Mr. Grisham is now rambling on and on; i am two thirds through this book (by the way i started out absolutely loving it) and there is still no mystery, no suspense about the revenge of Danny Padgitt-so when does the retribution begin Mr. Grisham? did you get lost somewhere in time and begin to love your writing to much you forgot where the storyline was going? I wish i could get a refund. You know the real kicker is, i really enjoyed the book so much until Mr. Grisham got lost in space somewhere with all the characters in this town in Mississippi-- puh-lease--i will finish the book because i bought it but i would not recommend you spend your hard earned money on it; if you must wait till it comes out in paperback if you can't resist Mr. Grisham's books.
Rating:
Summary: Don't let the Book Description fool you!
Review: I, too, was taken in by the Book Description. That is, "He returned to Ford County and the retribution began." The book was mildly entertaining, but I was disappointed that it wasn't what I expected.
Rating:
Summary: Back to his roots
Review: I first became acquainted with Grisham through the PELICAN BRIEF and haven't missed one of his books since. Despite the seeming rut his books became entrenched in, I nevertheless marched on and tried to keep interested. A PAINTED HOUSE, was a great departure from the usual legal thriller, and I greatly enjoyed his venture from the "boiler plate" style his books had become. Likewise with the LAST JUROR, I was pleasantly suprised with his return to Clanton, Mississippi and his wonderful style of telling his story about the growth of a young adult thrust into a career he never imagined, and managing to become succesful despite himself. As an avid reader of Grisham's novels, I secretly hoped that he would explore in greater detail some of the characters I remembered from A TIME TO KILL. Lucien Wilbanks could easily have become more of a major character and we could have been given more detail about his legal career. Despite this, I highly recommend this book and would encourage Grisham to once again explore utilizing some reoccuring characters in his future books.
Rating:
Summary: A Yankee Comes to Clanton
Review: Great book. Indeed the story is about the town of Clanton,Mississippi seen through the eyes of a liberal Yankee newspaper editor. You'll enjoy reading the book if you like reading about small town Southern culture. Not Grisham's very best but still a very good book. He does well painting pictures of small town life and the dynamics among the groups in those towns. Keep it up Grisham!
Rating: 
Summary: False Advertising in Ford County
Review: "He returned to Ford County, and the retribution began." Kudos to the person who wrote this line; you certainly know how to sell a book. You sold one to me, and I haven't bought a Grisham book in years. I thought I was in for a tightly-wound tale of suspense and intensity as a released killer wreaked vengeance on an entire jury, that it would come down to the last juror, and that he or she, along with the usual assortment of beer-drinking, barbeque loving, eccentric friends almost every Grisham main character has in tow, would triumph in a spectacular, bang-up conclusion. Not so. What I did get was Grisham's very accurate descriptions of small-town southern life. The town of Clanton is the true main character in this book, and it was an interesting enough character to keep me happy and reading. Also interesting is following Willie around as he tries to develop his paper into a publication people have to have. As usual, Grisham shows us that the path to success is certain to have its share of days when you feel like a loser or a fool. However, many things about the book bothered me. I realized early on who the real person to watch out for was; Grisham made it obvious. It left me wondering about Grisham's assessment of his readers' IQ. Another troubling aspect of the book was how certain events were described after the fact and with only a few sentences. It felt like he was a tour guide in a museum, running behind schedule, hurrying you through the exhibits with the condensed version of facts. Often times there was too much information given about things that didn't really matter and not enough about things that did. People appeared and disappeared with seemingly no other purpose than to pad a few paragraphs or pages. To be fair, in life we come into contact with lots of people each day who take up our time but will have little to do with the outcome of our personal stories. But in a book, if you take up lots of print, you better be about something important! To conclude, if you are a Grisham fan no matter what, read the book. You will enjoy it and think I don't know jack, giving it only 2 stars. There are some suprises and plenty of nice moments, the kind that make you think John Grisham would be a good guy to sit on the front porch with and wax poetic about life, spurred on by cold beer and a comfortable rocking chair.
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