Rating: 
Summary: Refreshing change of pace
Review: "The Last Juror" is a bit of anomaly. There are many times when I have read non-fiction and found it hard to believe that the story is TRUE. While reading "The Last Juror" I had to keep reminding myself that it was in fact fiction. Such is the charm of Grisham's novel... it is warm, chraming and, at times, thrilling.
The actual story is fairly predictable and at points, brutally slow. Another slight annoyance is Grisham's portrayal of northern Mississippi. I feel that he has focused more on the stereotyopes of the region and less on actual day-to-day life (I have lived in NE Mississippi for the last 5 years).
I think Grisham found a nice balance of legal thrillers with his more human interest type stories. I would suggest "The Last Juror" to anyone who enjoyed "Midnight in The Garden of Good And Evil". I definitely suggest it as a nice quick read, especially if you happen to be at the beach!
Rating: 
Summary: Grisham's Still Water Runs Deep
Review: "The Last Juror" is neither "The Firm" nor "the Pelican Brief", nor is it similar to "A Time for Killing" which shares "Juror's" Ford County, Mississippi, setting. But it is a powerful novel in its own right, combining the elements of classic Grisham courtroom drama with a nostalgic study of life in rural Mississippi. The main story is of the brutal rape and murder of a young widow. The alleged murderer, Danny Padgitt, is the youngest son of the wealthy but reclusive local gentry. Protagonist Willie Traynor, Memphis-born and Syracuse-educated, migrates to Clanton and, with the help of a rich aunt, buys the dying local newspaper. So while the story is ostensibly one of the crime and subsequent retribution, it is also a poignant tale of the decade-long relationship that develops between Traynor and "Miss" Callie Ruffin, matriarch of a poor but proud black family of Clanton. Just as the Big Brown River and its creeks and sloughs wind through the meadows of Ford County, Grisham's prose meanders through sub-plots, anecdotes and banalities of the small-town south. Grisham is in no hurry to get to the climax - indeed the recipe for Miss Callie's pot roast is hardly a page-turner. But the pace of the prose is a conscious and necessary element of the author's message, and seemingly unconnected events eventually tie together to complete the portrait of Grisham's South. And if the weighty topics of civil rights and Viet Nam are axes Grisham chooses to grind, he treats them with sensitivity and respect, and is neither heavy-handed nor judgmental in his delivery. The reader looking for a thriller along the lines of Grisham's fine earlier works may be disappointed, but it would be vastly unfair to dismiss this novel. "The Last Juror" is thoughtful and thought provoking literature; an example of a fine American story teller broadening his scope and delving deeper into familiar topics.
Rating: 
Summary: my book review
Review: Before I started reading, The Last Juror sounded exciting. However, once I picked it up it was disappointing. The beginning of the book was good, but after the first 50 pages it was just frustrating. Grisham spends 60 pages telling us how Willie visits every church in his county, and how everyone is mad that Bargain City is coming to town. Almost half of the book was wasted on useless information, so I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a slow, uneventful read.
Rating: 
Summary: Grisham has lost his touch....
Review: Drivel and more Drivel....Grisham has lost his touch. You can't write good suspense novels using Harlequin Romance Techniques, filling the pages with unsubstantial filler. If you liked "The Pelican Brief", and was unsatisfied with "The Bleachers", then you and I will agree on this one.
Rating:
Summary: Relaxing, characters are hysterical
Review: I absurdly enjoyed this JG novel. Agree do I with many of the other reviewers, insomuch as this is a quasi-change from his (JG's) earlier novels. That said, however, the characters in _TLJ_ are what moves the story, not so much the plot (rednecks vs. city folk), which is kind of tepid at best. Nonetheless, this, in my opinion, would be a great beach/trip read: easy to follow plot, hysterical characters (antagonists), and the obligatory "alcohol hobby" of several more...all make for a relaxing read.
Buy it in paperback.
Cheers.
Rating:
Summary: A very enjoyable read - Wonderful!!!
Review: I really enjoy John Grisham books. It seems that whenever I get into a rut reading all I have to do is go back to reading something he wrote. This is only the third one I read (I've also read the Client and Runaway Jury and loved both of them) but I do plan on reading several others.
This book had everything you could want from a book. It was easy to read, it had colorful characters, a very detailed story that moved at an appropriate pace, and a thrilling suspense factor where you had to keep reading to see what was going to happen. It also had a truely appropriate ending that summarized everything perfectly. I could not put this book down.
I also enjoy historical fiction books and while this wasn't historical fiction in the traditional sense I enjoy reading good fiction books where you also learn something as well. Learning about how a small town dealt with all the issues of the early 70s like segretation etc was very interesting to me.
This book does get a little gory at the beginning when it describes the rape and murder of one of the characters but it's necessary to evoke the passion needed to truly feel for the characters involved.
Another brilliant book by John Grisham.
Rating:
Summary: An aimless desultory shallow amble through the 70's South
Review: I'd given up on Grisham for many years because of past disappointments. His first book, "A Time to Kill" was, in my opinion, his very best. But his talents have eroded with the years and his politics seem to encroach upon his story telling. Pat Conroy takes a backseat to no one in his leftist leanings but still manages to tell a wonderful well written story.
Grisham, few would argue, has the talent of a Pat Conroy, but one would hope he could at least provide an engaging read. This story starts out OK - just OK, but then wanders inexplicable into not particularly well told completely unrelated stories. I would guess that about 2/3 of the book is not directly related the legal "thriller."
I will never again pick up a Grisham novel unless it is highly recommended by someone I respect. My advice, find something more worthwhile, engaging and interesting to read.
Rating:
Summary: One of Grisham's Best!
Review: If this were Grisham's first novel it would have brought him instant fame. Grisham is always at his best when his novels include great characters, story and plot. Right up there with A Time To Kill.
Rating:
Summary: eeeek, JG in person is not as excitin as his books
Review: JG is evolving. a great storyteller, who can spin a tale. he captures the long dry hot weather of the south. his hero is not too flashy and has the right amount of go git em attitude to root for him. I liked this story, it was spaced out with an intro, leading into high drama, coasting this is where the tension builds and then the finale! what more can you ask for? a small town newspaper in the south, a murder, courtroom drama, a warm family to make our hero appreciate families - hats off to JG.
Rating:
Summary: Ignore the title, there are hardly any lawyers in this one!
Review: My wife Michelle bought this book for me recently, and judging by the title I sat down prepared to read another of Grisham's famous books about lawyers. To my surprise, this one was very different. It seems Grisham has branched out recently with the Painted House, and Bleachers, and that has given him a different writing style than the one he was famous for in the Firm, Pelican Brief, and others. This book takes place in a small town in 1970's Mississippi, and centers on a young man who has taken over the local newspaper. The young man is not form the area and therefore is an outsider to the community he writes his newspaper for. The story flows with the slow steady pace of life in the Deep South, and is rich with detail and the mood of the time. While not as quickly engaging as some of his lawyer books, this one has far more substance. Grisham depicts the struggle with racism, the naiveté of youth, and the "above the law" clans of bootleggers and crooked police. The best aspects of the story were the ways in which this 23 year old owner of the local newspaper has to learn the ropes. Blessed with a youthful enthusiasm, yet to be tempered with wisdom, he finds himself in the eye of the storm. When he prints news articles about the murder, and the accused, he suddenly finds himself center stage in a hotbed of corruption and a public trail he is seen to have influenced. I won't spoil the plot any further, as this book is a great one to pick up and read cold. Overall, I recommend this as a good departure from Grisham's usual formula. If you liked a "Painted House" then I think you will find this book closer in style to that one.
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