Rating: 
Summary: Grisham is Back!
Review: Grisham is back and in top form. I really enjoyed this book--its a quick, interesting read. Like most Grisham novels, The Last Juror is set in the south. But unlink most other Grisham novels, this isn't in the viewpoint of a lawyer, judge or client--despite the title. The view from the editor/jouralist looking at a grisley rape/murder over many years is unique.The one criticism I have is some of the plot twists (away from the rape/murder case which is the focus of the book) you could see a mile a way. Grisham is at his best when dealing with crime and the law. Not so much with everyday human life and relationships.
Rating: 
Summary: HAS GRISHAM LOST HIS TOUCH?
Review: Not since The Firm has Grisham managed to reach the same level of intensity. The Last Juror is awkward, predictable, and at times awfully dull. The Client and The Partner were close, but it seems to me that Grisham has succumbed to his fame and perhaps thinks people will like anything he writes. A Painted House, Bleachers, Skipping Christmas; yuck. I knew who the killer in this book was long before he was supposed to be, or should have been, exposed. If you feel you must buy this book simply because the author is Grisham, do yourself a favor and wait for the paperback.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, But not Great
Review: Grisham's latest book is suspenseful and filled with memorable characters. Unlike his other legal thrillers, this one only has a few court scenes. It is about Willie Traynor, a college dropout who buys a local newspaper. A terrible murder occurs in the town and Willie covers it in his newspaper. The murderer threatens to seek revenge on the jury that convicts him. The plot continues as Padgitt, the murderer is released from prison. The jurors begin to die, one by one. Overall, this novel is adequate, but not nearly as exciting or intriguing as Grisham's early works. The unique characters such as Miss Callie, and her family make the novel worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: All over the place
Review: Well, the reviews are all over the place for this latest Grisham work. I suppose the only thing worse than being talked about badly is not being talked about at all, and in this case, Grisham has nothing to worry about. That aside, I absolutely loved THE LAST JUROR and fully realize that I'm in the 50 percentile here. I'd imagine this book will do better with those who are first-time Grisham comers (is there such a thing?) or those who liked A PAINTED HOUSE or SKIPPING CHRISTMAS. But the book is really a combination of all that's come before. Sorry for those who didn't like it, but I thought it was his best effort yet. Also recommended: McCrae's THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD- A Tour of Southern Homes and Gardens
Rating:
Summary: Grisham at His Best!
Review: The Last Juror is so disgustingly Grisham, it is ridiculus! This is one of his best so far!
Rating: 
Summary: Hm...
Review: 2* Hm... Mr Grisham has set the action of three of his 14 legal thrillers in the small town of Clanton in Ford County, in "rural Southern Mississippi". The first one was "A Time to Kill" (1989), the action of which takes place in the mid-'80's; the second one, "The Summons" (2002); this one (2004) sees its events over a span of 9 years (1970-79), thus preceding those of the other two novels. We find again some of the characters portrayed in the first book: Lucien Wilbanks, still in legal practice as a wily trial lawyer before his disbarment which, towards the end of the book, is however imminent (by the way, where's Jack Brigance?! from what we knew, he already ought to be Lucien's associate at this time);; Harry Rex Vonner, the overweight, mean divorce lawyer, sloppily dressed and looking, but smart and likeable; Claude, the owner of one of the local eateries, barking at customers to finish their meal in 20 minutes so as to accommodate others (the Coffee Shop and the Tea Shoppe, apparently, aren't opened yet); in the third and final part, Judge Omar Noose and the prosecuting magistrate, Rufus Buckley (appointed, we learn here, in 1975). Sheriff Ozzie Walls is not yet in office, and the position is occupied first by a corrupt man, then by an indifferent (as far as characterizations go) one. The scene is the same: the town's square with its courthouse, presumably with General Clanton's (the town's founder and namesake) statue but minus the old men sitting there, spitting out tobacco juice on the lawn; and the nearby Parchman state penitentiary. The book is in three parts: the first one concerns the gruesome rape and murder of the mother of two children, the trial and conviction of the proven criminal, with a sentence to two consecutive life terms in jail; the third one sees his being paroled out (at the second try) after only 9 years of imprisonment, thanks to a distorted presentation of the facts of the crime and of the record of the trial to an incredibly gullible parole board, probably under the thumb (with a financial "consideration", of course) of the wealthy and wicked family of the convicted man. As soon as the latter is out of jail, serial killings of three former jurors begin and, of course, the direction of suspicions is obvious, because of the threat he had hurled at the jury before it entered its room to deliberate. The second part is a liaison in time. This division takes away the gripping continuity of "A Time to Kill". The trial scenes are not as compelling. The white/black racial issue is again present, but it was better presented there, as well as the characterizations; and the evolution of the events much more gripping in its continuation. Callie Ruffin is a nice attempt at characterization, but she looks useless in the context and economy of the plot (nothing on a par with Nicholas Easter's in The Runaway Jury). A Time to Kill, and The Firm, with the gripping continuity of their action, were for this reader "no-put-down" books; this one needed 4 or 5 dragged-on, reading sessions. The final twist is not convincing. The impression is that Mr Grisham must have found himself in a hurry to deliver the manuscript to the publisher by the deadline.
Rating:
Summary: His new style
Review: Slower paced than his legal thrillers, with writing on the same level as McCrae's "Bark of the Dogwood" and a plot worthy of "King of Torts," this latest Grisham novel does NOT disappoint. It's understandable that hard-core Grisham fans want another "The Firm," but the guy has moved on, combining his "Painted House" style with his other genres to create his best effort yet. Please give this book a chance!
Rating: 
Summary: I felt a little cheated based on the jacket cover premise...
Review: Although I'm not to the point with Grisham as I am with Patricia Corwell's Kay Scarpetta series, I'm getting a little burned out on uneven writing. I finished The Last Juror, Grisham's latest novel, and I can't say I liked it as much as I thought I would. The jacket cover led me to believe this was an action novel focused on revenge. The novel takes place in the 70's in Mississippi, and a small town is forever altered when a brutal murder and rape takes place. The killer is the son is some powerful criminal elements in the county, but they are unable to buy off the jury to acquit him of the crime. The jury convicts him of the murder but can't sentence him to death. After 10 years, he's released from prison and jurors start getting killed. Everyone thinks he is guilty due to a threat he made at the trial. All this action takes place against the backdrop of a young man who moves into the area, takes over the weekly local paper, and turns it into a powerful force of the community during all the changes that occurred in those turbulent times. The novel is split up into three parts. The first one delivers on what I thought the novel would be. A crime, intrigue, fear, and tension. The crime is solved, justice is served, and the criminal is sent to jail. The second part then heads off in a direction that is completely detached from the main story. There's no action. It's just the advancement of the guy's career and life of running the paper. Even when the third part of the story kicks in, the action of jurors getting killed doesn't kick in until the last 50 pages or so. The ending twist comes up pretty quickly, and the final end of the novel sort of leaves you sitting there thinking "he ended it like *that*?" If you were reading this for a human interest story covering the changes in the deep South during the 70's, it would work better in my opinion. But to build this up as a crime thriller and then basically drop that angle until the last few pages left me feeling a little cheated.
Rating:
Summary: A leisurely drama at a small town's pace
Review: John Grisham divides his latest novel about a young man's venture in newpaper publishing into three parts. Part One evokes "The Rainmaker" in the way he presents 23-year old Willie Traynor entering a new profession and coming up against danger and challenges that demonstrate his appealing humanity, intelligence and calm drive. Shortly after this college dropout starts operating his new paper in his adopted Mississippi town, he's reporting on a lurid capital murder case complicated with a bought sheriff, a powerful criminal family, and a system corrupted by greed and fear.
Willie develops a tight bond with Callie Ruffin, a matriarchal black woman who becomes a juror in the case, giving him more than a casual interest in its outcome and in the convicted man's threat that he will kill every member of the jury when he gets out of jail. In part two, the tension of courtroom dramatics completely subsides while Grisham indulges in Willie's development of his paper, his relationships, and town issues. Grisham finally returns to the murder plotline in the last part, some years later, when the murderer has been paroled far earlier than he should have been, and members of the jury are getting killed.
The Last Juror makes a finely detailed read on issues of justice and civil rights but doesn't come up to Grisham's earlier novel for consistent intensity. One has to appreciate, however, his absorbing way with the dimensions of character and human motivation, which explains its number two position on best seller lists.
Rating:
Summary: Grisham has lost his touch
Review: First 2 Grisham books great. The rest, pardon me, stink. I have tried and tried and tried - loyal to a fault. But none of them are anywhere close to A Time to Kill and The Firm.
How sad.
Finally thought it time to try again and picked up The Last Juror. Another mistake.
This book is average at best and full of hoo-hum drama. If you must read it, pick it up and the library. Not worth, frankly, your time or money.
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