Rating: 
Summary: Great book!
Review: This was an excellent book. I've read many of Grisham's books, lately I've been reading Stephen King. I've only begun reading again the past three months. I bought this book at an airport for my flight across the US. I picked it up on a Sunday and finished it on Tuesday. It was a great book, hard to put down. I was happier reading this book than I would have been watching my favorite TV shows. For me, that is saying quite a bit. Keeps you guessing til the end. Grisham comes through again!
Rating: 
Summary: Grisham revisited
Review: When John Grisham's first book was published I read it and thought it mildly good. When the second book was published I read that one also and that one was not very good. I was not surprised when I read he had actually submitted it for publishing some years prior to the first one that WAS published. I concluded his writing was trite and perfect for fleshing out in movies. Even though I read two books a week on average I have successfully avoided reading any more of his until the other day when a friend gave me The Last Juror and not having anything else to read I read it. This book is trite, predictable, cliche-ridden and thoroughly boring. The main character writing in the first person is selfish, posturing and patronizing. His descriptions of his weekly food gorging are disgusting. I suspect this book was actually written chapter by chapter over a period of years when Mr Grisham was a student in a Mississippi high school and polished off for publication counting on todays' literary appetites i.e. The New York Times Best Seller Lists. However, I am surprised this latest one even met that smell test.
Rating: 
Summary: comfortable but no suspense
Review: Grisham weaves a book that is comfortable to read but which provides no suspense and no mystery. If you've ever wondered whast it would be like to live in a small Mississippi town in the 1970s (sitting on the porch, sipping sweet tea after a home-cooked meal) then you'd appreciate this book. It doesn't get much more exciting except for a snippet here and there.
Rating: 
Summary: Classic Grisham
Review: I have read all of John Grisham's books. Some I loved (The Pelican Brief) and some I hated (A Painted House, The Chamber), but all were well written. The Last Juror is no exception. Like more recent of Grisham's books, this is more a narrative than a classic who done it. It is a fast paced, easy read (I finished it in four days). The climax appears to occur about half way through the story, leaving the reader to wonder what is in store for the last 100 pages or so. The author doesn't dissapoint, offering an all too real account of life in a small town in the South, adding a small twist at the end wich makes for a fun read. While this book lacks the complexity and intrigue of The Pelican Brief, it is a good read. Anyone who grew up in a small town will find the story compelling. You will identify with the characters. I liked it better than The King of Torts, the Bretheren and Run Away Jury which I thought were average efforts for John Grisham. If you like John Grisham, you'll like this one as well.
Rating:
Summary: Slightly misleading title, but a great book no less
Review: This book is a great one. A really interesting read. As a boy who was born in 83, it's really interesting to dive into the segregated world of the early 70's and see life on both sides of the track. This book is more or less about corruption. Corruption of politics, corruption of justice, corruption of the mind. Every character seems to have enough depth to have an entire book written about just them. With this in mind, trying to predict how the book will end will drive you nuts. The suprise ending had me, litterally, gasp out loud. When the moment clicks in your mind, you'll look back on the book and wonder how you didn't figure it out earlier. All in all, this is a fun read. I was able to crank this bad boy out in just under a week; i just couldn't seem to let the book sit on the table. I must say, I'm a huge John Grisham fan to begin with, so my review may be a bit biased. Buut anyone who doesn't feal their heart strings tug at the end of this book must be made of ice. Don't expect the thrilling, chapter after chapter of suspense. This book is a great story and, for lack of a better way to describe it, just feels real. In short, i loved it, you should buy it.
Rating: 
Summary: As thrilling as sitting on a porch watching paint peel
Review: After a hiatus from Grisham for awhile - I bought this one because all of the reviews said it was a THRILLER and had great characterizations. Something - up until now, he seems only have been able to do with one or the other. The book blurbs definitely overpromise and under-deliver. Supposedly it's about a jury case in which the jurors start showing up dead after finding the defendant guilty - that all occurs in about the last 50 pages. The rest is filled with endless points going nowhere, and is about as suspenseful as watching the sugar melt in iced tea - which he devotes a good paragraph too. In addition, he was apparently very hungry while writing this one. Endless pages are spent describing home-cooked southern meals and the general attitudes of Southerners in the 70's - which would be just fine if they moved the story along in anyway. But then there's really not much of a story to begiin with - so why not at least make you get up and get a snack while you're reading it???
Rating:
Summary: A laid back, charming novel
Review: John Grisham is back with an engrossing story of 1970's era Clanton, Mississipi. Willie Traynor is the narrator for this novel in which he buys the local newspaper at the young age of 23 and through this position witnesses all the ups and downs of the town for a decade. When a local woman is raped and murdered, Danny Padgitt is put on trial and convicted. Padgitt, related to a family of thieves and crooks, threatens the jury. Padgitt is sentenced to life instead of the death penalty, and is paroled in ten years. You learn this much by reading the summary of the book. Grisham then spends much time bringing the town of Clanton to life while slowly moving the plot along. Traynor befriends an elderly black woman named Callie Ruffin and often hangs out with Harry Rex Vonner. Traynor visits every church in the county and joins the fight in Walmart type stores invading small towns. While Traynor is the narrator of the story, I never got involved much with his character. While he is a reporter, he sees almost everything, he never really does much. I think Grisham intended Traynor to be the eyes through which we view this small town and all its charms. The plot moves along too slowly at times, but when it does pick up at the end, you feel like you know everything there is to know about the town and its people. Grisham is still one of the best out there. This novel is long and somewhat complex (especially when compared to some other efforts like the Summons.) I enjoyed this amusing and entertaining look at small town life and all of its crazy characters. I recommend this Grisham book to anyone.
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.
Rating:
Summary: Not your typical Grisham
Review: THE LAST JUROR reads like a cross between some of Grisham's more famous courtroom thrillers and two of his other novels: A PAINTED HOUSE and BLEACHERS. This is not necessarily a bad thing, for what seems to have happend is this--he's developed his writing styles and ideas into one finely-tuned work of fiction with a compelling story, great characters, and all the color and tension of the South. There are too many elements to this book to mention here, but one of the more intriguing aspects is that of the old south vs. the new. Add to this the eccentric townspeople that Grisham parades before us, throw in some humidity and racial tension, a few unpainted storefronts, a great plot, wonderful pacing and dialogue, and you've got THE LAST JUROR. Of all of Grisham's work, this one is by far his best. Don't miss it. Also recommended: THE FIRM, McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD, POMPEII, GIRL WITHE THE PEARL EARRING
Rating:
Summary: Literate Grisham
Review: After the travesty that was "King of Torts," John Grisham returns with a novel that appears, on the cover, to be another legal thriller but is, in fact, something else entirely. This is not about courtroom theatrics or terrible murders or greedy, corrupt lawyers seeking justice that will benefit their pocketbooks. No, "The Last Juror" is much, much different than your typical Grisham fare.
It is a story of humanity. John Grisham has entered a new field while treading on familiar territory. He has written something that touches the pulse of the 1970's in Ford County. This is the story of Willie Traynor, newspaper editor, and his friendship with Callie Ruffin, a black woman and mother of eight, and a fledgling newspaper founded on obituaries. Danny Padgitt's actions are known fairly early on, and there truly is no question as to his guilt. There are some courtroom theatrics here, but they are secondary to the relationship between Willie and Miss Callie; indeed, the courtroom scenes are secondary to the character development and onset of desegregation that the denizens of Ford County are faced with. If anything, "The Last Juror" is the sort of novel one would expect to read in a 20th Century literature class. There is a fair amount of suspense, and there is some criticism of the legal system (70's and current) and of course a bit of preaching, but it all works. Grisham has crafted one of his best novels and given us a slew of memorable characters; the Ruffin family will stay with you long after completing the novel. As will Willie and the eclectic bunch of "old folks" who dominate the town. Social criticism is also a bit heavy, with the arrival of Bargain City and the Padgitt clan's unsavory vocations. I would hesitate to compare this to such literary giants as "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Huckleberry Finn," the major theme in "The Last Juror" is similar to that found in both the aforementioned novels, that of racial tolerance and the transendance of boundaries. But, when the jurors start to fall, you will believe that Danny Padgitt is indeed guilty of fulfilling his promise...but then Grisham wants you to believe it, which makes the ending all the more impactful. Be wary, diehards and casual fans--this is not your typical John Grisham. It's something better.
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