Book Summary and Reviews of A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance) by John Grisham

A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance) by John Grisham

A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance)

by John Grisham

  • Published:
  • Oct 2020, 480 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Jake Brigance is back! The hero of A Time to Kill, one of the most popular novels of our time, returns in a courtroom drama that The New York Times says is "riveting" and "suspenseful."

Clanton, Mississippi. 1990. Jake Brigance finds himself embroiled in a deeply divisive trial when the court appoints him attorney for Drew Gamble, a timid sixteen-year-old boy accused of murdering a local deputy. Many in Clanton want a swift trial and the death penalty, but Brigance digs in and discovers that there is more to the story than meets the eye. Jake's fierce commitment to saving Drew from the gas chamber puts his career, his financial security, and the safety of his family on the line.

In what may be the most personal and accomplished legal thriller of John Grisham's storied career, we deepen our acquaintance with the iconic Southern town of Clanton and the vivid cast of characters that so many readers know and cherish. The result is a richly rewarding novel that is both timely and timeless, full of wit, drama, and—most of all—heart.

Bursting with all the courthouse scheming, small-town intrigue, and stunning plot twists that have become the hallmarks of the master of the legal thriller, A Time for Mercy is John Grisham's most powerful courtroom drama yet.

There is a time to kill and a time for justice. Now comes A Time for Mercy.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"[John Grisham] has returned to the place closest to his heart... . The trial is riveting... . It's striking how suspenseful the story is ... how much we're gripped by the small details." —New York Times

"Textbook Grisham—and that's a compliment ... a briskly paced legal drama, with just the right amount of suspense, conflict, plot twists, [and] courtroom theatrics." —St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"A fine example of [Grisham's] well-honed skillat hooking readers right into a story." —Tampa Bay Times

This information about A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance) was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

John Grisham Author Biography

Born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to a construction worker and a homemaker, John Grisham as a child dreamed of being a professional baseball player. Realizing he didn't have the right stuff for a pro career, he shifted gears and majored in accounting at Mississippi State University. After graduating from law school at Ole Miss in 1981, he went on to practice law for nearly a decade in Southaven, specializing in criminal defense and personal injury litigation. In 1983, he was elected to the state House of Representatives and served until 1990.

One day at the Dessoto County courthouse, Grisham was inspired to start a novel. Grisham spent three years on A Time to Kill and finished it in 1987. Initially rejected by many publishers, it was eventually bought by Wynwood ...

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Name Pronunciation
John Grisham: jon GRISH-uhm

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