mystery

In "The Last Juror" Grisham returns to Clanton Mississippi, the setting for "A Time To Kill." When a young widow is brutally raped and murdered, she names her assailant with her last dying breath: Danny Padgitt, a son of the dangerous and powerful crime family that seems to own Clanton. Willie Traynor, the young reporter who buys the local newspaper when it falls into bankrupcy, covers the case in the paper and befriends Miss Callie, the matriarch of the amazing Ruffin family and the first black woman juror in Ford County. Danny is tried and found guilty, but he receives life imprisonment instead of the death penalty. When he is released on parole after only nine years and returns to Clanton, the jurors who convicted him begin to die one by one, and the remaining jurors fear for their lives.

This novel features not only the setting of Grisham's earliest novel, but also the reappearance of its lawyers Lucien Wilbanks and Harry Rex Vonner. It covers some of the same issues of race and criminal justice. But if you are expecting this story to be similar to its predecessor, you might be disappointed. For one thing, the protagonist here is Willie Traynor rather than a lawyer. The story does contain some tense courtroom drama, but that comprises only part of the novel. Instead we see the gentler and softer-hearted Grisham as represented in some of his latest works such as "Bleachers" and "Skipping Christmas." After the fast-paced trial and while Danny is in prison, the story changes direction to indulge in some good old-fashioned Southern storytelling.

Through the voice of newspaper owner Traynor, a northerner who views the town with the eyes of an outsider but who comes to care for its inhabitants, Grisham shows his affection for Southern small town life. Grisham's descriptions and characterizations are so lovingly crafted that I felt I had attended a goat barbecue, sampled some powerful moonshine, sat on the balcony above the town square gossiping with and about the locals, played poker in the backwoods, visited every church in the county, and had lunch on Miss Callie's porch. The story is peppered with humor and folk wisdom. The ending, although sad, is satisfying. I strongly recommend this novel for readers who appreciate both the vintage and newer Grisham works.

Eileen Rieback

I'm a huge fan of John Grisham and have read all but one of his books. That said, I don't think that The Last Juror was as bad as some of the other customer reviewers have made it out to be. I was actually quite excited at the prospect of another of Grisham's stories set in Clanton, Mississippi, the same town in which the best book he's ever written-A Time to Kill-is set.

In The Last Juror, Grisham has done his usual fine job in developing interesting, colorful characters and in describing the town and its environs. It's very evident that he's familiar with the local color and has done a good job of capturing the look and feel of a small southern town from the early 70s struggling with with everything from racial prejudice and desegregation to corruption to the blight created when a national superstore chain comes to town. I also found the plot to be very interesting albeit somewhat derivative: a member of a very powerful but reclusive family is tried for and convicted of the rape and murder of a young widow. In prison, he receives preferential treatment and gains early parole. Shortly after his release some members of the jury that convicted him are killed. The story is told from the point of view of a college dropout who owns and operates the town's weekly newspaper. Parenthetically, I understand that Grisham did not want to title the book as it was but caved in to pressure from his publisher. After reading the book, I now uderstand why-the title is somewhat of a misnomer. There is no LAST juror, so just put this issue aside and enjoy the book.

Other reviewers have criticized Grisham's writing in this book and I must concede that on some level they're right. The book is divided into three sections, the first of which is as well written as any of Grisham's earlier work. The writing in the second and third parts, however, seem to suggest that Grisham started losing interest in his subject and was just going through the motions. I can't remember any Grisham novel in recent memory that contained so many short chapters. That's too bad, because this book really started out with some promise. After the first few chapters I was raving to my wife that this might be Grisham's best book yet but by the end I realized it was not to be.

Overall, I'd rate the Last Juror as a much better novel than some of his more recent efforts like the Testament and The King of Torts, but not quite as good as The Summons or A Time to Kill. While I that Grisham revisits Clanton in subsequent books, I also hope that he puts a little more effort into those visits. But then again, maybe my expectations were too high.

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.