Off the beaten path for Grisham
586774
I enjoyed reading something different from Grisham.  This book is not filled with legal jargon and a court room setting.  It's about a farm family and the trails a family endures being farmers in a changing time.  There are also life lessons for the main character.  Sort of a coming of age lesson.  Good Read
4342731
I throughly enjoyed The Appeal. It brought me back to the old style of John Grisham's style. This one rates as one of the best!
1029474
Must read for Grisham fans, but not the best place to start for newcomers.  Moves along quickly with excellent character developement. Grisham could  have spent a little more time developing a less disappointing ending, but was most likely in a hurry to pick up his paycheck.
2684920
A good read if you like the Grisham style. Devinitely engaging and worth the read. Looking forward to more of the same!
618214
Where is this 'Sycamore Row, of which John Grisham has written?

 I say out loud to myself, it's a story. Lettie and Seth  and Jake Brigance  lived a long time ago, and then only in John Grisham's  literary mind. Brown thrashers outside my window sing their sweet melody and agree.

They say, "Yes, not to worry--Sycamore Row is John Grisham's fiction. That sort of thing doesn't happen anymore."

When a rich man dies and leaves most of his wealth to a woman of lesser means, onlookers surmise that  Seth Hubbard's mental processes must have stopped working long before he made his foolish decision to do so. Neglected family members--who for quite some time had neglected their father--hire expensive attorneys to prove all sorts of devious conclusions about Seth and his relationship to Lettie Lang.

The money, that huge fortune exclusively theirs, must never end up in the hands of that manipulative Lettie Lang, the two roll up their sleeves declaring.

Jake Brigance is Hubbard's self appointed attorney. Their contesting his last will places Brigance once more and too quickly in the limelight in their small southern town.

With twists and turns, 'Sycamore Row' soon snowballs into circumstances that make Brigance and Lang's defense of Seth Hubbard's wishes unlikely to prevail. Still, Grisham builds the novel's tension with such suspense that readers will keep turning the pages to find out--among other wonders--what could possibly happen next.

Well done, John Grisham.
3107612
I remember the first Grisham book I ever read and thought it might be time to read another. I was not disappointed. Although lawyers , in general, are not my favorite people to read about, this story was very interesting and a great page turner. Lots of ups and down.
4935393
After reading The Brethern, and The Summons, it seemed pretty clear that John Grisham's work was going downhill.  A Painted House, Skipping Christmas and Bleachers were all pretty good, but not in his usual genre of legal thrillers.  Then, with King of Torts, although I didn't like it as much as his earlier books, I thought he was on the way back up.  The Last Juror proves that this is true.
With a compelling story, great characters and plenty of courthouse drama, Grishma creates a feeling similar to his earlier books, A Time to Kill and The Chamber.  Having never lived in a small town, I don't know how accurate Grisham's picture of it is, however, the important part is he makes it seem beievable, as well as interesting.  I think the courtroom and the small town are where Grisham's storytelling abilities really shine, and getting away form that has made his more recent legal thrillers suffer.  I'm glad to see him return to it in The Last Juror.
I hope Grisham's next book continues the improvement that I have seen since The Summons, which I thought was his worst book to date.  Grisham fans, as well as any fans of the genre should enjoy this book.
1674706
I like Grisham's style and irreverence.  Even though the journey was enjoyable, I thought the story dragged somewhat, and the big surprise at the end was evident well before it was revealed.
1522837
Grisham returns to form with this tightly written legal thriller. No one knows the machinations of our court system like Grisham, and he crafts a clever story that does keep the reader guessing right to the end. A lot of things are predictable with John Grisham, and that predictability has cost him a few stars in reader reviews, to be sure. Dialogue is sometimes just a bit stilted. And the great implausibility is the savvy cleverness of otherwise ordinary people who devise intricate survival plots in order to get what they want. Most regular folks, even lawyer-turned-cons, just aren't that brilliant. Otherwise, this is a very entertaining story told in the colorful Mississippi style of America's premier novelist.
445540
A rich old man concocts a plan to remove his family from his will in the most curious way.  What's left is a hectic aftermath where the family is suing, and the search for the missing sole heir takes a recovering alcoholic to the depths of the Amazon rainforest.  A nice location piece, with action, vivid descriptions, and the usual mixture of Grisham law, is a good read.
Grisham mixes in his great mix of characters, a great description of the Amazon and a removed Native American Brazilian tribe, and the intricacies of inheritance laws.  While the plot moves quickly, there's not much to capture the attention.  The reader shares no sympathies with any of the characters, and some characters are too one sided.  At some points, the descriptions get a little dull and overwhelming, especially concerning the family and their lawyers.
I'd like this book, but somehow it was unsatisfying.  It's got the classic Grisham story telling substance, but it's too long for such a simple plot.
2232259
Another classic Grisham, weaving a bobbing the reader through the mage of legal and personal pathways until they intersect.
4775767
John Grisham is wonderful at writing Pot-Boilers which Hollywood just happens to love.  His knowledge of law and his imagination have catapaulted him into success ever since The Firm.  What we didn't know (but always suspected) was that Grisham can transcend his familiar genre and still work his magic.
Told in the voice of a small boy on a cotton farm in the 1950's, A Painted House is a wonderfully told novel that I really enjoyed. While the story has a compelling pace and plot, it may not satisfy the hard-core Grisham fans.  There is, indeed, no courtroom scene.  I kept bracing for certain storylines to evolve into full-blown, Grisham-esque thrillers, but was pleasantly surprised when they did not.
There's a quiet little corner in Grisham's heart, a little Kent Haruf.  If you have that in you, read this book.  You'll find it resonates a lot longer than most of his blockbusters.
1465571
Excellent read, one of Grisham's finest. Grisham's use of characters fulfills the readers need to stay on task. Gresham kept the reader in suspense all the way to the prologue. 5 stars
184519
This is the best book Grisham has written in years.  The author reunites us with the colorful main characters from an earlier novel entitled "A Time To Kill".  Having seen the movie "A Time To Kill", I could vividly picture each main character in Sycamore Row, and it just cleared up character study visually even keener than just reading the book.  It is nice to see Grisham back to the settings which made him famous - Law practiced in a small Mississippi town in the present.  One of his better books and a pleasure to read.
517344
John Grisham's best books marry the inner workings of the law with unique characters and a tight narrative. That riveting blend  does not happen in The Whistler. I enjoyed learning how various government agencies work together in corruption cases, and after a slow start the narrative gained focus and energy, but the characters come across like people described in a news article. I recommend the book for those who regularly read Grisham. It's satisfying, but not his best.
656169
John Grisham always comes through just at a time when we think we want a good read for a long trip or something to momentarily distract ourselves he doesn't disappoint. This time there was  a sense of sense of justice that wove it's way throughout the novel,
3853782
Grisham....what an imagination!  Just when you think you are on the right track, it's off in another direction.  Great read.