Read this book first

no stars - I couldn't get past the heinous crime committed in the very first pages, the offensive language, the foul characters, which all would surely course through the next 440 pages, I stopped at page 4, already revolted - this book belongs in the garbage

Re-read. This is not one of Grisham's best but it's still extremely good. I couldn't help but like the main character and his friends despite all their flaws and this was only due to the great character development by the author. Slow at times and it rambles a lot but definitely worth reading

This was his first novel and it's still my absolute favorite. It opens your eyes to what people actually think, feel and do when faced with advercity.

i am definitely a John Grishom fan.This is one of my first books i read of his and it does not disappoint. I can actually invision this happening in the south, with all those racial tensons. Highly recommeneded

This book made me an instant Grisham fan. I was engrossed in the book from the beginning to the end, being fascinated by the Interesting characters and the cultures and society in a little fictitious Mississippi town in the 1980's, which should not be too far from reality in the Deep South?

Wow! Over 500 pages and the suspense and character development continue to the end.

A mesmerizing legal drama, vibrant, raucous and irreverent, this book has a freshness about it, so typical of early novels by blockbuster authors before they became rich and famous. It parodies small town Southern life, lawyers, and justice both white and black. I also loved the characters, which seemed totally alive.

A very interesting plot. A little ten year old black girl is raped, and viciously assaulted and her assailants are caught easily since they were heard bragging about their exploits in a bar. They are arrested, but before justice can be meted out they are shot by the little girl's father, Carl Lee.

The Southern town is divided on whether Carl Lee should be convicted and given the death sentence or treated like a hero! Jake Brigance is Carl Lee's lawyer and the story is about him, his family, and his friends as much as it is about Carl Lee. The politics, the racial undertones and the family dynamics are all handled really well and the book is a page-turner.

First, I want to say I did like this book. I spent a lot of the weekend reading it. It has a good plot and I did want to know how it ended. However, I find myself wishing Grisham would just write screen plays and forget the novels. I don't understand authors who can only describe what people do and say, only occasionally what they think and and never mention what anyone feels (no, hung over and nauseous don't count). Plot is about what characters do but the meat of fiction is (or should be) why. There's never a why to any of Grisham's characters. I should know that by now but it still amazes me.