The Runaway Jury - John Grisham

Published by Century Books: London, 1996.

I had been interested in reading a John Grisham novel with Elise, and remember enjoying this one a lot when I last read it many years ago.

A high-profile case of tobacco industry versus the estate of a smoker is being prepared in Biloxi, Mississippi, and both sides are anxious to have the right jury selected. We are introduced to Nicholas Easter, who is suspiciously non-suspicious, and soon are aware that he is positioning himself intentionally to get on to the jury. Once he succeeds in doing so, this mystery is increased when a woman named Marlee enters the scene and begins to interact with Rankin Fitch - a behind-the-scenes wheeler-dealer who is working to achieve a positive outcome for the big tobacco companies. Marlee begins showing her ability to influence the jury in subtle ways, and is obviously hoping to tempt Fitch into working with her for an undetermined outcome.

As the story progresses we see a lot of elements in play, with particularly (but not exclusively) the tobacco industry trying to influence jurors behind the scenes. In fact, one of the interesting things about this book is that there are no clear-cut 'heroes', only a bunch of people each working for their own interests. At times there are a few too many storylines on the go for a novel being slowly read over a few months, and the actual case can drag in patches (which, it is acknowledged, it is also doing for the jury), but the mystery of what Nicholas and Marlee are up to, why, and whether they will succeed in doing so are enough to keep the book engaging to the reader.

Having re-read it now, I still enjoy it. It was a fun one to discuss with Elise too.

Completed with Elise, 16 August 2023.



(Elise Books)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Various Picture Books

Image
As I said in my review of Peter Rabbit's Storytime Collection , I am wanting to find a way to acknowledge the books I read to Ezekiel without adding individual picture books to my reading list - I feel that would dilute it a bit much. So in this post, I've decided to look at a group of picture books all together. I've picked five picture books that I like (with a notable and noteworthy exception), and also asked Elise for five picture books she is  enjoying reading to Ezekiel. It's interesting (and helpful for this list) that our lists haven't overlapped at all this time around. So, here are ten picture books (plus one bonus 'book') that Ezekiel has been exposed to in the first 7ish months of his life: Karl's List Bunnies on the Bus - Philip Ardagh and (illustrator) Ben Mantle. Published by Walker Books Ltd: London, 2020 (2019). This is one of my favourites among our current picture books. A group of bunnies hijack a bus and hurtle through the town on th
Read more

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Image
Published by Allen & Unwin: Crows Nest, NSW, Australia, 2008. Book snobs, block your ears. *whispers* I think the movie was better. Okay, book snobs, you can unblock your ears now. *waves to get the attention of book snobs* To be honest, a huge reason why I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society at this moment in time was that I thought it would be funny to have two books with ridiculously long titles appear back-to-back in my list. For anyone who thought that there were super-deep reasons why I picked the books that I did, I hope this helps you see the error of your ways. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (which I am refusing to shorten for the rest of this review) still tells the same story as that in the movie adaptation (also called  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society ), but does so in a less gripping (though still interesting) manner. This is for a few reasons: firstly,  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society book is e
Read more

In a Free State - VS Naipaul

Image
Published by Picador: London, UK, 2001. First published 1971. An odd book, containing three different narratives (along with separate prologue and epilogue narratives) all on the theme of feeling displaced in a different culture and environment.  The first main story is told from the perspective of Santosh, an Indian servant who moves to America, only to find himself questioning his life choices. The next story follows a West Indian man who travels to England to support his brother, only to become disillusioned and eventually murder someone.  The third main narrative - which is the longest and also the titular 'In a Free State' - follows follows two English expats - Bobby and Linda - as they road trip south through a progressively more war-torn African nation. On the way we learn a lot about each character - mostly through their conversations - and witness their interactions with each other and those around them. As with many of the  Booker books I have read, there is an occasi
Read more