3.5 Stars

Immersive book, particularly the first 200 pages, but dragged on towards the end. Very classic Grisham book exploring life in southern America in the 1970s. Not a thriller - more of an exploration of a small town and relationships.

The Last Juror would be my gateway novel to John Grishams’s literary world. Sadly, upon closing its pages, I had mixed feelings as to whether I liked it or not.

Set in the Civil Rights Movement period in the American South, The Last Juror focuses on Willie Traynor’s coverage of the most sensational crime to happen yet in Clanton, Mississippi. The story gives us a view of the happenings inside and outside of the court, as the prosecution tries to build a strong case against the perpetrator of the murder of Rhoda Kasselaw. A jury, despite certain prejudices, is brought together to serve justice. And we see the county as it is hounded by the ghost of the trial years after the fact.

Despite the flak that the story gets for its frequent side tracking, I find the book an easy page turner. I find it appealing reading about day to day life in a rural American county in the 60’s. Seeing Willie’s struggle to fit into the conservative community and his journey as a journalist is entertaining. However, as I read what is typical of a John Grisham novel, the courtroom drama is perhaps what I am most drawn into. It is quiet interesting to read as to how the U.S. justice system works. And with colorful characters such as Lucien Wilbanks, it gets more interesting.

However, the premise as pointed out in the back cover of my paperback is quite misleading. The Last Juror is not a thriller as I expected it to be. Throughout the story, we are instead presented with the interaction between characters, especially Willie’s relationship with Calia (Miss Callie) Ruffin and her overachieving black family. Granted that the focus on such relationship makes way to a somehow emotional ending to the story, it was not enough to overcome my dissatisfaction as to how the story ends. With few pages left, I kept wondering where the suspense as promised in the blurb begins. And once the tension unfolds, it fell flat to me how it proceeds and how it came to a resolution.

My take on The Last Juror is that it is better read as a story of colorful relationships between characters and understood as a critique on the flaws of the justice system (in which Grisham is quiet blatant). In retrospect, it is in this reading that I enjoyed the story most.

I do not remember reading The Last Juror. It might be I read it so long ago and I do not enjoy it or the book fails to hold my attention.

2 stars

This is my first Grisham novel and I absolutely loved it!

Set during 1970 in Mississippi, Willie Traynor a 23 year old dropout takes ownership of a falling newspaper.
One of the first items he's set to cover is a trial involving a rape and murder of a young mum.

The book really sets the tone of the era, Grisham expertly creates a vivid setting where the characters come to life.

I'm certainly intend to read more of he's bibliography.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Absolutely one of my favourite John Grisham books!

⚖️ When the jury of Canton, Mississippi fails to indict a convict, who committed a heinous crime and capital offense, to death penalty, an Assistant District Attorney gets perturbed and goes on a violent rampage. After getting bankrupt,

Waste of time of a book, nothing happens in the ENTIRE book. Most of it is just sitting around waiting for things to happen and for the page that they do happen it’s just not worth the wait.
DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME.

I am avid fan of John Grisham novels. However, I don’t think this book met his high standard of excellence. Too many pages seemed like filler and it lacked the usual legal magnetism Grisham incorporates in his novels. I guess no one is perfect.

This book was badly named. The name, plus the blurb that talked about the retribution starting when the murderer is released, gave me to understand that only one juror was left alive, and predisposed me to think that the book was about the hunting down of that last juror. Wrong. Once I forgot those expectations I enjoyed the book, but I did find the beginning slow as I was waiting for the action, and the killing to begin.

This story is about Traynor (23) who gets a job on a small newspaper way down south, and his life in that small community over the next 10ish years. It is a meandering tale, often quirky, and I enjoyed it very much. The frame of the story is a local murder, the trial, the parole of the murderer, and the deaths of jurors, ending in the resolution of that episode, but by no means is that what the book is about.

I would not say the book was brilliant. Traynor rang false to me. Everything he did worked out well, he has very little difficulty making numbers of friends, or doing what he has set his mind too, and he never really had a moral dilemma to wrestle with. But other than that, this book was a surprising gem.

رواية ممتعة ، تشدك بتفاصيلها الجميلة ..

قرية صغيرة تحدث فيها جريمة مفزعة ، يحاول البطل يكشف غموض القضية ويحاول يعرف من المجرم ..

أعجبني فيها كفاح البطل ، شلون كون مستقبله الوظيفي من الصفر ..

حماسة الشباب اللي عنده وروح المغامرة ..

I’ve been reading JG for years, but I am particularly drawn to his books about Ford County, Miss. This book was really an examination of younger versions of characters I’d read about in A Time to Kill, Sycamore Row, and others. I fell into life in Clanton (any small southern town) during the 70s. Harry Rex and Miss Callie, two major characters that propel the narrator, Willie Traynor, through the conflicts in the plot, are gems. :^)