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The Testament

john grisham

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In a plush Virginia office, a rich, angry old man is furiously rewriting his will. With his death just hours away, Troy Phelan wants to send a message to his children, his ex-wives, and his minions—a message that will touch off a vicious legal battle and transform dozens of lives. Because Troy Phelan’s new will names a sole surprise heir to his eleven-billion-dollar fortune: a mysterious woman named Rachel Lane, a missionary living deep in the jungles of Brazil.

Enter the lawyers. Nate O’Riley is fresh out of rehab, a disgraced corporate attorney handpicked for his last job: to find Rachel Lane at any cost. As Phelan’s family circles like vultures in D.C., Nate goes crashing through the Brazilian jungle, entering a world where money means nothing, where death is just one misstep away, and where a woman—pursued by enemies and friends alike—holds a stunning surprise of her own.

533 pages, Paperback

First published February 2,1999
Places
the united states of america, corumba, mclean virginia, 

This edition

Format
533 pages, Paperback
Published
January 1, 2000 by Island
ISBN
9780440234746
ASIN
B007CHUIXS
Language
English
Characters More characters

More editions

About the author

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john grisham

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John Grisham is the author of fifty consecutive #1 bestsellers, which have been translated into nearly fifty languages. His recent books include Framed, Camino Ghosts, and A Time for Mercy, which is being developed by HBO as a limited series.

Grisham is a two-time winner of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction and was honored with the Library of Congress Creative Achievement Award for Fiction.

When he's not writing, Grisham serves on the board of directors of the Innocence Project and of Centurion Ministries, two national organizations dedicated to exonerating those who have been wrongfully convicted. Much of his fiction explores deep-seated problems in our criminal justice system.

John lives on a farm in central Virginia.

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Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 99 votes)
5 stars
30(30%)
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42(42%)
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99 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
_COBRA
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I keep trying to find a Grisham book I actually like, but so far, not much luck. This one was among the better ones I've tried, though, in that the plot kept me sufficently interested and the Brazilian jungle setting was fascinating. (Rachel's endless religious babble, on the other hand, made me want to throw something.) The thing with Grisham is, I just can't deal with his characters. The ones well enough developed to actually have a personality I usually end up despising - this book was no exception to what rather seems to be the rule from what I can tell. I don't mind flawed characters (on the contrary, they're usually far more interesting), but I just can't connect with any of these people, which in turn makes it hard to feel at all invested in their fortunes and thus the plot. Ah well... I've got a couple more Grisham novels currently borrowed from the library, so the search continues.
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_Hammurabi_
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Great read

Grabs your attention from the start. Good pace, legal jargon not hard to follow.
Good moral to the story. Would recommend.
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AyanoAnimelist
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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My granddad recommended this book to me, saying that it was one of the few books he ever read that he just couldn’t put down. They were listening to it on audiobook one time while driving to visit our house and they got there in the middle of a chapter, so they drove a few loops around the neighborhood to finish it up! I don’t think I can give a better recommendation than that.

I loved so much about this book. A large chunk of it took place in the Pantanal, a swampy region in the west of Brazil the size of Colorado which I knew nothing about until reading this. A primary character is a missionary, working with unreached tribes deep in the forest. Another primary character has a really incredible character arc as he struggles with alcoholism, and I loved the way the author wrote about his journey and the way it intersected with his faith. And apparently John Grisham is a magician because he made the brass tacks of Virginia estate law and probate court interesting (at the low, low cost of $11 billion).

In all, I think the only complaint I have about this book is the pace. I just came off reading a 1000 pages on the building of a cathedral in Middle Ages England, so maybe it’s just the difference in writing style from one to the other, but I would’ve loved slightly more description of setting, especially in the gateway city of Corumbá. He included plenty for me to be able to imagine it, but I think that may only have been because I live in Brazil so I know the general appearance of cities here.

Age range: 16+
Main character is a recovering alcoholic, going through some ugly stages with it. Potentially jarring suicide scene, but it’s very quick and not too visceral. Legal jargon sections could definitely get boring for younger readers.
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allenj721
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Another great legal crime story which goes wrong beginning to be a John Grisham fan and look forward to reading his next book
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cynical_dude_
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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One of the best Grishams I've read. Loved the characters here and the story of redemption is heart-warming and challenging. Just a shame that there's no real legal battle until page 350...
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closetmakimaluvr
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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SPOILER WARNING!
One of the best books I have ever read. Grisham does a great job of blending the law genre and the adventure genre. Nate O' Reilly, the main character is a lawyer fresh out of rehab, for the fourth time. Nate travels to South America to find out more about Rachel Lane, mysterious illegitimate heir to Troy Phelan's 11 billion dollar will. Out of Troy's 3 marriages, dozen's of children, Rachel Lane gets it all. Nate travels to Corùmba, Brazil in hopes to find Rachel Lane, a missionary working in the Patanal swamp. Not only does Nate find her, he befriends her. But, she is unwilling to receive the 11 billion dollars. Nate finally leaves to come back to D.C when he contracts Dengue Fever, and almost dies. He is sent back to the states after recovering, but misses Corùmba. Rachel was able to show him the ways of god and help him quit alcohol and drugs. Nate decides to reinvent himself and visit the family from his broken marriages. First stop is Salem, Oregon where he visits his young children. Next he travels to Detroit to visit his older son, who had flunked out of college. When he gets back he is ready for the trial. Two Weeks after, the dispositions all done, it was time for the official trial. Afterwards Nate travels back to Corùmba to get Rachel's signature on the papers. Only to find out that she contracted Malaria and died. She had left a holographic will of herself, taking the fortune she received in the will of Troy Phelan and putting it in a trust that Nate was in charge of. The book ends on Nate's journey back to the states. John Grisham
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s-viv
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Let this book be a warning to me. I read it 20 years ago and loved it, but upon revisiting it, I would just say it was entertaining and leave it at that.

There's a lot of heavy handed preaching and simplified characters that would be worthy of a a junior high student.

I've changed who I was 20 years ago from when I first read this book, and the country has changed along with me. The paradigmatic insidious world we were thrown into 20 years ago are not who we are today. I, for one, think fiction needs to make us better than who we are and the flaws inherent in the author's non-transcending of 'the they' (Heidegger's 'das Man') of his time period that he was thrown into fails at that.

The NYTs in the 1930s had an article on how the books from 20 years ago weren't reflective of who we are today (in the 1930s). I was entertained by this book both times I've read this book, but I am happy that I see it now for the mindless excursion it is. I give it 4 stars because it made my daily treadmill routine easy, but I must say I don't feel good with myself for liking this tripe!
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SimpleCandy
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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It was okay, a lot of the characters are cliches. No "whore with a heart of gold", but close enough. My first Grisham novel and I'm disappointed.

I felt it was a pedestal for Grisham to push his views out to people that largely already agree with him. I'm going to guess a largely conservative crowd. I found it annoying how he idealized christianity over the tribal religion. And how he idealized the missionary at all. She really was a cliche of the dedicated missionary, the matriarch and virtue of the poor heathen pagans. Come on.

The description of the "punk teenager" is a humorous cliche, bordering on offensive. That kid has tattoos and piercings, he must be a dumb MTV zombie.

Not impressed, maybe I'll try one of his other classics.
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