John Grisham

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About John Grisham
Long before his name became synonymous with the modern legal thriller, he was working 60-70 hours a week at a small Southaven, Mississippi, law practice, squeezing in time before going to the office and during courtroom recesses to work on his hobby—writing his first novel.
Born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to a construction worker and a homemaker, John Grisham as a child dreamed of being a professional baseball player. Realizing he didn’t have the right stuff for a pro career, he shifted gears and majored in accounting at Mississippi State University. After graduating from law school at Ole Miss in 1981, he went on to practice law for nearly a decade in Southaven, specializing in criminal defense and personal injury litigation. In 1983, he was elected to the state House of Representatives and served until 1990.
One day at the DeSoto County courthouse, Grisham overheard the harrowing testimony of a twelve-year-old rape victim and was inspired to start a novel exploring what would have happened if the girl’s father had murdered her assailants. Getting up at 5 a.m. every day to get in several hours of writing time before heading off to work, Grisham spent three years on A Time to Kill and finished it in 1987. Initially rejected by many publishers, it was eventually bought by Wynwood Press, who gave it a modest 5,000 copy printing and published it in June 1988.
That might have put an end to Grisham’s hobby. However, he had already begun his next book, and it would quickly turn that hobby into a new full-time career—and spark one of publishing’s greatest success stories. The day after Grisham completed A Time to Kill, he began work on another novel, the story of a hotshot young attorney lured to an apparently perfect law firm that was not what it appeared. When he sold the film rights to The Firm to Paramount Pictures for $600,000, Grisham suddenly became a hot property among publishers, and book rights were bought by Doubleday. Spending 47 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, The Firm became the bestselling novel of 1991.
The successes of The Pelican Brief, which hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list, and The Client, which debuted at number one, confirmed Grisham’s reputation as the master of the legal thriller. Grisham’s success even renewed interest in A Time to Kill, which was republished in hardcover by Doubleday and then in paperback by Dell. This time around, it was a bestseller.
Since first publishing A Time to Kill in 1988, Grisham has written at least one book a year (his other works are The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Chamber, The Rainmaker, The Runaway Jury, The Partner, The Street Lawyer, The Testament, The Brethren, A Painted House, Skipping Christmas, The Summons, The King of Torts, Bleachers, The Last Juror, The Broker, Playing for Pizza, The Appeal, The Associate, The Confession, The Litigators, Calico Joe, The Racketeer, Sycamore Row, Gray Mountain, Rogue Lawyer, The Whistler, Camino Island, The Rooster Bar, The Reckoning, and The Guardians) and all of them have become international bestsellers. There are currently more than 350 million John Grisham books in print worldwide, which have been translated into 45 languages. Nine of his novels have been turned into films (The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, A Time to Kill, The Rainmaker, The Chamber, A Painted House, The Runaway Jury, and Skipping Christmas), as was an original screenplay, The Gingerbread Man. The Innocent Man (October 2006) marked his first foray into non-fiction, and Ford County (November 2009) was his first short story collection. In addition, Grisham has written seven novels for young adults, all in the Theodore Boone series: Kid Lawyer, The Abduction, The Accused, The Activist, The Fugitive, The Scandal, and The Accomplice.
Grisham took time off from writing for several months in 1996 to return, after a five-year hiatus, to the courtroom. He was honoring a commitment made before he had retired from the law to become a full-time writer: representing the family of a railroad brakeman killed when he was pinned between two cars. Preparing his case with the same passion and dedication as his books’ protagonists, Grisham successfully argued his clients’ case, earning them a jury award of $683,500—the biggest verdict of his career.
When he’s not writing, Grisham devotes time to charitable causes, including most recently his Rebuild The Coast Fund, which raised 8.8 million dollars for Gulf Coast relief in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. He also keeps up with his greatest passion: baseball. The man who dreamed of being a professional baseball player now serves as the local Little League commissioner. The six ballfields he built on his property have played host to over 350 kids on 26 Little League teams.
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Books By John Grisham
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An innocent man is just days from execution. Only a guilty man can save him.
Travis Boyette is a murderer. In 1998, in the Texas city of Sloan, he abducted, raped, and killed a popular high-school cheerleader. He buried her body where it would never be found. Then, he watched and waited as police and prosecutors arrested Donte Drumm, a local black football star with no connection to the crime. Tried, convicted and sentenced, Drumm was sent to death row...
Nine years later, Donte Drumm is four days away from execution. Over 400 miles away in Kansas, Travis also faces death, as he suffers from an inoperable brain tumour. At last, he decides to do what's right. After years of silence, he is finally ready to confess.
But the law doesn't want to hear it. As far as they're concerned, they've got their man.
So how can a guilty man convince lawyers, judges and politicians that the man they're about to execute is really innocent?
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'Masterful - when Grisham gets in the courtroom he lets rip, drawing scenes so real they're not just alive, they're pulsating!' - Mirror
'A master at the art of deft characterisation and the skilful delivery of hair-raising crescendos' - Irish Independent
'John Grisham has perfected the art of cooking up convincing, fast-paced thrillers' - Telegraph
'The BEST thriller writer alive!' - Ken Follett
'John Grisham is the master of legal fiction' - Jodi Picoult
'Grisham is a superb, instinctive storyteller' - The Times
'Grisham's storytelling genius reminds us that when it comes to legal drama, the master is in a league of his own' - Daily Record
'A GIANT of the thriller genre' - TimeOut
*THE BOOK THAT MADE JOHN GRISHAM A HOUSEHOLD NAME.*
Featuring a new introduction from the author.
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He thought it was his dream job. It turned into his worst nightmare...
When Mitch McDeere qualified third in his class at Harvard, offers poured in from every law firm in America. Bendini, Lambert and Locke were a small, well-respected firm, but their offer exceeded Mitch's wildest expectations: a fantastic salary, a new home, and the keys to a brand new BMW.
Except for the mysterious deaths of previous lawyers with the firm. And the FBI investigations. And the secret files.
Mitch soon realises that he's working for the Mafia's law firm, and there's no way out - because you don't want this company's severance package.
To survive, he'll have to play both sides against each other - and navigate a vast criminal conspiracy that goes higher than he ever imagined.
_______________________________________
'A master at the art of deft characterisation and the skilful delivery of hair-raising crescendos' - Irish Independent
'John Grisham is the master of legal fiction' - Jodi Picoult
'The best thriller writer alive!' - Ken Follett
'John Grisham has perfected the art of cooking up convincing, fast-paced thrillers' - Telegraph
'Grisham is a superb, instinctive storyteller' - The Times
'Grisham's storytelling genius reminds us that when it comes to legal drama, the master is in a league of his own.' - Daily Record
'Masterful - when Grisham gets in the courtroom he lets rip, drawing scenes so real they're not just alive, they're pulsating...' - Mirror
'A giant of the thriller genre' - TimeOut
_______________________________________
There are some cases you have to take.
Adam Hill is a rookie lawyer at a top Chicago firm. The world is at his feet.
So why does he volunteer to represent a KKK terrorist under threat of execution?
And why is the defendant happy to put his life in a novice’s hands?
The answer lies twenty years in the past, but there are darker, more shocking secrets to be uncovered…
_______________________________________
‘A master at the art of deft characterisation and the skilful delivery of hair-raising crescendos' – Irish Independent
'John Grisham is the master of legal fiction' – Jodi Picoult
'The best thriller writer alive' – Ken Follett
‘John Grisham has perfected the art of cooking up convincing, fast-paced thrillers’ – Telegraph
‘Grisham is a superb, instinctive storyteller’ – The Times
‘Grisham's storytelling genius reminds us that when it comes to legal drama, the master is in a league of his own.’ – Daily Record
‘Masterful – when Grisham gets in the courtroom he lets rip, drawing scenes so real they're not just alive, they're pulsating’ – Mirror
‘A giant of the thriller genre’ – TimeOut
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Money can buy you anything. Even a verdict...
In a crowded courtroom in Mississippi, a jury returns a shocking guilty verdict against a chemical company. Accused of dumping toxic waste into a small town's water supply, causing the worst "cancer cluster" in history, the company knows it's in trouble. Their only avenue is to appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court, whose nine justices will either approve the verdict or reverse it.
But the company's owner, Carl Trudeau, isn't willing to let justice be done. Instead, he decides to try to purchase a seat on the Court. Through an intricate web of conspiracy and deceit, his political operatives recruit a young, unsuspecting candidate. They finance him, manipulate him, market him, and mould him into a potential Supreme Court justice.
Their Supreme Court justice.
And unless their scheme is exposed, the polluters will make a clean escape...
_______________________________________
‘A master at the art of deft characterisation and the skilful delivery of hair-raising crescendos' – Irish Independent
'John Grisham is the master of legal fiction' – Jodi Picoult
'The best thriller writer alive' – Ken Follett
‘John Grisham has perfected the art of cooking up convincing, fast-paced thrillers’ – Telegraph
‘Grisham is a superb, instinctive storyteller’ – The Times
‘Grisham's storytelling genius reminds us that when it comes to legal drama, the master is in a league of his own.’ – Daily Record
‘Masterful – when Grisham gets in the courtroom he lets rip, drawing scenes so real they're not just alive, they're pulsating’ – Mirror
‘A giant of the thriller genre’ – TimeOut
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