A Time to Kill - John Grisham

Advantages: Brilliant read, unputdownable
Disadvantages: Some parts are distressing

...impressed. It was not a bad film, just weaker than the book as many films are. The book opens with a scene depicting the brutal rape and torture of a ten year old black girl by two white men. It is very distressing to read as it is very detailed and graphic and almost led me to put the book down. However I persevered and I am glad I did. The aforementioned white men are arrested and put into jail. they are taken to the court for the pretrail matters ...
...wounding a deputy. The focus of the novel is on the trial of the father for the shootings. Characters Carl Lee Hailey - The black father on trial for shooting the two white men who raped his young daughter. Carl Lee spends most of his time in jail awaiting trial and so does not feature often in the novel. He is a devoted family man and although not well off strives to provide well for his wife and children. He is torn apart by his daughters brutal ... Read review

Advantages: Suspense till the end, a book you cannot put down
Disadvantages: None

A Time To Kill by John Grisham is a captivating novel that is almost impossible to put down. A true masterpiece by an excellent author. When this book was first released the response to it was luke warm. However upon the release of “The Firm” people began to appreciate Grisham’s work and suddenly “A Time to Kill” was in demand and was re-published as if it were a new book altogether. The books brings alive a sensitive ...
...novel, the story is about a black man named Carl who takes the law into his own hands when he shoots and kills two young white boys who brutally raped and beat his 10-year-old daughter. The peoples of the town are at loggerheads between the law and a father’s natural instinct to protect his family. A local lawyer, called Jake takes up the daunting and almost impossible task of defending Carl. This decision causes mass media attention as well ... Read review

Advantages: Strong character development, well integrated plot, emotional and provocative read
Disadvantages: Some distressing moments

...with this work. It takes a lot for an author to genuinely impress me as I read a lot when I find the time to do so. I found this book to be extremely good and the characters and the plot were meticuously formed and well maintained throughout the book. Once I started reading I found that I could not put the book down; even staying up until 4 AM one night to finish. The book begins bu describing the rape of a black ten year old girl by two drunk and ...
...for dead and this was a distressing part of the book to read. I am grateful that I read on however, as the book proved to be a very good read. The two white men are arrested by deputy Ozzie Walls and are taken to court for the pertrial arrangements. When they are being escorted back to the jail the father of the raped girl shoots both the men killing them both. It is his trial that the book focuses on. Characters Ozzie Walls - A black deputy who ... Read review

Advantages: Good plot, makes you think
Disadvantages: Slightly predictable ending

...though it is just as a thriller it also carries a message that certainly made me think. The basic plot is two racist rednecks in Mississippi kidnap and rape a 10-year-old black girl. They are arrested but the girl's father, unconvinced that he will get justice, decides to take matters into his own hands and he machines guns them down. He is charged with pre-meditated murder and faces execution if convicted. Along comes the hotshot lawyer who wants ...
...we, if we were on a jury, would treat a person who'd killed two men for raping his daughter at the same time he explores race hatred in the Deep South. In doing this he also highlighted the huge differences in culture between the American South and the UK (and incidentally made me glad I was living in the latter). Despite or probably because of its deep thought provoking properties I really enjoyed this book a lot and had difficulty putting it down: ... Read review

Advantages: Readable, tightly plotted novel which is unafraid to grapple with some sensitive issues
Disadvantages: Harrowing opening chapter

...the highly successful author of a string of legal thrillers, many of which have been made into high-profile films – among the best known of which are The Firm and The Pelican Brief. Grisham, an ex-lawyer (no surprise there) is probably the best-known and most successful, though certainly not the only, exponent of this genre. However, his first novel, A Time to Kill, which was first published in 1989, did not originally attract that much attention. ...
...that the first one gained a wider readership. A Time to Kill was also subsequently made into a film starring Matthew McConaughey, Samuel L Jackson and Sandra Bullock. An interesting introduction to this edition of the book by Grisham provides some insights into the background to how he came to write it, and his feelings about it now. A Time to Kill (original working title “Deathknell” – probably a bad idea, although I’m ... Read review