The Runaway Jury - John Grisham

Well, forgive me for jumping up and down in a fit of joy. I have finally finished reading this book. It is not particularly long, nor particularly difficult to read. I had already seen the film before reading, so should have known where it was leading. But if I told you when I had started reading it, most of you would probably laugh. I guess that's why I am taking so long to keep up with reading people's reviews, though. I am such a hopelessly slow reader I will be lucky to have read twenty books by the time I die. Okay, slight exaggeration there, but basically it can take me a matter of ... more

The Runaway Jury is another legal novel by John Grisham. This time, the focus of the story is a lawsuit by widow Celeste Wood against cigarette manufacturer, Pynex. Celeste’s husband Jacob, a lifelong smoker of three packets of cigarettes a day, died at the age of 51 from lung cancer. The focus of the case is Pynex’s liability for Jacob’s death. It is the ninth such case of its kind, and each time so far, the jury has found in favour of the cigarette manufacturer. But every time a case like this comes to court, it sends panic through the tobacco industry, as a plaintiff’s verdict would cause ... more

They had a book sale in our library not long ago and one of the books on sale was The Runaway Jury written by John Grisham. I had heard of the author and on looking at the list of books he had already written I knew a few of the stories, either from films made from the books or that I had already read them in the past. The blurb on the back of the book made it look like a good interesting story so I bought it, and at an excellent bargain price of 20p. This story is set around the courts where a big case is being heard. The plaintiff is the widow of a man who died from lung cancer and she is ... more

The Runaway Jury by John Grisham Characters The Jurors 1. Nicholas Easter The main juror who is the centre of attention and the leader of the jury. His past is clouded and is a big worry for both legal teams. He becomes more important as the trial progresses. 2. Jerry Fernandez A gambling man who is going through a divorce and is in love with a fellow juror. He is also Nick's friend so will vote as he does. 3. Rikki Coleman A non-smoker who makes up the numbers and has very little part to play over the trial. She did have an abortion in high school but this never emerged. 4. Millie Dupree ... more

Jury duty won't make you rich. But unfortunately, no judge ever delivered that instruction to Nicholas Easter, protagonist-juror in John Grisham's new novel The Runaway Jury. It's a timely legal thriller: Giant tobacco companies versus the giant anti-smoking lobby. Three-pack-a-day, 30-year smoker Jacob Wood is dead and his widow's lawsuit becomes all things to all involved; plaintiffs' lawyers want to open the door on tobacco liability, and the industry wants it slammed shut. Grisham puts The Runaway Jury's court action in Biloxi and flavours it with the Gulf Coast's gambling and gumbo. Less ... more