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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
Did not enjoy this book at all. So much repetition. Too much déjà vu also from A Time To Kill. Literally skipped pages to finish the book.
“Was he about to make a courageous decision, or the biggest mistake of his career?”
There was a lot to enjoy about this book. We get another chance to visit Clanton, Mississippi and Ford County with Jake Brigance and many other characters from A Time To Kill (one of my favorite books). While I thought Sycamore Row was decent, I thought A Time For Mercy was better and a much better companion piece to A Time To Kill. Not as good as A Time To Kill, but few books are.
One thing a lot of reviewers did not seem to enjoy was Jake and some of the unethical dilemmas he faced and failed. I actually thought this made him more human and showed how even the “heroes” like Jake don’t always make the best choices. And to be honest, it wasn’t a full 180 like Harper Lee did with Atticus Finch in Go Set A Watchman.
Like most John Grisham books, he chooses a topic that can be controversial. Is killing someone ever justified? A Time To Kill originally asked this question and A Time For Mercy takes this further. I have found that he can sometimes be preachy but not to the point of ruining the book; I have read his books where I agree with his opinions, disagree with his opinions, and also undecided by the end. And that’s okay.
Grisham does a great job of developing all of the Gambles and he made the courtroom trial scenes very emotional. Jake is in his element there and are the best moments. This is definitely an adult book with a lot of mature situations so prepare yourself for that.
My only complaint in the book is that it was very long winded. It definitely could have been edited down to be 100 pages less and still have the impact. There are several slow moving parts that I felt hurt the overall story. But I still recommend this book, especially if you have read and enjoyed A Time To Kill.
There was a lot to enjoy about this book. We get another chance to visit Clanton, Mississippi and Ford County with Jake Brigance and many other characters from A Time To Kill (one of my favorite books). While I thought Sycamore Row was decent, I thought A Time For Mercy was better and a much better companion piece to A Time To Kill. Not as good as A Time To Kill, but few books are.
One thing a lot of reviewers did not seem to enjoy was Jake and some of the unethical dilemmas he faced and failed. I actually thought this made him more human and showed how even the “heroes” like Jake don’t always make the best choices. And to be honest, it wasn’t a full 180 like Harper Lee did with Atticus Finch in Go Set A Watchman.
Like most John Grisham books, he chooses a topic that can be controversial. Is killing someone ever justified? A Time To Kill originally asked this question and A Time For Mercy takes this further. I have found that he can sometimes be preachy but not to the point of ruining the book; I have read his books where I agree with his opinions, disagree with his opinions, and also undecided by the end. And that’s okay.
Grisham does a great job of developing all of the Gambles and he made the courtroom trial scenes very emotional. Jake is in his element there and are the best moments. This is definitely an adult book with a lot of mature situations so prepare yourself for that.
My only complaint in the book is that it was very long winded. It definitely could have been edited down to be 100 pages less and still have the impact. There are several slow moving parts that I felt hurt the overall story. But I still recommend this book, especially if you have read and enjoyed A Time To Kill.
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I just couldn't give this book an above-average score because it was just too long and too full of detailed information to hold my attention. I really liked the plot but the author spent so much time 'off plot', whether it be past trials or the characters, that I just found myself bored to be honest. I compliment Grisham for developing characters and giving detail, but it was actually too much in my opinion and just made the book drag on. And the ending left me hanging but not necessarily in a good way - it seemed like an opening for a 2nd book related to this plotline whereas I would have rather had some final closure. Again, I know Grisham is an excellent writer and I remember really enjoying A Time to Kill and The Firm, but this new book just didn't do it for me. I think a reader who likes a legal suspense novel that is long and full of a lot of detail will like this book.
Though an interesting story, what started out fast-paced and interesting ended up dragging on for me and I found myself wanting the pace and story to speed up. I definitely think it was a good story/average read and liked the legal aspects and the plotline, yet I can only rate it 'average' as the pace was just too slow for me.
Wow ! Grisham at his best , couldn’t put this one down.
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Its a point in favor of Grisham's writing, but these legal books are entirely too stressful for me to read! Putting aside the feelings of work related anxiety, as a whole I liked the story. The storyline and facts come across as relatively straightforward, but it is written in a way that still adds a lot of depth to it and revisiting these characters from prior books added greatly to it. I felt like it started off as a relatively slow read, I could have cut some of the secondary plotlines with Jake's other cases, but the second half of the book really took off and I wound up racing to the end.
sad
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A