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annie77's review
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A good, if frustrating story. Some of the passages were a bit slow, but over all it moved along.
blodeuedd's review
3.0
First I thought, is this the same Grisham, where are my courtrooms, I thought about that for a while and soon enough I got sucked into this book. Not that much about lawyers but more about justice and the political game, and Grisham knows how to tell a story.
The book starts in a little town, where many now have cancer, or are sick in other ways, if not dead. A case have been built and the big chemical company is trying to prove that they sure didn't have anything to do with the fact that this town is a cancer cluster, and no place in the US even comes near the numbers. The lawyers representing a woman who lost her husband and son, wins, and the company is to pay. Here the real story starts. Carl Trudeau can burn 20 million on a painting but he does not want to pay 41 million to the woman in question. The case is to be taken to the Mississippi supreme court, and what if they could get just the right person there. A conservative, Christian, gun loving, gay hating, trial lawyer disliking, white male.
Soon enough I started to go insane, I was so upset with certain characters and I just wanted to go and yell at them, or play real dirty too. Because politics is a dirty game, and towards the end i could only read a couple of pages before I hate to stop and bite my tongue. It gets really intense, and I only grew more angry. Justice can be bought easily, and Grisham shows what could happen with the right money. What he is saying is that the juridical system should not have anything to do with justice and he makes the point clear. He also shows how the people can be lead to think a certain way, perhaps they don't think at all that this candidate is the best. But he has the best coverage, most money, and his opponent is getting crushed in lies.
I enjoyed this book a great deal, and I am sure I could have liked it even more if it hadn't been for the end. It sure awakened a lot of emotions in me, mostly anger, but still that is what a good book should manage to do.
There is no action, but it builds up to something intense. Who will win the seat on the Supreme court and what will happen to the people in "cancer county"?
For people who like Grisham this is a book to read, his legal thrillers are always the best.
The book starts in a little town, where many now have cancer, or are sick in other ways, if not dead. A case have been built and the big chemical company is trying to prove that they sure didn't have anything to do with the fact that this town is a cancer cluster, and no place in the US even comes near the numbers. The lawyers representing a woman who lost her husband and son, wins, and the company is to pay. Here the real story starts. Carl Trudeau can burn 20 million on a painting but he does not want to pay 41 million to the woman in question. The case is to be taken to the Mississippi supreme court, and what if they could get just the right person there. A conservative, Christian, gun loving, gay hating, trial lawyer disliking, white male.
Soon enough I started to go insane, I was so upset with certain characters and I just wanted to go and yell at them, or play real dirty too. Because politics is a dirty game, and towards the end i could only read a couple of pages before I hate to stop and bite my tongue. It gets really intense, and I only grew more angry. Justice can be bought easily, and Grisham shows what could happen with the right money. What he is saying is that the juridical system should not have anything to do with justice and he makes the point clear. He also shows how the people can be lead to think a certain way, perhaps they don't think at all that this candidate is the best. But he has the best coverage, most money, and his opponent is getting crushed in lies.
I enjoyed this book a great deal, and I am sure I could have liked it even more if it hadn't been for the end. It sure awakened a lot of emotions in me, mostly anger, but still that is what a good book should manage to do.
There is no action, but it builds up to something intense. Who will win the seat on the Supreme court and what will happen to the people in "cancer county"?
For people who like Grisham this is a book to read, his legal thrillers are always the best.
dwsarver's review
1.0
Ending is just wrong! His books are usually good reading but some of his latest books have had bad endings!
bookgirl4ever's review
4.0
I haven't read a book by John Grisham for years and decided that I should read his most recent one, The Appeal.
It has its usual conspiracy, corruption, and commentary on the American justice system; this time regarding the election of judges.
The end was what really got me. I thought I had it but he surprised me.
It has its usual conspiracy, corruption, and commentary on the American justice system; this time regarding the election of judges.
The end was what really got me. I thought I had it but he surprised me.
cammschwartz's review
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book but the ending was so disheartening. I like how Grisham wrote this and has a central message and hopefully people feel a call to act on the millions of dollars plaguing our elections. Overall a great read but I’m very depressed after reading it
emjay24's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoy Grisham but I don't think I've read too too many of his books. This book begins after the trial is over, in a town where chemical dumps have ruined the water supply and poisoned the people. But what it's really about is how it's possible to buy a state supreme court judge. This book was written a few years ago, so i hope that the laws in some of these states have changed, but i doubt it. In some states, the judges are appointed, but in many, they are elected, and through shrewd campaigning and controlling, groups and companies can virtually guarantee the results they want in appeals. There is a ton of information and detail regarding appeals, cases, companies, elections, etc. I love it. I see on other reviews that people hate that, but i love information. Working in law, i can say that Grisham makes the law a bit more exciting than it is for me on a day to day basis, but i love it. Great book, i'll be reading more. I would have finished it faster, but I left it home when i went for a long vacation, and then lost the book for a few days upon my return lol.