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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
Listening. I'm glad I listened to this. I read the first book about 20 yrs ago, so I really didn't remember the events that were last year in this book. I found that I felt like things were dragged out more than necessary and Grisham doesn't let us really like anyone a whole lot.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Jake Brigance is probably one of my favourite fictional characters, and mr grisham did not disappoint with this new instalment!
Great storytelling. Grisham took his time writing this one and it shows. Good story, but even better character development.
If you were to walk into my apartment, the very first thing you would see is a bookshelf to your right, and a good 50% of that shelf is filled with John Grisham books. Collecting and reading his books was something I did often, because I just loved the worlds that he created in his stories. It is Grisham, in part, that gave me an interest in Criminal Justice, which I just graduated a degree in. He is a brilliant, brilliant author. His first book, A Time to Kill is without a doubt one of his best stories, and the movie that was made was also very well done with Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, and Kevin Spacey. 25 years later, Grisham’s first ever sequel book was made, continuing the story of Jake Brigance. Obviously, I had to get my hands on this thing. I finally did. So how was it!? It was..okay.
It takes place only three years after the events of the first book, so any hope of making a movie of the story is completely lost. The story revolves around an old man who took his own life after writing a handwritten will, giving 20 million dollars to his black housekeeper, literally cutting out his entire kinship. Well, racism is still an issue in this city, so it’s another case about race, but this time not murder, but money…
I hate to say it, but it’s really hard to write a legal thriller that is a sequel to the first. Murder is such a captivating a thrilling topic, that changing that to money really dulls things down. I would rarely call this thing a legal thriller as much as it is a drama, and a boring drama at that. It feels like it drags on for so long that it’s ridiculous. Grisham himself said he felt the characters were so developed that he could have kept writing for 1000 pages, but god would that be a pain. Yes, they are very well developed, and yes, Grisham still has the chops for writing a very well-written story, but like I said in my status updates, only grammatically speaking for Sycamore Row. The story is so, so boring, and it takes so long for the actual case to start that I really stopped caring for…everything, really. I just wanted to get to the end of it.
The end, to be fair was pretty good, pretty satisfying, and I’ll admit that it was a page turner in the last couple of chapters, but other than that, I was majorly disappointed and fighting between 2 and 3 stars for a rating. It’s only really 3 because of a good ending and brilliant writing style. The story was just lame, and something I don’t think could have ever been salvaged. I don’t think it was really Grisham’s fault as much as it was the poor foundation from the get go. He did well with what he had, but what he had wasn’t great.
It takes place only three years after the events of the first book, so any hope of making a movie of the story is completely lost. The story revolves around an old man who took his own life after writing a handwritten will, giving 20 million dollars to his black housekeeper, literally cutting out his entire kinship. Well, racism is still an issue in this city, so it’s another case about race, but this time not murder, but money…
I hate to say it, but it’s really hard to write a legal thriller that is a sequel to the first. Murder is such a captivating a thrilling topic, that changing that to money really dulls things down. I would rarely call this thing a legal thriller as much as it is a drama, and a boring drama at that. It feels like it drags on for so long that it’s ridiculous. Grisham himself said he felt the characters were so developed that he could have kept writing for 1000 pages, but god would that be a pain. Yes, they are very well developed, and yes, Grisham still has the chops for writing a very well-written story, but like I said in my status updates, only grammatically speaking for Sycamore Row. The story is so, so boring, and it takes so long for the actual case to start that I really stopped caring for…everything, really. I just wanted to get to the end of it.
The end, to be fair was pretty good, pretty satisfying, and I’ll admit that it was a page turner in the last couple of chapters, but other than that, I was majorly disappointed and fighting between 2 and 3 stars for a rating. It’s only really 3 because of a good ending and brilliant writing style. The story was just lame, and something I don’t think could have ever been salvaged. I don’t think it was really Grisham’s fault as much as it was the poor foundation from the get go. He did well with what he had, but what he had wasn’t great.
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was excited for a sequel to my favorite Grisham book, A Time to Kill. What I got was a mediocre Grisham novel. I also swear that the whole "Man cut out his family in wil, leaves it all to an unknown, shocking person" plot has been done by Grisham I think it was The Testment, but I could be mistaken. If you are looking for just a Grisham novel, this is a 3 star book, but if you, like me, had high hopes, you will be disappointed.
I think it has been almost thirty years since I read [b:A Time to Kill|32542|A Time to Kill (Jake Brigance, #1)|John Grisham|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554303029l/32542._SY75_.jpg|1804929], so it is a little hard to compare that book with this one (a sequel). Once I started this book, I couldn't put it down, and I think it's because it was exactly what I needed after a very long Brandon Sanderson book.
I used to religiously read all of Grisham's books and enjoyed all of them, particularly A Painted House and The Brethren. My father and I used to pass the newest hardcovers back and forth, but about 5ish years ago we both stopped reading... not really sure why. Anyway, I picked this book up out of a Little Free Library and took it on a short vacation to Door County. I forgot how much I love a good legal thriller. This was neither the best nor worst Grisham in the bunch, but I did enjoy it and plan to pick up the few mysteries I have missed. I think my pleasant surprise had more than a little to do with reading so much YA lately, and actually reading an adult book with more character and plot development.