The Appeal

A frustrating (I guess that's the point) story full of classic Grisham flavour. A bit preachy (again, the point), but I usually enjoy Grisham's sermons. He makes his point well!

Generally entertaining and diverting. Took a while to get into the plot of the story, particularly given the rather large number of characters within the three spheres of the story. Some of the plot seemed a bit on-the-nose in the opening act, but things picked up in the second act with a rather dull and blunted third act which culminated in a modern-day version of a passion play. Sadly, the end would have played better for me had there not been a note by Grisham at the end pontificating on his point in writing the book. The ending spoke for itself an artistic standpoint (though I read it for the entertainment and not for an artistic statement) and would have been better had I not read his note at the end.

This is my least favorite Grisham novel so far. I was bored by the political slant and how much of it was focused on an election to the Mississippi Supreme Court. It didn't focus much on the case or even the lawyers who won the case. I did like the bit of a twist at the end. You can't win them all.

John Grisham is another author that I've been reading for many years. However, I hadn't picked up one of his books in a long time and this experience reminded me why I enjoy his writing. I love the courtroom drama aspect and getting inside the head of lawyers. This is not my favorite Grisham by any means, but it was worth the time and I needed to know how it ended. We start this book during the trial against a large chemical company. The claim is that the chemical company has been dumping chemicals into the water supply, which has caused the death of many people, including the plantiff's son and husband. After the conclusion of the case, we follow not only the aftermath for the plantiff and many others who have suffered in similar ways, but also the owner / CEO of the chemical company, who knows that this case will end up in front of the Supreme Court of Mississippi. This book explored what having a lot of money can do to people, and how organizations use this to their advantage. This book made me angry. I have no doubt that this actually happens, and reading about it was aggravating. I was disappointed by the ending and how Grisham wrapped everything up. However, because I was on the edge of my seat and wanted to know how everything was going to end, this book was a four star read for me. Again, not my favorite Grisham by far, but it still did it for me. Trigger warnings: loss of a loved one; brain injury; corporate greed.