Name: Kirby Drake's review of The Appeal by John Grisham
Item: The Appeal
Rating: 4
Author: Kirby Drake

John Grisham

The author of such best-selling legal thrillers as A Time to Kill, The Last Juror, and The Brethren presents his latest novel of courtroom and legal suspense as he offers a provocative look at the price of American justice. 2,800,000 first printing.

The Appeal

Kirby Drake

_______________________________________ Money can buy you anything. Even a verdict... In a crowded courtroom in Mississippi, a jury returns a shocking guilty verdict against a chemical company. Accused of dumping toxic waste into a small town's water supply, causing the worst "cancer cluster" in history, the company knows it's in trouble. Their only avenue is to appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court, whose nine justices will either approve the verdict or reverse it. But the company's owner, Carl Trudeau, isn't willing to let justice be done. Instead, he decides to try to purchase a seat on the Court. Through an intricate web of conspiracy and deceit, his political operatives recruit a young, unsuspecting candidate. They finance him, manipulate him, market him, and mould him into a potential Supreme Court justice. Their Supreme Court justice. And unless their scheme is exposed, the polluters will make a clean escape... _______________________________________ ‘A master at the art of deft characterisation and the skilful delivery of hair-raising crescendos' – Irish Independent 'John Grisham is the master of legal fiction' – Jodi Picoult 'The best thriller writer alive' – Ken Follett ‘John Grisham has perfected the art of cooking up convincing, fast-paced thrillers’ – Telegraph ‘Grisham is a superb, instinctive storyteller’ – The Times ‘Grisham's storytelling genius reminds us that when it comes to legal drama, the master is in a league of his own.’ – Daily Record ‘Masterful – when Grisham gets in the courtroom he lets rip, drawing scenes so real they're not just alive, they're pulsating’ – Mirror ‘A giant of the thriller genre’ – TimeOut

Jonathan Tysick

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!

Chris Aldrich

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.

Alyssa Jacunski

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.

The author of such best-selling legal thrillers as A Time to Kill, The Last Juror, and The Brethren presents his latest novel of courtroom and legal suspense as he offers a provocative look at the price of American justice in the story of a ruthless Wall Street tycoon out to rig a state supreme court to get the result he wants during an appeal. Reprint.

Nuno Figueiredo

Steffen Fagerström Christensen

Benjamin Erwin

Ella Zegarra

Brandy Allen

Christina Baltimore 

Samantha Rinehart 

Les Reynolds

When a judge returns a shocking verdict against a chemical company accused of dumping toxic waste in a small Mississippi town, the company's billionaire owner seeks to influence the appeal process by using his money to "buy" a seat on the state Supreme Co

Kirby Drake &
The Appeal by John Grisham

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Kirby Drake &The Appeal by John Grisham

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Kirby Drake &
The Appeal by John Grisham