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A Novel
by John Grisham
October 1946, Clanton, Mississippi.
Pete Banning was Clanton, Mississippi's favorite son—a decorated World War II hero, the patriarch of a prominent family, a farmer, father, neighbor, and a faithful member of the Methodist church.
Then one cool October morning he rose early, drove into town, and committed a shocking crime. Pete's only statement about it—to the sheriff, to his lawyers, to the judge, to the jury, and to his family—was: "I have nothing to say." He was not afraid of death and was willing to take his motive to the grave.
In The Reckoning, John Grisham takes us on an incredible journey, from the Jim Crow South to the jungles of the Philippines during World War II, from an insane asylum filled with secrets to the Clanton courtroom where Pete's defense attorney tries desperately to save him.
Reminiscent of the finest Southern Gothic storytelling and layered with Grisham's signature legal suspense, The Reckoning delivers on every page.
"A murder mystery, a courtroom drama, a family saga... . The Reckoning is Grisham's argument that he's not just a boilerplate thriller writer. Most jurors will think the counselor has made his case." —USA Today
"Cleverly subversive ... Grisham continues the rich literary tradition of Southern authors confronting a culture of white supremacy." —The Washington Post
"John Grisham is not only the master of suspense but also an acute observer of the human condition. And these remarkable skills converge in The Reckoning—an original, gripping, penetrating novel that may be his greatest work yet." —David Grann, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon and The Wager
"John Grisham is the master of legal fiction, and his latest starts with a literal bang—and then travels backward through the horrors of war to explore what makes a hero, what makes a villain, and how thin the line between the two might be." —Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Small Great Things and By Any Other Name
This information about The Reckoning was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to a construction worker and
a homemaker, John Grisham as a child dreamed of being a professional baseball
player. Realizing he didn't have the right stuff for a pro career, he shifted
gears and majored in accounting at Mississippi State University. After
graduating from law school at Ole Miss in 1981, he went on to practice law for
nearly a decade in Southaven, specializing in criminal defense and personal
injury litigation. In 1983, he was elected to the state House of Representatives
and served until 1990.
One day at the Dessoto County courthouse, Grisham was inspired to start a novel. Grisham spent three years on A Time to Kill
and finished it in 1987. Initially rejected by many publishers, it was
eventually bought by Wynwood ...
... Full Biography
Link to John Grisham's Website
Name Pronunciation
John Grisham: jon GRISH-uhm
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