Rating: 
Summary: Good, But not Great
Review: Grisham's latest book is suspenseful and filled with memorable characters. Unlike his other legal thrillers, this one only has a few court scenes. It is about Willie Traynor, a college dropout who buys a local newspaper. A terrible murder occurs in the town and Willie covers it in his newspaper. The murderer threatens to seek revenge on the jury that convicts him. The plot continues as Padgitt, the murderer is released from prison. The jurors begin to die, one by one. Overall, this novel is adequate, but not nearly as exciting or intriguing as Grisham's early works. The unique characters such as Miss Callie, and her family make the novel worthwhile.
Rating: 
Summary: All over the place
Review: Well, the reviews are all over the place for this latest Grisham work. I suppose the only thing worse than being talked about badly is not being talked about at all, and in this case, Grisham has nothing to worry about. That aside, I absolutely loved THE LAST JUROR and fully realize that I'm in the 50 percentile here. I'd imagine this book will do better with those who are first-time Grisham comers (is there such a thing?) or those who liked A PAINTED HOUSE or SKIPPING CHRISTMAS. But the book is really a combination of all that's come before. Sorry for those who didn't like it, but I thought it was his best effort yet.Also recommended: McCrae's THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD- A Tour of Southern Homes and Gardens
Rating:
Summary: Grisham at His Best!
Review: The Last Juror is so disgustingly Grisham, it is ridiculus! This is one of his best so far!
Rating:
Summary: His new style
Review: Slower paced than his legal thrillers, with writing on the same level as McCrae's "Bark of the Dogwood" and a plot worthy of "King of Torts," this latest Grisham novel does NOT disappoint. It's understandable that hard-core Grisham fans want another "The Firm," but the guy has moved on, combining his "Painted House" style with his other genres to create his best effort yet. Please give this book a chance!
Rating: 
Summary: I felt a little cheated based on the jacket cover premise...
Review: Although I'm not to the point with Grisham as I am with Patricia Corwell's Kay Scarpetta series, I'm getting a little burned out on uneven writing. I finished The Last Juror, Grisham's latest novel, and I can't say I liked it as much as I thought I would. The jacket cover led me to believe this was an action novel focused on revenge. The novel takes place in the 70's in Mississippi, and a small town is forever altered when a brutal murder and rape takes place. The killer is the son is some powerful criminal elements in the county, but they are unable to buy off the jury to acquit him of the crime. The jury convicts him of the murder but can't sentence him to death. After 10 years, he's released from prison and jurors start getting killed. Everyone thinks he is guilty due to a threat he made at the trial. All this action takes place against the backdrop of a young man who moves into the area, takes over the weekly local paper, and turns it into a powerful force of the community during all the changes that occurred in those turbulent times. The novel is split up into three parts. The first one delivers on what I thought the novel would be. A crime, intrigue, fear, and tension. The crime is solved, justice is served, and the criminal is sent to jail. The second part then heads off in a direction that is completely detached from the main story. There's no action. It's just the advancement of the guy's career and life of running the paper. Even when the third part of the story kicks in, the action of jurors getting killed doesn't kick in until the last 50 pages or so. The ending twist comes up pretty quickly, and the final end of the novel sort of leaves you sitting there thinking "he ended it like *that*?" If you were reading this for a human interest story covering the changes in the deep South during the 70's, it would work better in my opinion. But to build this up as a crime thriller and then basically drop that angle until the last few pages left me feeling a little cheated.
Rating:
Summary: A leisurely drama at a small town's pace
Review: John Grisham divides his latest novel about a young man's venture in newpaper publishing into three parts. Part One evokes "The Rainmaker" in the way he presents 23-year old Willie Traynor entering a new profession and coming up against danger and challenges that demonstrate his appealing humanity, intelligence and calm drive. Shortly after this college dropout starts operating his new paper in his adopted Mississippi town, he's reporting on a lurid capital murder case complicated with a bought sheriff, a powerful criminal family, and a system corrupted by greed and fear.
Willie develops a tight bond with Callie Ruffin, a matriarchal black woman who becomes a juror in the case, giving him more than a casual interest in its outcome and in the convicted man's threat that he will kill every member of the jury when he gets out of jail. In part two, the tension of courtroom dramatics completely subsides while Grisham indulges in Willie's development of his paper, his relationships, and town issues. Grisham finally returns to the murder plotline in the last part, some years later, when the murderer has been paroled far earlier than he should have been, and members of the jury are getting killed.
The Last Juror makes a finely detailed read on issues of justice and civil rights but doesn't come up to Grisham's earlier novel for consistent intensity. One has to appreciate, however, his absorbing way with the dimensions of character and human motivation, which explains its number two position on best seller lists.
Rating: 
Summary: Grisham has lost his touch
Review: First 2 Grisham books great. The rest, pardon me, stink. I have tried and tried and tried - loyal to a fault. But none of them are anywhere close to A Time to Kill and The Firm.
How sad.
Finally thought it time to try again and picked up The Last Juror. Another mistake.
This book is average at best and full of hoo-hum drama. If you must read it, pick it up and the library. Not worth, frankly, your time or money.
Rating:
Summary: The Beautiful Letdown
Review: For one hundred and seventy four pages I was captivated by Grisham's uncanny ability to once again unfold a masterful story revolving very subtly around a gruesome rape and murder, but revolving not so subtly around a southern town, its people, its shortcomings, and its peacefulness.
When Part Two of the book began, I felt like I was reading a different novel. Were it not for the sneaking suspicion that something "big" was forthcoming, I would have not completed the novel. For approximately 100 pages, Grisham wanders in his writing, and there seems to be very little tying the stories together. I was astounded, as this is not the Grisham I am used to.
Although the storytelling is superb, the story itself leaves much to be desired. Grisham fans will truly enjoy the growth in Grisham's writing, and will see a writer who continues to evolve as a story-teller, and an author. If this is your first jaunt into Grisham, I would suggest one of his earlier books.
Rating: 
Summary: Is that all there is?
Review: John Grisham's books tend to be easy to read. Unfortunately, his latest books do not live up to "The Firm" or "The Client." The plot of "The Last Juror" was so simple that it didn't take a rocket scientist to guess what would happen next. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but this story line left you feeling unsatisified. I compare it to going to a great restaurant and not getting enough to eat. After plowing through 355 pages, you are left with a "is that it?" reaction. The ending wasn't enough to make you feel full when you left the table.
Rating:
Summary: a disappointing ending
Review: I enjoyed reading this book as I usually do with Grisham's new novels. Though I read it in one day, and though the characters were described in a way that I felt like I got to know them, the plot and ending wasn't as developed or memorable as The Brethren or The Firm. As I came to the end of the book, I wondered if there couldn't be something that culd have been added to it. I felt that the mystery and ending intrigue could ahve been drawn out or further explained. I was just amazed as I came to the last twenty pages that it was all going to be wrapped up in that short amount of material. Sadly it was. I'd have given this book five stars had the ending been more developed.
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