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Summary: Southern storytelling at its best
Review: In "The Last Juror" Grisham returns to Clanton Mississippi, the setting for "A Time To Kill." When a young widow is brutally raped and murdered, she names her assailant with her last dying breath: Danny Padgitt, a son of the dangerous and powerful crime family that seems to own Clanton. Willie Traynor, the young reporter who buys the local newspaper when it falls into bankrupcy, covers the case in the paper and befriends Miss Callie, the matriarch of the amazing Ruffin family and the first black woman juror in Ford County. Danny is tried and found guilty, but he receives life imprisonment instead of the death penalty. When he is released on parole after only nine years and returns to Clanton, the jurors who convicted him begin to die one by one, and the remaining jurors fear for their lives. This novel features not only the setting of Grisham's earliest novel, but also the reappearance of its lawyers Lucien Wilbanks and Harry Rex Vonner. It covers some of the same issues of race and criminal justice. But if you are expecting this story to be similar to its predecessor, you might be disappointed. For one thing, the protagonist here is Willie Traynor rather than a lawyer. The story does contain some tense courtroom drama, but that comprises only part of the novel. Instead we see the gentler and softer-hearted Grisham as represented in some of his latest works such as "Bleachers" and "Skipping Christmas." After the fast-paced trial and while Danny is in prison, the story changes direction to indulge in some good old-fashioned Southern storytelling. Through the voice of newspaper owner Traynor, a northerner who views the town with the eyes of an outsider but who comes to care for its inhabitants, Grisham shows his affection for Southern small town life. Grisham's descriptions and characterizations are so lovingly crafted that I felt I had attended a goat barbecue, sampled some powerful moonshine, sat on the balcony above the town square gossiping with and about the locals, played poker in the backwoods, visited every church in the county, and had lunch on Miss Callie's porch. The story is peppered with humor and folk wisdom. The ending, although sad, is satisfying. I strongly recommend this novel for readers who appreciate both the vintage and newer Grisham works. Eileen Rieback
Rating: 
Summary: Not a good read at all
Review: I read some of the other reviews raving about this book. I have to ask myself if we were reading the same book. This was a 50 page book written on 350 pages. Very little actual plot. Actually, it reminded me, at times, of a poorly edited movie. I hope Grisham hasn't lost it. I enjoyed the King of Torts immensely, but this one was a real dud.
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Summary: John Grisham Strikes Gold!
Review: I am such a JG nutt! He is one of the few writers I read in this genre. I usually read romance novels but every once in awhile I enjoy a good mystery and when I feel like a good mystery I go in search of a JG novel. I loved this story, thought it was thrilling! I know you will agree. Buy the book and see for yourself!
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Summary: True Grisham form!!!!
Review: The book starts out in 1970 as a popular newspaper goes under. Enter Willie Traynor, a college dropout that stuns the local community with his quest to raise the newspaper from its ashes. This is soon accomplished with his daring editorial efforts and his coverage of a sadistic rape and murder that has been pinned on the town's secluded bootlegger family. Despite the influence of the Padgitt family in the community, Danny is sent to life in prison. Many viewed this as a tradeoff from the death penalty that he deserved, but regardless the community soon places the crime and the guilty party behind them as they move on with life. Nine years later, Danny's life sentence receives a parole. During this time, Traynor learns to adapt in a town known for unique characters and lack of trust from outsiders. When Danny is once again a free person, Traynor has more than his hands full to report on as jury members are turning up dead. True to Grisham's roots, this book returns to court action that made Grisham a household name. However, there are shades of the sentiment side he has recently displayed in such recent greats like Bleachers. If you like Grisham's work you are going to love this book!!!
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Summary: return to the roots
Review: This is a page-turner and I was happy to read a Grisham novel where the action had moved somewhat away from the courtroom for which he is famous. Finally the outcome is kept a secret until the last page and that makes this novel as fantastic as his first. Strongly recommend reading "the last juror", then you love Grisham. He has done it again.
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Summary: I positively loved it. Couldn't put it down.
Review: The setting in Mississippi will be familiar to Grisham fans but the story is not a typical suspense/mystery - it's more of a study of human fear and the frailties of the justice system. His books are always so thought-provoking but easy on the eyes and easy to digest quickly. I thought I might be disappointed because I'd built up my expectations for this book. Grisham is truly my favorite author and this one is as per usual, a great - great read. A few have not been up to his best levels but to me this one is as good as some of his best efforts but this plot is different from his typical formula and I thought it was extremely well done.
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Summary: Terrible deceit
Review: The jacket cover write-up of this book leads one to believe it is a courtroom thriller, like other Grisham novels. In fact it is not. It is a very slow-paced story of a newspaper in a sleepy little town. If Grisham really had faith in this story he should have hyped it for what it is and drawn an audience with its eyes open, rather than using deceit to lure unsuspecting readers to their 400 page, excruciatingly tiny-printed doom.
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Summary: Revisiting Clanton...
Review: As one of the Grisham faihful, I never fail to show up at the bookstore the day the book goes on sale. Needless to say, I was quite excited when The Last Juror hit the shelves. In my usual new Grisham book excitement, I took the book home, fixed some tea and began voraciously reading. I took a decade-long journey with narrator Willie Traynor in a matter of hours, but it took nearly as long to steer my mind back into the reality of my own life. Not only was I not disappointed with The Last Juror, I happened to be more than pleased with the novel. The Last Juror has the usual plot twists and turns of a Grisham novel, but it sets itself apart with excellent character development. The narrator, as usual, is a flawed yet lovable character that might have more in common with the reader than most of us would like to admit. The people our narrator comes in contact with are genuine and each character calls up the memory of someone in my own life. I was looking forward to revisiting Ford County and the rather interesting individuals who populate the small yet drama-filled town of Clanton. Grisham spent a great deal of time developing the setting in the novel and managed to create an even clearer view of this exciting little Mississippi town. From the narrator's visits to local churches to his initial amusement at the quirks of a small town newspaper and the folks who read it, Grisham lets Willie take us into a world that is very real and feels a little like home. His choice of narrator, a privileged outsider, allows him to use Willie to reveal so much about the town that might be taken for granted by someone in their element. If you are looking for an action packed thriller, this might not be the Grisham book for you. However, I strongly recommend The Last Juror to any Grisham fan or to anyone who loves reading a good book that captures the culture and people of a time and a region.
Rating: 
Summary: Title is misleading, story is fair-to-good
Review: The title completely makes no sense although there is a jury that is a major part of this story. Anyway, I enjoyed it better than some reviewers here but I do think the story had more potential. Spoiler alert follows (don't read until you've read the book or decided not to): Wouldn't it have been FAR better to make the killer the sister of the murdered woman, the sister who visited the newspaper man during the trial?
Rating: 
Summary: Grisham's not so stunning "comeback"
Review: This having been his first legal thriller in a couple years, I was not completely impressed by the movement or character development in this book. I have read all of Grisham's books and would easily place this near the bottom of the list.
The initial concept is interesting, but his storytelling was lackluster and characters a bit cliched.
I kept thinking the "crime family" resembled the Clampetts and his protaganist was unbelievable at times. A lot of the characters were shallow, and the end was disappointing.
If you are going to read this, wait for the paperback or get it from the library.
Or just re-read the good ones: A Time to Kill, The Client, The Brethren and The Pelican Brief.
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