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Summary: The Last Juror
Review: Grisham has a unique talent to write about small, Southern towns and make them a place you want to live. He uncovers the good and the bad but he also makes you think. Miss Callie is a woman I would have loved to have known, for her strength, courage and commitment to her Lord and Savior & her family. Sure this book isn't a taut legal thriller, but it has it's moments. This book is more a character study which Grisham has a way with, especially when it comes to Southerners. Read it and enjoy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing really wrong, just very blah
Review: This novel is sort of a combination of a two different novels, one about a trial, and nine years later. It is definitely typical of later Grisham. Predictable, short, but readable. Grisham describes the life of a young man who moves to the south and buys a small county newspaper. The first part deals with a trial of a gruesome murder. The second part deals with a mysterious killer (though who the real killer is insultingly obvious). Along with it, Grisham uses this story to weave in other stories about racial integration, southern style, and families. There is nothing wrong with this book except for the fact that it tries to be all in one and doesn't go into any great depth. Is it a thriller, a social commentary piece, or a law book? It tries to be all three and the result is very ho hum. Definitely better than "The Street Lawyer" or "King of Torts". Doesn't reach the heights of "The Chamber" or "A Painted House." It's a decent read, but very mundane.
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Summary: Legal thrills with human interest story...
Review: The 1st part of this book is really good, good characters, murder, mystery, legal courtroom drama and journalism. The 2nd part was not very interesting to me, although the ending was good. Looks like Grisham is giving us a 1/2 legal(Runaway Jury) and 1/2 human interest(Painted House) story. Overall an enjoyable read for me. I prefer the author's legal thrillers.
Rating: 
Summary: It's just my opinion
Review: I loved this book! Thought it was one of Grisham's best. The charaters are so real I could picture them in my mind (and I must admit I was imagining who could play them in the movie).
The development of J.William Traynor to Willie Traynor is believeable and interesting. The friendship between Willie and Miss Callie is sweet. I wonder how much of it was based on Willie never having a mother. I cried a little at the end which I don't remember doing while reading any of Mr.Grisham's other books.
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Summary: Grisham returns to fine form...
Review: With 'The Last Juror', John Grisham has delivered a novel that will please fans of both his courtroom dramas and his other more literary works. While a slower-moving story than some of his other legal thrillers, I found the combination of the courtroom scenes juxtaposed with the snapshots of Clanton life circa the 'Old South/New South' era to be very effective. You really feel as if you get to know (and care for) the main characters...especially Willie Traynor and Callie. Pick this one up and give it a try...you shouldn't be disappointed!!
Rating:
Summary: One of John Grisham's Best
Review: I am a John Grisham fan and have liked all of his books. The Last Juror was one of my favorites because of all of the different themes that are developed in the book. The main character is a "wet behind the ears" northerner who moves to a southern town and buys the local small town newspaper. The book addresses racism, politics, religion, small town life, family, friendship and much more. It's not just entertaining - it gives you something to think about.
Rating:
Summary: Read it for the small town values
Review: In his latest novel, John Grisham has returned to the small town of Clanton, Mississippi, the scene of his first book A TIME TO KILL. Once again he has proven that he has the knack of drawing you into the book, compelling you to read more. I found that this was both good and bad in the case of THE LAST JUROR, good because I always had the sense that something was about to happen and I was desperate to find out what it was. Bad because, more often than not, I was left hanging. Covering the years 1970 to 1979, it's written in the first person from the point of view of Willie Traynor, a young outsider to the town who has just purchased the town newspaper. It's through his eyes that all the events in Clanton are reported. The big story of the day was the rape and murder of a young local woman who was able to identify her attacker as Danny Padgitt to her next-door neighbour. Much is made of the powerful and infinitely corrupt Padgitt family. We hear how dangerous they are when they're crossed, how ruthless they are when dealing with invaders to their land. They are an ever-present, menacing storm cloud lurking on the horizon of the peaceful town of Clanton. Traynor, as an outspoken mouthpiece against Danny Padgitt looks to have put himself firmly within the Padgitt's sights, as have the potential jurors for the trial. Callie Ruffin is the last juror chosen for the Danny Padgitt trial. She is a notable selection because she is the first black juror chosen in Ford County and she is a god-fearing mother of eight adult children and a friend of Willie Traynor. She is a fascinating character and her past is drawn out over a series of extravagant home cooked lunchtime meals that she prepared for Willie. As it turns out, the trial of Danny Padgitt is over one-third of the way into the book. From that point on it really reads like a study of life in a southern small town during the 1970's. Consequently the pace of the book settles down to match the comfortable lifestyle that comes with living in a small town. While this is fine and pleasant enough, it all became a bit frustrating after being revved up by the frenetic activity in the opening and the continual references of retribution that could possibly come from the Padgitt family. Admittedly, we do see some action later in the book, but these sequences too are punctuated by long pauses of inactivity. So much so that rather than building up tension and suspense, I found that it had the opposite effect and it was more a sense of relief that something was happening that I felt. I suppose the most damning observation I could make is the realisation that the anecdotes told to Willie about the misdeeds of the Padgitt family sounded a lot more interesting than the actual events of the book. The story of sheriff's deputies going missing on Padgitt land appeals to me a lot more than the manoeuvrings of minor politicians in an election race. It also seems that Grisham's chronic ending problem is continuing. I've been disappointed in the way Grisham has ended his books in the past (notably in THE FIRM, THE CLIENT and THE SUMMONS), often leaving the whole story unfinished at the final full stop. I felt that he did it again here. After meandering through town learning about every religious belief in the county, renovating Willie's house in record slowness and drawing out the discussion of whether or not to sell the newspaper, we were suddenly nearing the 350-page that appears to be Grisham's limit. Before I knew it, everything was wrapped up in a clumsy package and the book was finished. Long and carefully constructed plotlines were cut without a by your leave and characters who had become very familiar were abandoned. As mentioned at the start of the review, Clanton Mississippi was the setting of Grisham's first book, A TIME TO KILL and as such, we are reacquainted with a few of the characters from that book. Making his reappearance is Harry Rex Vonner, lawyer and source of all sorts of useful local knowledge for Traynor. Also, there's the deliciously unscrupulous defence attorney, Lucien Wilbanks, one of the better "man you love to hate" characters I've come across. Smaller appearances are made by D.A. Rufus Buckley and Judge Omar Noose who both have much larger roles in Grisham's earlier book. All is not lost with THE LAST JUROR. Read it for the pleasant imagery of rural living in Mississippi. Relax on Callie Ruffin's front porch over a delicious home-cooked meal. Delight in the increasingly profitable newspaper business built by Willie Traynor. But don't go looking for a tension-charged mystery.
Rating:
Summary: Grisham at the top of his game
Review: "The Last Juror" may be John Grisham's best work since "A Time to Kill." If there is anything Grisham understands it is the small town south and the lawyers and judges who inhabit them. Here, he adds a three-dimensional 23 year old newspaperman, Willie Traynor, into the mix. Willie is an interesting fellow, whom we see grow from a callow youth with a rich grandmother into a mature and responsible -- not to mention highly successful -- newspaper publisher. The story turns on the threat to the jury that convicts him by a vicious rapist and murderer, Danny Padgitt, and the subsequent deaths of several of those jurors - shortly after Padgitt's parole from prison after only nine years. Grisham gives us a clever, exciting story that is very different from what you might expect, in more ways than one.
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Summary: Big mistake - I read A Time To Kill, then this
Review: Grisham just seems to have run out of literary steam. A Time To Kill, and his novels through Pelican Brief, keep the reader interested and curious in the action, the people, and the outcomes. The characterizations and dialogue are lively and sharp. The Last Juror, even with the first person perspective feels distanced and uninvolved. I finally broke down and bought it because some editorial reviews promised hope of the old fire, but I'm putting it back on the market and re-reading some old Dick Francis stories....
Rating:
Summary: HOH, HUM!!!!!
Review: Not one of Grisham's best, but it was OK. The Thursday lunches at Miss Callies kept me hungry enough to read more. It is a good read, but doesn't compare to Grisham's earlier work.
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