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The Guardians
He was framed for murder.
Now he needs someone on the outside to save him.
For 22 years Quincy Miller has sat on Death Row without friends, family or legal representation. He was accused of killing a Keith Russo, a lawyer in a small Florida town. But there were no witnesses and no motive. Just the fact that Quincy was black in an all-white town and that a blood-splattered torch was found in the boot of his car. A torch he swore was planted. A torch that conveniently disappeared from evidence just before his trial.
It made no difference. The police photographs of the torch were enough. In the eyes of the law Quincy is guilty and, no matter how often he protests his innocence, his punishment will be death.
Finally, after 22 years, an innocence lawyer and minister, Cullen Post, takes on his case. Post has exonerated eight men in the last ten years. He intends Quincy will become number nine.
But there were powerful and ruthless people behind Russo’s murder. They prefer that an innocent man goes to his death than one of them. They killed one lawyer 22 years ago, and they’ll kill another one without a second thought.
Praise for John Grisham’s latest novel, THE RECKONING:
‘I couldn’t help thinking of Harper Lee’s great American novel To Kill a Mockingbird while reading The Reckoning . . . [Grisham] knows how to spin a yarn‘ – Chicago Sun-Times
‘May be his greatest work yet‘ – David Grann, New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon
‘Beautifully constructed . . . weaves a truly magical spell’ – Daily Mail
‘In this saga of love and war, John Grisham has given us a sprawling and engrossing story about a southern family, a global conflict, and the kinds of secrets that can shape all of us. From the courtrooms and jails of rural Mississippi to the war-torn Pacific, Grisham spins a tale that is at once entertaining and illuminating‘ – Jon Meacham, New York Times bestselling author of The Soul of America
‘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, internationally bestselling author of A Spark of Light and Small Great Things
‘When a master of storytelling and suspense takes on one of the most wrenching stories in history, the result is a book that will break your heart, set your blood pumping and your mind racing, and leave you gasping for breath by the final page. I’m still trying to recover from The Reckoning’ – Candice Millard, New York Times bestselling author of The River of Doubt and Destiny of the Republic
************
THE INNOCENT MAN by John Grisham is now a major six-part documentary series on Netflix
************
(P) 2019 Penguin Random House LLC
Now he needs someone on the outside to save him.
For 22 years Quincy Miller has sat on Death Row without friends, family or legal representation. He was accused of killing a Keith Russo, a lawyer in a small Florida town. But there were no witnesses and no motive. Just the fact that Quincy was black in an all-white town and that a blood-splattered torch was found in the boot of his car. A torch he swore was planted. A torch that conveniently disappeared from evidence just before his trial.
It made no difference. The police photographs of the torch were enough. In the eyes of the law Quincy is guilty and, no matter how often he protests his innocence, his punishment will be death.
Finally, after 22 years, an innocence lawyer and minister, Cullen Post, takes on his case. Post has exonerated eight men in the last ten years. He intends Quincy will become number nine.
But there were powerful and ruthless people behind Russo’s murder. They prefer that an innocent man goes to his death than one of them. They killed one lawyer 22 years ago, and they’ll kill another one without a second thought.
Praise for John Grisham’s latest novel, THE RECKONING:
‘I couldn’t help thinking of Harper Lee’s great American novel To Kill a Mockingbird while reading The Reckoning . . . [Grisham] knows how to spin a yarn‘ – Chicago Sun-Times
‘May be his greatest work yet‘ – David Grann, New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon
‘Beautifully constructed . . . weaves a truly magical spell’ – Daily Mail
‘In this saga of love and war, John Grisham has given us a sprawling and engrossing story about a southern family, a global conflict, and the kinds of secrets that can shape all of us. From the courtrooms and jails of rural Mississippi to the war-torn Pacific, Grisham spins a tale that is at once entertaining and illuminating‘ – Jon Meacham, New York Times bestselling author of The Soul of America
‘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, internationally bestselling author of A Spark of Light and Small Great Things
‘When a master of storytelling and suspense takes on one of the most wrenching stories in history, the result is a book that will break your heart, set your blood pumping and your mind racing, and leave you gasping for breath by the final page. I’m still trying to recover from The Reckoning’ – Candice Millard, New York Times bestselling author of The River of Doubt and Destiny of the Republic
************
THE INNOCENT MAN by John Grisham is now a major six-part documentary series on Netflix
************
(P) 2019 Penguin Random House LLC
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Reviews
A canny and engrossing blend of two types of Grisham novel: enough of the familiar formula of a single lawsuit in a single town, mixed with a more picaresque and multistranded approach that has the significant advantage of taking in a wider swathe of America
The master of the legal thriller turns to one of his real-life passions - freeing those wrongly convicted. Inspired by true stories, the skilful plot follows an "innocence lawyer", who goes up against dangerous foes as he dedicates himself to freeing a man behind bars for the murder of a lawyer.
Simmering with righteous and understandable anger in place about the manifest injustices of the US criminal justice system
...Grisham at his passionate best, conveying every ounce of his anger at the corruption behind the law. It is his finest book for some time. Do not miss it.
Delivered with all his signature easy, flowing style. A past master at the art of deft characterisation and the skilful delivery of hair-raising crescendos, Grisham makes this a deceptively easy read. But The Guardians is much more than a simple legal divertissement... Grisham aims a spotlight at the all-too-prevalent venality of the American 'win at all costs' prosecutorial attitude... much of his inspiration is based on tragic fact
This is typical Grisham: speedy, gripping, very good at conveying the complexities of the law in a digestible way
Speedy and gripping
No one with any interest in justice could resist this story, which Grisham has structured with all his familiar skill. The good characters are sympathetic, the wicked are truly revolting and the rage is wholly understandable
A taut, shocking legal thriller
a crusading novel
As a director of the Innocence Project, the subject of Grisham's gripping procedural is close to his heart
A canny and engrossing blend of two types of Grisham novel: enough of the familiar formula of a single lawsuit in a single town, mixed with a more picaresque and multistranded approach
John Grisham's legal thrillers are second to none and his latest, The Guardians, does not disappoint