Sycamore Row: Jake Brigance, hero of A TIME TO KILL, is back Paperback – 3 July 2014

Seth Hubbard was dying of terminal cancer and in extreme pain, so it was not altogether surprising that he had chosen to end his own life. Much more surprising was that, the day before, he had handwritten a new will, leaving the bulk of his substantial fortune to his black housekeeper and specifically cutting out his own children and grandchildren. He had also left clear instructions that he wanted Jake Brigance to be the legal representative for his estate and to fight any challenges to the will `to the bitter end.'This book takes up the story of Jake Brigance three years after the end of the Carl Lee Hailey trial (A Time To Kill). Jake still hasn't recovered financially from the loss of his house, and the expected rush of clients after the Hailey trial hasn't materialised. So the idea of a case like this, with a guaranteed generous hourly rate for his work, strongly appeals. And when it becomes clear that Seth's family intend to throw everything they have into challenging the will it looks like it'll be a long case. Jake's determined to take the dispute before a jury, mainly because he loves the thrill of a court appearance.The question of why Seth would have left such a will is a matter of hot debate, with the majority view being that Lettie Lang must have been something more to him than just a housekeeper. But Lettie seems as bewildered as everyone else and maintains that their relationship was never more than that of employer and employee. So Jake's old boss, Lucien, and Lettie's daughter Portia set out to investigate the past...Grisham shows all his usual skill in this book - a great first chapter that hooks the reader straight away, an interesting plot, strong characterisation and the suspense of a jury trial with both sides pulling unexpected ambushes at the last moment. As in A Time to Kill, race is a major theme - the general feeling that Seth should not have cut out his own children is compounded by a belief amongst some of the white people that no black person deserves to have been left so much money. Greed figures prominently too - the greed of Seth's unloving children scrambling for their share, Lettie being inundated with requests for help from relatives she wasn't even aware she had, and, not least, the greed of the lawyers all trying to manipulate the case so that they get a healthy cut of the proceeds of the estate.This book doesn't have quite the same impact as A Time to Kill - Grisham has toned down the overt racism of the earlier book, presumably so as not to offend modern sensibilities, but it leaves this one feeling a bit sanitised. However, as a standalone, this is a very readable and enjoyable story. The twists were a bit obvious, I thought, meaning that the ending didn't have as much surprise value as I feel Grisham intended, and the last chapter was pretty saccharin even for Grisham, as well as seeming a bit too rushed and neat. But the quality of the writing, the characterisation and the contrast of darkness and humour mean that this still stands up well as one of Grisham's better books, leaving me hoping he will revisit Ford County and Jake Brigance again in the future. 4½ stars for me - so rounded up.

John Grisham at his best.....well he is going back to one of his early novels for a follow up story for this novel. It is a couple years down the line from 'A Time To Kill', and still suffering the after effects of that episode Jake Brigance gets drawn into a battle over a Will left by an eccentric old millionaire. The old man has left nearly all of his estate to the housekeeper and cut out his family before committing suicide.It's a simple story line, that opens a can of worms that keeps getting more intriguing. At times the court room stuff drags on a little but to be fair to Grisham he keeps it as short as possible as am sure a book true lily representing a court case would be veeeeery long and dull!Grisham is a great author and this was a pleasant return to a character that was intriguing the first time round.....perhaps he should do it for a couple more of his previous best sellers. Grisham doing what he does best...courtroom thrillers that keeps you guessing just when you think you know it.....despite knowing the ending will be a fairly happy one!

He doesn’t pull it off every time, but when Grisham gets a novel right, it’s simply a great read.Fortunately, 'Sycamore Row' works perfectly.Now, I can’t claim there’s much to shock and surprise in it. It has a structure with a long tradition to it – or, to put it less generously, which is far from innovative. A dramatic start opens up an opportunity for great success – with lawyers at the centre, as so often in Grisham. Things build in intensity, with the usual presentation of legal work as exhaustingly driven, though with huge potential rewards. Then there’s a calamity and things start to fall apart. All that’s left is the final twist which takes us to a cathartic ending – an ending explicitly concerned with fairness far more than merely the law.If that plot shape isn’t new, it’s because it works. It’s Jane Austen’s 'Pride and Prejudice', at one end of the spectrum, or Hammond Innes’s 'Campbell’s Kingdom' at the other. It grips the reader and makes us turn the pages. And it has us closing the book with a sigh of satisfaction.There are rules, of course. And in this novel Grisham respects them. For instance, the telling must be pacy, and Grisham’s nothing if not a master of pace. No chance of finding the story dull, even though it’s also highly informative: about the law, more particularly about the law in Mississippi, and about Mississippi race relations – lessons worth learning, conveyed without didacticism by the narrative itself.Briefly, the starting point – the drama which hits us from page 1 – is the suicide, by hanging from one of the title's row of sycamores, of a man in the last months of death by cancer. He leaves behind a recently drafted holographic (handwritten) will, rescinding the previous lawyer-built one, disinheriting his family and leaving the bulk of his fortune to the woman who cared for him during his final three years. She happens to be black, which is a far from insignificant feature; the family is less than delighted with the new will, which is highly significant – indeed the driving force behind the legal case at the centre of the story; even the place chosen for the suicide has its significance.The setting for the case is reminiscent of 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. That’s not altogether surprising: Grisham himself has cited Harper Lee’s novel as an influence on his earlier 'A Time to Kill' whose protagonist, lawyer Jack Brigance, reappears in 'Sycamore Row'. Brigance has many traits in common with Atticus Finch. What's more, the fictional town in which Brigance practises the law, Clanton, Mississippi, feels not unlike Finch's equally fictional Maycomb, Alabama.Another rule is that there have to be clues given early about the ending we’re heading for, and Grisham doesn’t disappoint in this respect either. The essential element for the final resolution is stated good and early in the novel – no cheating there – you’ve been told and can’t complain.All in all, therefore, a great read. More 'Campbell’s Kingdom' than 'Pride and Prejudice', but I’m not too proud to admit that I have no prejudice against Innes (and I’ll be reviewing 'Campbell’s Kingdom' shortly to prove it.)Certainly, no prejudice against 'Sycamore Row'. Great fun to read in a bath, on a train or even in bed: in fact, it was quite gripping enough to keep me reading rather longer in bed than many of the worthier, if occasionally more soporific, books I often find myself falling asleep to when I don’t have a Grisham to enjoy.No hesitation in recommending this one. If you like Grisham, you’ll like 'Sycamore Row'. You’ll like it if you like courtroom dramas and visions of the US deep south. And you’ll like it if you like well-paced, neatly constructed, well told tales of people, the conflicts between them and the way they can sometimes be intelligently resolved.

Excelente historia con un muy buen final.

Très bien développé

Right from the first page this book grabs your attention and doesn't let go to the very end. The various twists and turns keep you guessing which way it will go next.

My all time favourite book written by John Grisham was "A Time to Kill". The young, brash lawyer, our hero, was named Jake Brigance and he defended a black man by the name of Hailey for murdering white men in Ford County, Mississippi. Many people, including me, thought the book was as great, timely and important as To Kill a Mockingbird was in it's day. Since 1989 when I read that book I have read many other Grisham books, some I liked a lot and some I didn't. But that book was never far from my mind when I read anything else he wrote. Then twenty years later and after many huge successes, Grisham decided to reward his readership with another appearance of Jake Brigance and the town of Clanton, with many of the usual characters. Now I am torn as to which is my favourite Grisham novel. This book is just as good, with a completely different subject, not a murder but a last will and testament. If it doesn't sound like it could possible be exciting, just read it. I was deeply immersed and totally enthralled with the case as only Grisham has proved he can do it time and time again.My next book to read in this genre will be the third Jake Brigance book which is already on my wish list. I have no idea how I missed it when it was published about 10 years ago but I recommend you don't.

E' una lettura che si fa tutta in un fiato. E' difficile dire cosa non mi sia piaciuto!