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Fiction. Literature. Suspense. Thriller. HTML: #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER â?˘ Every jury has a leader, and the verdict belongs to them. They are at the center of a multimillion-dollar legal hurricane: twelve men and women who have been investigated, watched, manipulated, and harassed by high-priced lawyers and consultants who will stop at nothing to secure a verdict. Now the jury must make a decision in the most explosive civil trial of the century, a precedent-setting lawsuit against a giant tobacco company. But only a handful of people know the truth: that this jury has a leader, and the verdict belongs to him. He is known only as Juror #2. But he has a name, a past, and he has planned his every move with the help of a beautiful woman on the outside. Now, while a corporate empire hangs in the balance, while a grieving family waits, and while lawyers are plunged into a battle for their careers, the truth about Juror #2 is about to explode in a cross fire of greed and corruptionâ??and with justice fighting for its life… (more)
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There is always some level of suspense in The Runaway Jury. Grisham has a compelling knack for throwing readers into the middle of a puzzle and then feeding them the pieces, one by one – a knack which is established right from the very first page. He meticulously manages how much readers know, and how much they should be able to figure out at any given stage of the plot. The overall outcome is disappointingly predictable, but there are plenty of smaller twists and turns to keep readers guessing away in vain. Even more difficult is the task of pointing out right from wrong – Grisham's characters are all so deliciously crooked that readers won't know who to cheer for!
Much of The Runaway Jury takes place in a courtroom, so Grisham's experience as an attorney lends itself well to the narration. Having taken Legal Studies at school, I enjoyed the extra layer of realism, and found that it added a professional edge to the novel. Those with less interest in the law, however, may find the legal jargon confusing at times, and might need a few chapters to settle into the jury box.
With its intriguing ideas and energetic storyline, The Runaway Jury is a highly readable example of just how much fun the crime genre can be. Recommended especially for those with an interest in the justice system.
Decision: Not bad. But the movie is better due to some good paring-down and elevating finesse touches
As always, Grisham's got a message. This time the target is tobacco. Two teams of lawyers are ready to go at in a civil case a widow of a cancer victim has brought against the tobacco company. Both sides are willing to go to great means to win over the jury. But these plans are thrown off-kilter when they are offered a chance to buy the verdict outright by one unassuming jury member.
Grisham's experience definitely adds some really nice detail to how calculating 'the law' can really be, even before the illegal shenanigans begin. I certainly won't soon see a mustard-stained tie without the air of manipulation again. Working against the tension, though, is simply that the focus it spread a little thin. Between the plaintiff's lawyers and the defense lawyers, the judge, the shadow men behind the defense, the jury, and the conspiracy... it's all a bit busy. When it all comes down to the final moment, the jury has the say. With all the extra brouhaha, I felt a little detached from any momentum of what each individual jury members were thinking, robbing the story of truly sweet 12 Angry Men moments.
Grisham tells the story with a third person POV that puts you right into the action as a God. RUNAWAY JURY is about how a young couple with an agenda were able to
The "characters" of the putative protagonists of the story are a bit thin. The litigators -- bless 'em -- and even the other members of the jury, are filled in much more completely.
Tracking the course of a civil trial against Big Tobacco, and detailing the lengths both sides will go to to secure a victory, [book: The Runaway Jury] is one of Grisham's fast-paced legal dramas. This book is probably the last Grisham book that I bought and enjoyed, and I've read it more than any of the others (except [book: A Time to Kill]). After scheming for years to make it onto the jury of a tobacco trail, Nicholas and his partner Marlee finally succeed in placing themselves squarely in the middle of a pitched battle about tobacco and product liability. As Nicholas works to gain control of the jury, Marlee works on both plaintiff and defendent, offering victory to both sides (for a high price). The twist at the end is enjoyable, and despite the fact that Nicholas and Marlee are working to undermine our entire legal system, you can't help but like them and support them in their efforts.
I picked up [book: The Runaway Jury] a few days ago when reshelving books, and decided to give it another whirl. It is an enjoyable light read that helps to cleanse the palette after more serious or depressing fare. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend The Runaway Jury.
I have to admit that of
The concept was good, but this novel more than stretches the realm of believability in many ways. It's just not reasonable to believe that Easter could have done the things that he did. I did enjoy some of the details of the novel, such as the intense selection process and amount of time and money spent analyzing the potential jury members. I have never been a big fan of John Grisham as a writer, and his prose in this novel does nothing to change my mind about it. The best I can say about Grisham is that he sometimes has entertaining plots. I also thought the swerve at the end was good even though I knew it was coming after having watched the movie. This is a mixed bag, but better than most Grisham novels I have read.
Carl Alves - author of Blood Street
In this novel Grisham dissects the tobacco
Someone else decides to manipulate the jury results to their own profit (there’s a not unpredictable link to the anit-smokers involved, but what they do with the money is really nifty even if I didn’t quite understand how they did it). Soon the corporate lawyers are being sucked into a scheme they can’t control but think they might be able to manipulate. In the meantime they are sublty, and not so secretly, attempting to influence the jurors to their way of thinking.
Grisham knows how to write courtroom drama and this book has some of his best.
The plot centers around a lawsuit filed by the widow of a man who died from lung cancer
A secretive and influential consultant named Rankin Fitch is hired by the tobacco company to manipulate the jury selection in their favor.
However, things take an unexpected turn when a mysterious and unpredictable juror named Nicholas Easter makes it onto the jury. It turns out that Easter and his girlfriend, Marlee, have their own hidden agenda. They are playing both sides, secretly manipulating the outcome of the trial to their advantage.
"The Runaway Jury" explores themes of jury manipulation, the power of big corporations, and the ethics of the legal system.
It's hard to imagine a judge allowing any juror to take over his personal domain.
Not his best!
I usually really like Grisham’s work. This one was boring (too much detail) for the first half. The second half, when the plot began to be revealed, was better but still not up to his usual interesting plot and characters. You never really get to know
Maybe I just read this one after it was out of date. Maybe I was just not in the mood, but this was just not very interesting. Sorry, John.
2 stars out of 5