The Last Juror

The Last Juror by John Grisham is a novel that takes place in a small town in Mississippi in 1970.  True to Grisham's typical themes, this is a novel that focuses on a courtroom drama.  However, the narrator is not a lawyer or even one of the members of the trial, and while the trial is the main theme in the book, it does not take over the novel. 

Willie Traynor is a guy just out of college, with family money to burn and not much ambition.  But when the paper he works for goes bankrupt and the opportunity to buy the paper presents itself, he can't turn down the challenge.  1970 Mississippi is still a place that has lines drawn as far as the color of a person's skin goes.  But Willie, being from up north, doesn't believe in those lines.  He decides to do a series of interviews for a human interest story about a black woman who's children have all become PhD's (except for her youngest).  At the same time, a rape/murder takes place in this small town and a man from a famous outlaw family is arrested for the crime.  The paper exploits the crime and the trial to build it's distribution.  Willie is able to turn the paper around and begin raking in the dough.  But suddenly, he has real interest in this story, the corruption that taints the town and the people affected by the ignorance that is so blatant.

The jury (which has the first black woman to ever sit on a jury in this town - who also happens to be the focus of Willie's human interest series) finds the man guilty, but falls short of giving him the death penalty.  Only a few years later, after lining the pockets of some officials, the man is out of prison and the jurors start showing up dead.  The race is on to find the man responsible for the killings before too many more jurors die.

There are a few plot twists in this book that keep the reader guessing.  The characters are likeable and the reader roots for them.  There are times when I was on the edge of my seat with worry for the characters, and I did shed a few tears.  However, this was not as much of a thrilling page turner as Grisham's books usually are.  It has a slower pace, but that allowed for more character development which makes for a good read nonetheless.

Happy Reading!