The Runaway Jury

The book kept me interested, for the most part, but I never accepted the basic premise: that conspiracies, involving large numbers of people, can be maintained for the long haul. There is always the chance, the fear that just one of those inside the plot will "get religion" or sell their story to the tabloids, in which case there is pluperfect hell to pay. Not even the mob is leak proof all the time.

Conspiracies seem to abound with this jury, and the reader is never quite sure who is doing what and to whom. Piles and piles of money are at stake when a tobacco company is sued for selling the cigarettes that allegedly killed a man. If the suit is successful, more suits will surely follow, and more piles and piles of money will be at stake.

This being the case, it is logical to believe that tobacco companies might want to tamper just a tad with the juries. Ditto on Wall Street. But the people who run tobacco companies are not lamebrains, even though they may not be entirely forthcoming with the truth about their product. They know that if they get caught fixing the jury, the jig is up for them. Subtlety and deniability are paramount. But in this book, those two elements seem to be missing, and that's where the plot falls of its own weight.

The characters are nicely drawn. The courtroom feels real enough. The dialogue is right. Not being a lawyer, I can't comment on the legalities, but they sound OK. All I know is that I didn't accept the basic premise, and that is absolutely essential for the enjoyment of a book.

After my husband finsished this book on our vacation in 1996, I took a look at it and couldn't put it down!!! This was the first Grisham novel I ever read. Boy, was I hooked.

(I saw the Pelican Brief at the theatre when it came out; I went with my sister who read the book and said that she was so happy that the movie followed the book so closely. Of course there were subtle differences to benefit the needs of Hollywood.)

So, I waited and waited.... for the Runaway Jury movie to come out... it was so nice to be able to read a book before the movie came out and to be so excited to see how the wonderful book you read is adapted to the big screen! I was not disappointed!

If you haven't read this book and you like suspense, you've got to read it! You won't want to put it down.

If you haven't seen the movie, read the book FIRST!

Enjoy!!!

With all the new interest in non-Star Wars material, I decided to give John Grisham a chance. My mom recommended this particular book for me to start off with.

Plot:
The setting is Biloxi, Mississippi. The cast: twelve men and women. Their purpose? To determine if the widow of a man that smoked three packs of cigarettes per day should be compensated for her loss. The problem? There are people who will do and pay anything to see that the lawsuit turns out to their benefit.

Good:
The story is good. I enjoyed reading about the smoking trial, the evidence that each side provided supporting or discrediting smoking, and the antics of the trial. And I was impressed and amazed at the careful planning and strategy that Marlee and Nicholas Easter had to go through in order for their ploy to succeed.
Further, Grisham imbues this novel with subtle humor--nothing gut-wrenching, but just enough to ease back on the tension that grows with each page. Very well done and crafted.
The characters were pretty good on the whole. They are well-described, unique people thrown together against their will. They may be good, corrupt, indifferent, selfish, young, old but they are real. I was especially fond of Fitch, the villain, probably because it seems oxymoronic that a man who was addicted to alcohol would support smoking. The other character I enjoyed was Herman Grimes, partially because he seemed to be the only incorruptible one in the jury.

Bad:
The story may be good...but it takes a long time to get there. My book had 550 pages. While a lot happens in those pages and Grisham paces it well enough so you don't get bored, you still reach a point where you ask yourself, "Is this going anywhere?" "Where's the end?" and "Why is this important?"
Also, the protagonists (primary, at least), Nicholas Easter and Marlee were rather cold and unemotional. I tried to sympathize with them and like them, but they just weren't a likeable team. I was impressed with their ploy, but I had no feelings for them--not like many of the other characters (Hoppy, Derrick, etc.). Further, the explanation for why Nicholas and Marlee go through the hoopla of the trial makes little sense in light of the crazy events revealed in the conclusion.
Lastly, the story is rather far-fetched. It seems hard to believe that Easter would have been able to "hack in" to the jury system so quickly and easily, especially considering that Marlee and Easter are working independently on her own money. Also, Judge Harkin sure makes a lot of allowances for his rebellious jury that seems too placating. These and a million other convenient coincidences make it more difficult for a realistically minded person to enjoy this.

Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
Curse words consist mostly of da**, he**, sh**, bi***, and so on. Very mild compared to other books of its kind.
I was impressed with how Grisham was able to detail a sexual situation without going into graphic detail. However, there are still several scenes to note. When in sequestration, the jurors are allotted "Conjugal Rights". Sexual situations are described in a round-about manner on several occasions. Jerry and Poodle have a liaison (and Jerry is going through a divorce).
Violence is minimal to none. A man is threatened to force his wife to vote a particular way. Fitch has a bad temper.

Overall:
A very long book. That is my first thought after finishing this one. And one in which it is hard to root for the "good" guys, who have no feelings to sympathize with. And with a very confusing ending. However, I enjoyed the trial on such a controversial subject, learning how each side was duplicitous, and seeing the individual jurors. 3.5 rounded generously to 4 (for good writing, good humor, and suspense).

i wanted this sent to somewhere other than my home address and it was easy to do and got there perfectly without problems. great job!

What an entertaining book. Who cares if it's not 'believable' as someone said in their review, it's a story not a documentary. This novel is engrossing, the characters are FUNNY and the pictures created for your mind as you read, are priceless. I found the information about how jurors are chosen and the ultimate [or should I say potential] corruption involved in huge trials, to be amazing. I can only IMAGINE the shenanigans involved in say, an OJ Simpson-type trial. I've only recently discovered Grisham books so I have lots of discovery and enjoyment to look forward to. What a great writer, who can shape characters and make them so amusing!