A Time to Kill
Written by John Grisham
Narrated by Michael Beck
4/5
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Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
In this searing courtroom drama, best-selling author John Grisham probes the savage depths of racial violence...as he delivers a compelling tale of uncertain justice in a small southern town...
Clanton, Mississippi. The life of a ten-year-old girl is shattered by two drunken and remorseless young man. The mostly white town reacts with shock and horror at the inhuman crime. Until her black father acquires an assault rifle -- and takes justice into his own outraged hands.
For ten days, as burning crosses and the crack of sniper fire spread through the streets of Clanton, the nation sits spellbound as young defense attorney Jake Brigance struggles to save his client's life...and then his own...
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Reviews for A Time to Kill
3,220 ratings82 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5very interesting
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Grisham at his best!!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great book!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Still Grisham's best.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Time To Kill was Grisham's first book all the way back in 1989. Whilst it lacks some of the polish of his later, more popular works, it's still a great good story within the pages covering the murder of two men by the father of a young girl who was raped by them. Another layer is added by the two men being white and the father & daughter being black and it taking place in the South, Mississippi.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Justice and RevengeThe story of a guilty man and his judgment in Clinton, Mississippi. Revenge leads to a double murder. Can the jury appreciate his motives? Is it possible to justify the murders of two whites men by a black one? The story of Carl Lee Hailey's judgment and the facts that surrounds it is telling in a riveting way by John Grisham. Once I start to read it, I get hooked. The book flows nicely and is very interesting. This is the first book by Grisham. I must proceed to the others.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Grisham's first and still his best and most honest novel.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5On a spring afternoon in Clanton, Miss, when 10-year old Tonya Hailey had two rednecks subjected her to a rape and beating so savage it would leave her scared forever. days later, her father, Carl Lee Hailey, took revenge against Tonya's attackers. Armed with an M-16 rifle, he pumped them full of bullets in a bloody courthouse massacre. Faced with the grim prospect of the gas chamber, he sought help from Attorney Jack Brigance to represent him on murder charges.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is the book that introduces us to the writing of John Grisham and took some time to be published but thankfully it was.
It tells the story of young idealistic lawyer Jake Brigance who is hired to defend the indefensible.
after a young girl is brutally attacked her father decides to take the law into his own hands. The complication is the father is black while the little girl's attackers were white in a Mississippi where race is still a very big issue.
I enjoyed this book which gives a clear insight into the tensions experienced in Southern states and the battle lines drawn up between black and white.
The language is at times hard to read but presume that is how people did speak then.
The book is full of tension as you wonder which way it will ultimately end and you are swept up in the emotional journey taken by the characters as they try to navigate stormy waters.
did feel that it was a little too long and could have been edited better in places but all in all a great first book. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Probably one of Grisham's best books - mostly to the complexity of the circumstances and the various cultural (Southern) influences. Many compare this to _To Kill a Mockingbird_ (I don't think it's as good as that book), but this story has a different slant. A page-turner with some very vivid scenes that ring true.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Starting right off with the brutal rape of a 10 year old black girl, this book covers the trial of her father after he kills the two white perpetrators. Set in the deep south in the 1980's, this novel is painful at times for man's inhumanity to man, yet it's a strong reminder of the pervasiveness of prejudice and its horrific results. Unfortunately relevant in 2015.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This was the first of John Grisham's legal thrillers, centring around the trial of a black man Carl Lee Hailey for the killing of two rednecks who beat and raped his ten year old daughter, leaving her for dead. I first read this back in 2002 and have re-read it now prior to starting to read the recently published sequel Sycamore Row. The novel still holds up well, dealing with great issues of race, capital punishment, vigilantism, and whether committing a crime can compensate for an earlier crime, or whether two wrongs can never make a right. The novel does ramble occasionally and at a little over 500 pages is probably about 100 pages too long (the actual trial doesn't actually start until nearly page 400), but still reads very well and dramatically (I had forgotten the trial verdict so was feeling tense myself when reading the last few pages).
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5John Grisham for me is the Stephen King of 'legal suspense' fiction: the memory of reading his novels first time around is often way better than the experience of re-reading them again years later. I think I read most of his titles, up to A Painted House, but I thought A Time To Kill was a lot better than it actually is. Although, this was Grisham's first novel (and it shows). Maybe I'm thinking of The Pelican Brief.Anyway, I think everyone knows the plot - a ten year old black girl is raped by two rednecks in a small Mississippi town, and her father, despairing of ever getting justice in the courts, shoots them both dead. Jake Brigance, Grisham's obnoxious young lawyer, is hired to defend him. Improbable, but suitably dramatic. What I think I forgot - or overlooked - was the high cliche count, and just how crass the writing is. Jake is a pig, for a start. Not a colourful character who the reader loves to hate, because Grisham obviously wants everyone to love him, but a pig. His historic house is burned down, along with his daughter's dog, and his response is along the lines of 'Meh'. His improbably attractive and intelligent assistant is dragged into the woods, tied to a pole, stripped and assaulted, and Jake dismisses her trauma with 'She'll be fine'. The ten year old girl is also 'fine' by the end of the novel. The misogyny in this novel is almost as disgusting as the racism, the latter of which is mostly intentional but still nauseating to read. The 'n-word' is used 142 times, mostly by Jake and his friends.Grisham has claimed to have been inspired by To Kill A Mockingbird, and I can see the determined similarities, but Grisham in not Harper Lee and Jake Brigance isn't worthy to carry Atticus Finch's briefcase. I'm also a little depressed that the same level of obviously racism exists in both eras (and into today). Now I'm just annoyed that I downloaded this along with the sequel Sycamore Row!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5By far, the best of his books for my money. This one really was a page-turner and the ending was very satisfying. And the characters -- even the unlikable ones -- were interesting and well-drawn. Definitely a good read!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A ten year old black girl Tonya is raped and beaten by two white men. She is left for dead by the side of a river. Black folk find her and bring her home. she is admitted to the hospital in critical care. The rapists walk into a bar and drink and begin to brag about it. The local sheriff arrests them. Carl, Tonya's father, tells his lawyer he is going to kill the two boys who raped his daughter. Jake tells the sheriff what he knows, Ozzie says there is nothing to worry about, the boys will be protected, and the dad is probably talking because he's mad. Well Carl gets himself a M16, hides in a closet, and blows the two away. He is now up for capital murder which is the gas chamber. Jake Brigance is hired to become his lawyer. Things get crazy, Klu Klux Klan gets involved, threats get made. The book just keeps you going, lots of action and drama. Really enjoyed it.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The plot centres around the brutal rape of a black minor. Can a father take the law into his own hands. The middle of the book went into overkill with the pretrial maneouvres and the atrocious crimes committed by the kkk. The fate of three main female characters had elements of victimisation, subordination and/or humiliation, which was diabolical to read. The insanity plea and jury tampering make mockery of the court.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This early Grisham novel reminds us why we love the author in the first place. While this is enjoyable and highly recommended, it also serves as a sobering reminder of the authors inconsistency over the last few years. While Grisham has preserved his reputation as a best selling author, his latest works pale in comparison to his early books. Read this novel as a reminder of how great Grisham can be!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Really liked the beginning, but the second half really slowed down on the action. I also found some loose story ends. Characters had a very nice depth to them however, and the story is compelling overall.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of his early works which I read when it first came out and I consider it to be the best.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Plodded through, slow, not exciting
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Despite the popularity of John Grisham, particularly among those who frequent airports (it seems from the book stands there), I have not read one in recent years. I chose this title to read because I was looking for a "Silver" Vintage Mystery read - written 1960-1989 - and featuring a courtroom or a lawyer. It is the last title for my Vintage Mystery Bingo for 2014.The novel has an interesting foreword by the author, in which he says it took him three years to write and is largely autobiographical. It is an exploration of a scenario that he came across in the press, and then personalised: how would he himself react if someone raped/killed his daughter?In the long run that is the question that Jack Brigance poses for the jury in Carl Lee Hailey's trial.The story is set among the black/white tensions of the rural town of Clanton, Mississippi. Suspense builds as white and black residents take opposing views about whether Carl Lee Hailey should be found guilty: indeed there is a widespread belief that if he had been white he would not even have been charged. And then the black churches go into fighting mode, raising money for his defence. A local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan is created, and Klan members come from all over local counties to plant flaming crosses in the front yards of jury panel members and others. The National Guard is called in to keep the peace in Clanton town square after a battle breaks out between the blacks and Klan members. Jake Brigance sends his wife and young daughter out of state when he receives death threats on the phone.The novel gives detailed descriptions of the workings of the Mississippi justice system. Court scenes come across graphically and vividly. The characters really came alive for me. Even until almost the last chapter, this reader had almost no idea how the story would end.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Recently reissued, A Time to Kill was actually Grisham's first legal thriller. Covers the raw racism still present in Mississippi in the 80's, so this book may jar some sensibilities. A tad wordy, but we can excuse him as the story keeps moving. A good read for those willing to confront our history of prejudice to African Americans.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I was shocked, angry, surprised, upset, sympathize, and loved every minute of this book. one of the best stories I've read, and I read a lot. can't wait to buy Sycamore Row, an other Jake Brigance story. Great job Mr Grisham.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A 10-year old black girl, Tonya, is raped, tortured, beaten and left for dead by two white redneck boys in a small town in Mississippi. When her father, Carl Lee, shoots and kills the white boys, young lawyer Jake is called to represent him. Jake isn't sure they'll get a fair trial in their town, and not only that, the KKK have returned and are intimidating people, Jake and his family included. Wow! This was really good. I saw the movie years ago, but didn't remember the ending (though I will admit to picturing Matthew McConaughey as Jake! I'm not complaining...). There are lots of times in this book where I was on the edge of my seat and throughout the entire thing, I just wanted to keep reading. This is definitely one of my favourites read this year.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This was a good book and one to read again which I did. My same problem that I have with almost all his books is that he sometimes goes over long on a description when something shorter would have worked also. But all in all a good book. I just wish I didn't have to wait 5 or more months for them to send. I received this from LibraryThing Early Reviewer and I like this book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Southern culture can be quite charming. Those who aren't accustom to it can be easily manipulated by it's charm causing them to push to the back of their minds the sordid details of the area's past. Grisham holds back the curtain and shows the inner workings of this mysterious culture. The vantage point he gives the reader could not be any better than the rural southern town of Clanton, MS.The South remains peaceful as long as everyone stays in their place. This is especially true of Blacks. This "place" is unwritten but if you are born in the south it's in your DNA. When someone gets out of their place the surrounding area can turn into a powder keg. With two horrendous back to back crimes, Clanton, MS turns into a war zone.Jake Brigance is a young attorney in charge of defending Carl Hailey who has murdered two white men. There is not suppose to be any retaliation by a black man in the south against white men even if they have raped and almost killed the black man's daughter. The town is divided. If the wrong alliances are made death threats are imminent and followed up on. Jake Brigance is determined to rely on the one thing the South hasn't seen much of, justice.Being a native southerner {living in Mississippi}, I felt as if I was reading about people I knew. I would say that Grisham really captured and conveyed how the south "feels" and how the people black and white interact. What really stood out to me the most was how Grisham depicted the African-American clergy and their divisive cunningness. The courtroom drama was great.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The first Grisham book I've read and my favorite book of all time. There's nothing more gripping than an underdog attorney from the south who must defend a black man, risking his life as well as the lives of his loved ones.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A reread for me for my Banned Books Challenge. Yep, this is on the banned list from the ALA along with many other notable books we should read or reread again. Worthwhile read for fans of southern novels, racial injustice,and suspense. Early Grisham books are worth a second look. Sequel is finally coming out soon after all this time! Enjoy! 4 stars
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Even though this book was written early in his career I think this is the best work of John Grisham. This book takes us to the south during the time of upheaval over blending the black population with the white population. There was much prejudice and hatred of the black population, this book shows us how evil men can be when they are lead by bigoted and narrow minded leaders. Out of all this chaos there are a few white men that want to be sure that justice is achieved and punishment is handed down to the white men that brutally raped and tortured and left a young black girl for dead. When the father takes revenge the town is shattered by this. There is retribution for Jake Brigance the white lawyer defending the black father, This is a must read for all.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5If there is one modicum of truth to the story line then you will have grave concerns about our legal system. This book is able to fully immerse you in a legal battle that includes so many of the emotional triggers in our society. Race, bigotry, hate, violence, and many more are included in an excellent story that you must read. Warning, it may challenge some of your accepted norms.