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A Time to Kill book cover

A Time to Kill

by John Grisham

A small-town Mississippi lawyer defends a father who took justice into his own hands

1989Steady paceTense

What it is about

In Clanton, Mississippi, a Black father shoots the men who attacked his young daughter. Young lawyer Jake Brigance takes the case, and the trial pulls in the whole town. The story is a legal drama and a portrait of a divided community.

Who will enjoy it

Readers who like courtroom thrillers with real moral weight.

What you will get

A gripping trial story that is as much about a town as a case. It is the book that launched Grisham’s career.

Behind the book

Wynwood Press printed only about 5,000 copies of Grisham’s first novel in 1989, after other publishers turned it down.

Source: Wikipedia

A Time to Kill Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting

Genre

Mystery & Thriller · Courtroom · Justice · Race

Length

515 pages · ≈ 15 h

More about this book

Characters

Jake Brigance and Carl Lee Hailey.

Setting

Clanton, in Ford County, Mississippi.

What makes it different

A legal thriller that is also a portrait of a divided town.

Feel

Tense, emotional and heavy.

About John Grisham

John Grisham4 books on Tori BooksAmerican author, born in 1955, and a former lawyer. He is known for legal thrillers, and also wrote Skipping Christmas.

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