John Grisham 01: A Time To Kill

"A Time to Kill" is John Grisham's first novel, but unless you read the foreword, it's not readily apparent. His fluid, detailed storytelling is unlike the choppy first attempts of many modern authors.
This is a fantastic book, my favorite by Grisham. Powerful, moving, with characters it is easy to care about. A black war veteran kills, execution style, the white druggies who raped his daughter. It's obvious that he's guilty of the crime, but can his lawyer find a way to get him exonerated for a crime that no one blames him for committing? Riveting.

But, I would not recommend making this your first John Grisham book. As he explains in his "Author's Note" in later editions of the book, it is his first ever novel and he tends to ramble at times. With that being said, this story does have a great story line and is told very well by Grisham.

The reason I advise to not make this your first Grisham novel is because there is a span in the book that drags on for quite a while and may cause many first timers of Grisham novels to give up on it early and discount Grisham as just an average writer, whereas, in my opinion he is one of the best in the genre. This is a great story with and exciting conclusion, but also keep in mind that it is his first novel.

Back Cover:
A black girl is raped by two drunken rednecks. The town reacts with horror until the girl's father takes justice into his own hands. He kills the two whites on their way to jail. For days the nation sits spellbound as the defence lawyer struggles to save his clients life and then his own.