The Runaway Jury (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: party room, tobacco trial, cigarettes cause lung cancer, Lou Dell, Judge Harkin, Herman Grimes (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Millions of dollars are at stake in a huge tobacco-company case in Biloxi, and the jury's packed with people who have dirty little secrets. A mysterious young man takes subtle control of the jury as the defense watches helplessly, but they soon realize that he in turn is controlled by an even more mysterious young woman. Lives careen off course as they bend everyone in the case to their will.

From Publishers Weekly

Grisham is either remarkably prescient or just plain lucky; because with public concerns about the tobacco companies heating up, and two major nonfiction books currently garnering a lot of attention, he has come up with a tobacco-suit novel that lights up the courtroom. In a Mississippi Gulf Coast town, the widow of a lifelong smoker who died prematurely of lung cancer is suing Big Tobacco. Enter Rankin Fitch, a dark genius of jury fixing, who has won many such trials for the tobacco companies and who foresees no special problems here. Enter also a mysterious juror, Nicholas Easter, whom Fitch's army of jury investigators and manipulators can't quite seem to track-and his equally mysterious girlfriend Marlee, who soon shows Fitch she knows even more about what's happening in the jury room than he does. The details of jury selection are fascinating and the armies of lawyerly hangers-on and overpaid consultants that surround such potentially profitable (to either side) cases are horribly convincing. The cat-and-mouse game played between Nicholas, Marlee and Fitch over the direction of the jury quickly becomes hair-raising as the stakes inch ever higher. As usual with Grisham, the writing is no more than workmanlike, the characterizations are alternatively thin and too broad, but all is redeemed by his patented combination of expertise and narrative drive. What makes The Runaway Jury his most rewarding novel to date is that it is fully enlisted in an issue of substance, in which arguments of genuine pith are hammered out and resolved in a manner that is both intellectually and emotionally satisfying. It's a thriller for people who think, and Jesse Helms won't like it one bit. First printing of 2.8 million; major ad/promo; Literary Guild main selection. (May) ~ Mystery
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (May 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385472943
• ISBN-13: 978-0385472944
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (435 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #528,897 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Grisham's Study in Characterization, April 2, 2000

By	Andrea Egger, author of Grave Accusations (Gallup, NM USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Runaway Jury (Mass Market Paperback)

This was an extremely enjoyable book, but it wasn't exactly a mystery as to what was happening or going to happen, as are most of Grisham's other books. I found the most entertaining part to be the way the characters interacted, and usually it's the courtroom pizazz and the plot twists and turns with Grisham. In this book, you can see what's coming -- but it almost makes you enjoy the book all the more because it makes you laugh at the establishment that's getting duped, or actually participating in being duped. Grisham could never write a bad book, and it appears in this one he focused more on people and their frailties, greed and humanity. I loved the scenes between our hero and the judge. AND the way the hero juror bosses everyone around. I'm not sure too many jurors in America know the power they really have in cases. As a police reporter, I've seen far too many jurors be afraid of the judge and in awe of the attorneys. Too many don't understand that they, as jurors, truly run the show and ARE the judges of the case.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Verdict is In, October 26, 2003

By	Brian Quinn (Delafield, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Runaway Jury (Mass Market Paperback)

The Runaway Jury by John Grisham is a very well written courtroom drama about a fictitious tobacco litigation case with an interesting plot twist with the plots of Nicholas Easter and Marlee. I won't go more into it so as not to spoil the fun of reading this plot for those who have not read the book as of yet. The thing I liked most about the plot is that no one seemed to be a "good guy" in all of this despite the fact that on the bad guy side there were the tobacco companies. Because of the way the characters were set, no one came off as a good guy and everyone came off kind of scummy. This is an interesting way for an author to approach a story and one that makes a reader more captivated than they otherwise would be in my opinion.

Characters on the whole were well developed, though he seemed to come right out and say what the characteristics of the characters were rather than inferring their nature through conversations and actions. However, it seemed that Grisham was aiming for a straight forward, easy read so in that respect he accomplished what he was going for. Overall, there may have been too many characters that made it a little hard to follow at times, but given the nature of the plot, a large cast of characters was necessary.

Overall, I felt that this story was fairly well told and is one of the better books put out there by Grisham having read some of his others. The language of the book is clear and concise with very little unnecessary embellishment of his prose to provide for a quick read. At the same time, some issues could have been improved in the same area because it seemed a little too clear cut.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My First Grisham...And What a Read!, July 28, 2002

By	OldBookGuy "old-book-guy" (Missouri) - See all my reviews

This was my first Grisham. I am an avid reader, but I usually gravitate toward nonfiction (particularly history and politics). However, while housesitting for friends the other week, I picked up a copy of this book. In short, I really enjoyed it. Here are three reasons:

1. Grisham's talent for clarity is impressive. Fine detail throughout, as well as believable dialogue, kept the story moving and relatively easy to follow. This was a challenge, too, considering the intricate storyline in The Runaway Jury.

2. This topic was fascinating. Anyone with an interest in jury deliberations will like the unique twists and turns in the story. The characters are unique, each one mysterious enough to get the reader thinking and speculating.

3. Finally, I really admire the ending. Of course, I don't want to commit the reviewer's sin of giving anything away, so enough said!

Sure, there are some weaknesses, as with any book. Some minor storylines disappear, while some do not push the plot along. There are a few passages that dragged a little.

But all in all, a great read. I can't compare this to Grisham's other works, but will say that I am now a fan.