or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
Express Checkout with PayPhrase
What's this? | Create PayPhrase
More Buying Choices
84 used & new from $0.01
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
A Time to Kill
 
 
See all product images
See all 2 customer images
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.
 
  

A Time to Kill (Paperback)

~ (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (363 customer reviews)
List Price: $13.00
Price: $10.40 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $2.60 (20%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Want it delivered Friday, November 27? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Ordering for Christmas? To ensure delivery by December 24, choose Standard Shipping at checkout. Read more about holiday shipping.

28 new from $4.49 56 used from $0.01

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
  School & Library Binding, September 30, 1999 $18.40 $18.40 $39.92
  Paperback, March 14, 2004 $10.40 $4.49 $0.01
  Mass Market Paperback, June 22, 2009 $9.99 $2.99 $0.01
  Audio, Cassette, Audiobook, January 31, 1993 $88.00 $88.00 $19.99
  Unknown Binding, December 31, 1991 -- -- $1.77
Catch Up with John Grisham
Discover books, read about the author, find related products, and more. Visit Amazon's John Grisham Page.

Best Value

Buy A Time to Kill and get xxxHOLiC, Volume 7 at an additional 5% off Amazon.com's everyday low price.

A Time to Kill + xxxHOLiC, Volume 7
Buy Together Today: $18.72

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: A Time to Kill

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • xxxHOLiC, Volume 7

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Firm: A Novel

The Firm: A Novel

by John Grisham
4.4 out of 5 stars (407)  $9.99
The Pelican Brief

The Pelican Brief

by John Grisham
3.8 out of 5 stars (217)  $10.40
The Rainmaker

The Rainmaker

by John Grisham
4.3 out of 5 stars (351)  $10.08
The Client

The Client

by John Grisham
4.0 out of 5 stars (322)  $10.20
The Runaway Jury

The Runaway Jury

by John Grisham
4.0 out of 5 stars (434) 
› Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This addictive tale of a young lawyer defending a black Vietnam war hero who kills the white druggies who raped his child in tiny Clanton, Mississippi, is John Grisham's first novel, and his favorite of his first six. He polished it for three years and every detail shines like pebbles at the bottom of a swift, sunlit stream. Grisham is a born legal storyteller and his dialogue is pitch perfect.

The plot turns with jeweled precision. Carl Lee Hailey gets an M-16 from the Chicago hoodlum he'd saved at Da Nang, wastes the rapists on the courthouse steps, then turns to attorney Jake Brigance, who needs a conspicuous win to boost his career. Folks want to give Carl Lee a second medal, but how can they ignore premeditated execution? The town is split, revealing its social structure. Blacks note that a white man shooting a black rapist would be acquitted; the KKK starts a new Clanton chapter; the NAACP, the ambitious local reverend, a snobby, Harvard-infested big local firm, and others try to outmaneuver Jake and his brilliant, disbarred drunk of an ex-law partner. Jake hits the books and the bottle himself. Crosses burn, people die, crowds chant "Free Carl Lee!" and "Fry Carl Lee!" in the antiphony of America's classical tragedy. Because he's lived in Oxford, Mississippi, Grisham gets compared to Faulkner, but he's really got the lean style and fierce folk moralism of John Steinbeck. --Tim Appelo --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.



From Library Journal

In this lively novel, Grisham explores the uneasy relationship of blacks and whites in the rural South. His treatment is balanced and humane, if not particularly profound, slighting neither blacks nor whites. Life becomes complicated in the backwoods town of Clanton, Mississippi, when a black worker is brought to trial for the murder of the two whites who raped and tortured his young daughter. Everyone gets involved, from Klan to NAACP. Grisham's pleasure in relating the byzantine complexities of Clanton politics is contagious, and he tells a good story. There are touches of humor in the dialogue; the characters are salty and down-to-earth. An enjoyable book, which displays a respect for Mississippi ways and for the contrary people who live there. Recommended.
- David Keymer, SUNY Coll. of Technology, Utica
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Paperback: 528 pages
  • Publisher: Dell (March 15, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0385338600
  • ISBN-13: 978-0385338608
  • Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (363 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #405,339 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category: (What's this?)

    #83 in  Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Authors, A-Z > ( G ) > Grisham, John

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

More About the Author

John Grisham
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

› Visit Amazon's John Grisham Page
Front Cover | First Pages | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:
Inside This Book (learn more)
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:
Citations (learn more)
100 books cite this book:
See all 100 books citing this book

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

A Time to Kill
78% buy the item featured on this page:
A Time to Kill 4.5 out of 5 stars (363)
$10.40
Ford County: Stories
10% buy
Ford County: Stories 3.7 out of 5 stars (30)
$11.99
The Rainmaker
4% buy
The Rainmaker 4.3 out of 5 stars (351)
$10.08
The Partner: A Novel
4% buy
The Partner: A Novel 3.8 out of 5 stars (898)
$5.99
Explore similar items

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(27)
(17)
(5)
(3)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
Agree with these tags?
See all 24 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more
 

Customer Reviews

363 Reviews
5 star:
 (247)
4 star:
 (79)
3 star:
 (18)
2 star:
 (9)
1 star:
 (10)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (363 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Its about Time!, July 25, 1996
By A Customer
This review is from: A Time to Kill (Mass Market Paperback)
Finally, A Time to Kill, John Grisham's first novel, is a feature length movie. I just read this book, but I knew it was realeased in 1989. I'm only thirteen, and this was my first Grisham book. In this story, Grisham hits us with a subject that most might not like to discuss: child rape. Ten-year old Tonya Hailey is brutally raped and almost killed by two drunken rednecks; perhaps the saddest and hardest part to get through with the addition of little Tonya's dream of her father running to get her. After this horrid crime is committed, Tonya's father, Carl Lee exacts vengeance on the two rednecks, and kills them. He is put on trial, and lawyer Jake Brigance is introduced to us. He takes Carl Lee's case and must face his hated enemy, Rufus Buckley, in court. The days leading to the trial are filled with KKK threats, riots between blacks and the KKK, and several other chills and spills. Finally, the trial comes and the small town of Clanton, where the trial is held, is occupated by journalists, soldiers, KKK members, and thousands of blacks, as they all wait for the verdict on the edge of their seats..
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Your Eyes Will Bleed as You Pour Through the Pages, August 26, 2008
By Vesta Irene (the Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
Gwen Hailey calls her husband Carl Lee at work, tells him their daughter, ten-year-old Tonya is missing. Carl Lee isn't all that worried though, because his wife tends to be, well a little protective. However when he gets home he's met with the news that Tonya has been raped by a pair of redneck types named Billy Ray Cobb and Pete Willard. Tonya had been left for dead and Carl Lee is seeing red. He's African American and does not believe the rapists are going to get what they deserve. Though they're arrested, Carl Lee knows how it goes in the South, so he goes to the courthouse and blows away those young good old boys, then he gets himself a lawyer.

Attorney Jake Brigance takes the case, which gets plenty of media attention right from the get go. It also draws the attention of the Clan, who do their best to intimidate both Jake (they burn a cross on his yard) and the jurors. Carl Lee is looking at the gas chamber if he's convicted and many want it so, however, there are many who believe Carl Lee had been justified. Tension is running high in the Mississippi town of Clanton. Jake's wife is afraid for their daughter Hannah. His secretary is afraid, too. The town doesn't need this, but it's got it.

And you may not need the tension in this book, nor the graphic scene detailing what happened to Tonya, but you should read this book. This is John Grisham's best work, it's his first novel, too. Everything John Grisham writes tops the bestseller lists and they should, but this book, well they need a whole new list for this book. John Grisham puts you in the South at a tense time and paints a picture so true it'll make your eyes bleed as you pour through the pages. He's written a book about a time in the South that the South would love to forget about. We were a different people then, thank the Lord we're changing. We're not their yet, but we're getting there.

Reviewed by Vesta Irene
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A fast and entertaining read, August 17, 2000
By Danaë (Owchie Cactus, South Carolina) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Time to Kill (Mass Market Paperback)
"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. (At times it may seem he pays *too* much attention to details, but after all, he *is* a lawyer.)

In a small town in the Deep South, two redneck hooligans rape and maim a ten-year-old black girl. Enraged, the girl's father, Carl Lee Hailey, takes justice into his own hands, killing the two rapists in a courthouse shooting. He seeks the help of defense lawyer Jake Brigance to save him from the gas chamber. Brigance, a young but sharp lawyer, has to find a way to win an impossible case: a black man is on trial for killing two white men, and his case is being heard by an all-white jury. Adding to the mix are violence between the Ku Klux Klan and the black community, and the fact that, during the shooting, Carl Lee had injured a sheriff's deputy (who later had to have part of his leg amputated).

Throughout the book, the odds stack against Brigance and his client, and the novel will definitely keep you turning the pages. No matter what your personal opinions on the death penalty or vigilante justice are, you won't be disappointed. As Jake's mentor, disbarred lawyer Lucien Wilbanks, says, "If you win this case, justice will prevail, but if you lose it, justice will also prevail."

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A great story!
This is one of my favorites from Grisham. I thought I'd read all of his works, but this one slipped by until it came out in paperback. His very first novel... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Ada Marie Jensen

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Page-Turner and Thriller
This is a good page-turner about the trial of a black man who kills his 10 year old
daughter's abductors and rapists. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Bonnie Brody

4.0 out of 5 stars Restored my faith in Grisham
Having read most of Grishams work and seen some of the movies as well I came to this book quite late and as many of the other reviewers have commented, I didn't realise this was... Read more
Published 7 months ago by S. Emecz

4.0 out of 5 stars Grisham at his best!
I loved the book. It was incredibly thought provoking. I am impressed that this was actually John Grisham's first book written way back in 1989. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Jazzman

4.0 out of 5 stars his is Grisha's best work. From here his writing became commercial and progressively irrelevant and boring.
Grisham's first novel. It was not really known until he published The Firm.

The small Mississippi town of Clanton is brought to the center spotlight of the nation... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Carlos T. Mock

4.0 out of 5 stars Title of the Book
I am not sure if this thought is elsewhere, but I believe that the title of John Grisham' book, "A Time to Kill," is inspried by another titled "A Time to Speak," by civil rights... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Ravi

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book by John Grisham
An extremely well-written and thought provoking book that deals with racism, segregation, bigotry, southern culture, faith and much more. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Sandhya Surapaneni

5.0 out of 5 stars Best JG book by far
It's a little different than his other legal thrillers, and while it was his first book it either wasn't published or was re-released after The Firm. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Glenn Yates

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic Beginning to an Amazing Career
This was my first Grisham read: I don't count the first two hundred pages of The Street Lawyer, since that simply doesn't compare to the power of A Time to Kill. Read more
Published 11 months ago by D. A. Hermann

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Grisham book
I haven't liked Grisham's newer books or the ones he writes in partner with another author. I hadn't read his first book and was looking for some good old fashioned Grisham... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Ned Melchert

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
Wasn't this title released several years ago? 4 June 2009
Didn't I read this one already? 0 June 2009
› See all 2 discussions...  
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
   

Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)

Look for Similar Items by Category

Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Books by subject:






i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...
 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.