A time for mercy

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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Jake Brigance is back! The hero of A Time to Kill, one of the most popular novels of our time, returns in a “riveting” (The New York Times) courtroom drama from “the best thriller writer alive” (Ken Follett).There is a time to kill and a time for justice. Now comes A Time for Mercy.Clanton, Mississippi. 1990. Jake Brigance finds himself embroiled in a deeply divisive trial when the court appoints him attorney for Drew Gamble, a timid sixteen-year-old boy accused of murdering a local deputy. Many in Clanton want a swift trial and the death penalty, but Brigance digs in and discovers that there is more to the story than meets the eye. Jake’s fierce commitment to saving Drew from the gas chamber puts his career, his financial security, and the safety of his family on the line.Bursting with all the courthouse scheming, small-town intrigue, and stunning plot twists that have become the hallmarks of the master of the legal thriller, A Time for Mercy is a richly rewarding novel that is both timely and timeless, full of wit, drama, and—most of all—heart.Look for all of John Grisham’s gripping Jake Brigance novels:A Time to KillSycamore RowA Time for Mercy

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Contributors
Beck, Michael Narrator
Grisham, John Author
ISBN
9780385545969
9780385545976
9780593157817
9780593168561

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Also in this Series

  • A time to kill (Jake Brigance novels Volume 1) Cover
  • Sycamore row (Jake Brigance novels Volume 2) Cover
  • A time for mercy (Jake Brigance novels Volume 3) Cover
  • Sparring partners (Jake Brigance novels Volume ) Cover

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Similar Series From Novelist

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for series you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These plot-driven legal thrillers star Mississippi lawyers who handle difficult cases that involve racism and murders in a small southern town. Readers will be pulled in by the quick pace, compelling plots, and immersive atmosphere. -- Andrienne Cruz
These series have the appeal factors suspenseful, fast-paced, and intricately plotted, and they have the genre "legal thrillers"; the subjects "trials (murder)," "defense attorneys," and "lawyers"; and characters that are "well-developed characters."
These series have the appeal factors suspenseful, fast-paced, and intricately plotted, and they have the genre "legal thrillers"; and the subjects "trials (murder)," "defense attorneys," and "lawyers."
These series have the appeal factors suspenseful, cinematic, and fast-paced, and they have the genre "legal thrillers"; and the subjects "trials (murder)," "defense attorneys," and "lawyers."
These series have the genre "legal thrillers"; and the subjects "defense attorneys" and "lawyers."
These series have the appeal factors suspenseful and fast-paced, and they have the genre "legal thrillers"; and the subjects "trials (murder)," "defense attorneys," and "lawyers."
These series have the appeal factors suspenseful and fast-paced, and they have the genre "legal thrillers"; and the subjects "defense attorneys" and "lawyers."
These series have the appeal factors suspenseful, fast-paced, and intricately plotted, and they have the genre "legal thrillers"; and the subjects "trials (murder)" and "defense attorneys."
These series have the appeal factors suspenseful, fast-paced, and intricately plotted, and they have the genre "legal thrillers"; and the subjects "trials (murder)" and "defense attorneys."

Similar Titles From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for titles you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These books have the appeal factors intricately plotted, and they have the genre "legal thrillers"; and the subjects "lawyers," "trials (murder)," and "defense attorneys."
These books have the appeal factors suspenseful, fast-paced, and multiple perspectives, and they have the genre "adult books for young adults"; and the subject "trials (murder)."
These books have the appeal factors suspenseful, fast-paced, and intricately plotted, and they have the genre "legal thrillers"; and the subject "lawyers."
These books have the appeal factors fast-paced and intricately plotted, and they have the genre "legal thrillers"; and the subjects "lawyers," "trials (murder)," and "jurors."
We recommend A Nearly Normal Family for readers who enjoy A Time for Mercy because both are intricately plotted legal thrillers about lawyers defending teenage murder suspects. -- Yaika Sabat
Her kind of case - Winer, Jeanne
These legal thrillers follow lawyers who take on the case of teens accused of murder. Both protagonists face challenges in their quest to defend their clients in these compelling, fast-paced reads. -- Yaika Sabat
These books have the appeal factors unputdownable, intensifying, and intricately plotted, and they have the genre "legal thrillers"; and the subjects "lawyers," "trials (murder)," and "defense attorneys."
These books have the appeal factors suspenseful, fast-paced, and intricately plotted, and they have the genre "legal thrillers"; and the subjects "lawyers" and "kidnapping."
These books have the appeal factors intricately plotted, and they have the genre "legal thrillers"; and the subjects "lawyers," "trials (murder)," and "intrigue."
These books have the appeal factors intricately plotted, and they have the genre "legal thrillers"; and the subjects "lawyers," "trials (murder)," and "intrigue."
NoveList recommends "Penn Cage novels" for fans of "Jake Brigance novels". Check out the first book in the series.
Both compelling novels feature high-profile murder cases of teenage boys accused of murdering a girlfriend (standalone Mad Honey) or a police officer (series installment A Time For Mercy ). Both feature complex cases fraught with emotional tension. -- Andrienne Cruz

Similar Authors From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for other authors you might want to read if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
David Baldacci writes high-energy suspense stories featuring corruption and conspiracies. Complex plots place characters in tense situations, which, it is important to note, can sometimes lead to more graphic violence than found in John Grisham's works. -- Kim Burton
In their novels, both John Grisham and Brad Meltzer portray young, vulnerable lawyers caught in difficult situations, pitted against powerful but corrupt enemies. Their books are characterized by fast pacing, provocative storylines, suspense and danger, along with sympathetic characters. -- Victoria Fredrick
John Grisham and Greg Iles write fast-paced legal thrillers. Often set in small Southern towns in the U.S., these suspenseful stories include a heavy emphasis on the personal lives of their characters and how their experiences influence their perspective and attitudes toward the legal cases they tackle. -- Halle Carlson
Both authors use their career experiences to write compelling legal thrillers starring attorneys who take on cases in pursuit of the truth that could cost them their lives. -- CJ Connor
These Southern writers rely upon their backgrounds as attorneys to create suspenseful thrillers with authentic details. Grisham's suspenseful legal thrillers often turn upon points of law. Morris's own voices novels put Black women front and center, whether as attorneys or innocent women running from the law. -- Michael Shumate
Fans of suspenseful and dramatic legal thrillers should explore the works of both John Grisham and Stephen L. Carter. Carter's stories tend to intensify as they progress, while Grisham's plots are propulsive from page one. -- Stephen Ashley
Lisa Scottoline and John Grisham's novels share a legal focus, sympathetic characters, fast pacing, and unexpected plot twists. There's more humor and sarcasm in Scottoline's stories, but both have a similarly suspenseful tone. -- Victoria Fredrick
John Grisham and Alafair Burke are known for their suspenseful and dramatic legal thrillers in which their relatable protagonists take on enormously challenging cases. Burke's work tends to be a bit grittier and darker than Grisham's. -- Stephen Ashley
Fans of Steve Martini's novels may also enjoy John Grisham's cinematic and page-turning legal thrillers. Both authors feature sympathetic protagonists -- often portraying lawyers as underdogs, fighting for justice. For Martini, investigation plays an important role, with actual courtroom drama often taking second place. -- Victoria Fredrick
Though there's a bit more wit in Marcia Clark's writing than John Grisham's more dramatic tales, both authors are known for keeping readers on the edge of their seats with their suspenseful and compelling legal thrillers. -- Stephen Ashley
Although Scott Turow's stories are more realistic and do not move at the same rapid pace as John Grisham's, readers who enjoy issue-oriented legal thrillers may appreciate each author's different strengths. -- Victoria Fredrick
Stuart Woods and John Grisham are both known for their provocative stories and relentless pacing. While there are suspense, action, and plot twists in both authors' novels, there's more sex and violence in Woods' books than in Grisham's. -- Victoria Fredrick

Published Reviews

Booklist Review

Set five years after the events of Grisham's first novel, 1989's A Time to Kill (and a couple of years after its sequel, 2013's Sycamore Row), this new Jake Brigance novel finds the Mississippi lawyer roped into defending a 16-year-old boy charged with the murder of a police deputy. The reader knows from the beginning the circumstances surrounding the fatal incident: there is no doubt who did what to whom and why. And, yet, the book is impossible to put down because we're fascinated by how Jake will overcome the many obstacles in his path to discovering what we already know. It's really a very clever setup; the story's structure bears a slight resemblance to an episode of Columbo, in which the viewer knows more than the detective at the beginning of the episode. Grisham builds a complex, surprising, and, in places, emotionally devastating story around Jake and his teenage client. A Time for Mercy isn't a whodunit. It's not even really a courtroom drama, although, of course, Grisham delivers some seriously intense courtroom scenes. Ultimately, it's a story about a community that values its secrets more than it values the truth, and Grisham tells it with great power and style.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Nearly everything Grisham writes draws readers by the millions, but his Jake Brigance mysteries are in a category all their own. This third Brigance outing will continue the pattern.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
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Publisher's Weekly Review

At the start of bestseller Grisham's disappointing third outing for attorney Jake Brigance (after 2013's Sycamore Row), deputy sheriff Stu Kofer comes home one night in 1990 to the isolated house outside Clanton, Miss., he shares with his lover, Josie. In a drunken rage, Kofer falsely accuses Josie of infidelity, and knocks her unconscious. Kofer falls asleep after a half-hearted attempt to break into the room of Josie's 14-year-old daughter, Kiera, whom he has sexually abused. Josie's 16-year-old son, Drew, believes his unresponsive mother is dead, and fears Kofer will attack Kiera. After dialing 911 to report Josie's murder, Drew takes the sleeping lawman's service weapon and shoots him in the head. A judge taps Brigance to defend Drew after the teenager is charged with intentional homicide. As Brigance prepares his case, he learns a secret that he hopes will bolster his chances in court. The high-profile murder trial that follows, however, doesn't live up to the promise of the book's harrowing opening: the prosecuting attorney proves a weak opponent for Brigance, and the tepid courtroom proceedings fail to engage. This one's for Grisham diehards only. Agent: David Gernert, Gernert Co. (Oct.)

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Kirkus Book Review

A small-town Mississippi courtroom becomes the setting for a trademark Grisham legal tussle. Stuart Kofer is not a nice guy. He drinks way too much and likes to brawl. One night, coming home in a foul mood with a blood alcohol count more than triple the legal limit, he breaks his live-in girlfriend's jaw. He's done terrible things to her children, too--and now her 16-year-old boy, Drew, puts an end to the terror. Unfortunately for the kid in a place where uniforms are worshipped, Stu was a well-liked cop. "Did it really matter if he was sixteen or sixty? It certainly didn't matter to Stu Kofer, whose stock seemed to rise by the hour," writes Grisham of local opinion about giving Drew the benefit of the doubt. Jake Brigance, the hero of the tale, is a lawyer who's down to his last dime until a fat wrongful-death case is settled. It doesn't help his bank book when the meaningfully named Judge Omar Noose orders him to defend the kid. Backed by a brilliant paralegal whose dream is to be the first Black female lawyer in the county, he prepares for what the local sheriff correctly portends will be "an ugly trial" that may well land Drew on death row. As ever, Grisham capably covers the mores of his native turf, from gun racks to the casual use of the N-word. As well, he examines Bible Belt attitudes toward abortion and capital punishment as well as the inner workings of the courtroom, such as jury selection: "What will your jury look like?" asks a trial consultant, to which Jake replies, "A regular posse. It's rural north Mississippi, and I'll try to change venue to another county simply because of the notoriety." The story runs on a touch long, as Grisham yarns tend to do, and it gets a bit gory at times, but the level of tension is satisfyingly high all the way to the oddly inconclusive end. Grisham fans will be pleased, graphic details of evil behavior and all. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* Set five years after the events of Grisham's first novel, 1989's A Time to Kill (and a couple of years after its sequel, 2013's Sycamore Row), this new Jake Brigance novel finds the Mississippi lawyer roped into defending a 16-year-old boy charged with the murder of a police deputy. The reader knows from the beginning the circumstances surrounding the fatal incident: there is no doubt who did what to whom and why. And, yet, the book is impossible to put down because we're fascinated by how Jake will overcome the many obstacles in his path to discovering what we already know. It's really a very clever setup; the story's structure bears a slight resemblance to an episode of Columbo, in which the viewer knows more than the detective at the beginning of the episode. Grisham builds a complex, surprising, and, in places, emotionally devastating story around Jake and his teenage client. A Time for Mercy isn't a whodunit. It's not even really a courtroom drama, although, of course, Grisham delivers some seriously intense courtroom scenes. Ultimately, it's a story about a community that values its secrets more than it values the truth, and Grisham tells it with great power and style.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Nearly everything Grisham writes draws readers by the millions, but his Jake Brigance mysteries are in a category all their own. This third Brigance outing will continue the pattern. Copyright 2020 Booklist Reviews.

Copyright 2020 Booklist Reviews.
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PW Annex Reviews

At the start of bestseller Grisham's disappointing third outing for attorney Jake Brigance (after 2013's Sycamore Row), deputy sheriff Stu Kofer comes home one night in 1990 to the isolated house outside Clanton, Miss., he shares with his lover, Josie. In a drunken rage, Kofer falsely accuses Josie of infidelity, and knocks her unconscious. Kofer falls asleep after a half-hearted attempt to break into the room of Josie's 14-year-old daughter, Kiera, whom he has sexually abused. Josie's 16-year-old son, Drew, believes his unresponsive mother is dead, and fears Kofer will attack Kiera. After dialing 911 to report Josie's murder, Drew takes the sleeping lawman's service weapon and shoots him in the head. A judge taps Brigance to defend Drew after the teenager is charged with intentional homicide. As Brigance prepares his case, he learns a secret that he hopes will bolster his chances in court. The high-profile murder trial that follows, however, doesn't live up to the promise of the book's harrowing opening: the prosecuting attorney proves a weak opponent for Brigance, and the tepid courtroom proceedings fail to engage. This one's for Grisham diehards only. Agent: David Gernert, Gernert Co. (Oct.)

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Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly Annex.
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