The Reckoning, John Grisham
The Reckoning, John Grisham
470 Rating(s)
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The Reckoning

Bestseller

Author: John Grisham

Narrator: Michael Beck

Unabridged: 17 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/23/2018


Synopsis

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • John Grisham's most powerful, surprising, and suspenseful thriller yet • “A murder mystery, a courtroom drama, a family saga.” —USA Today

October 1946, Clanton, Mississippi

Pete Banning was Clanton, Mississippi’s favorite son—a decorated World War II hero, the patriarch of a prominent family, a farmer, father, neighbor, and a faithful member of the Methodist church. Then one cool October morning he rose early, drove into town, and committed a shocking crime. Pete's only statement about it—to the sheriff, to his lawyers, to the judge, to the jury, and to his family—was: "I have nothing to say." He was not afraid of death and was willing to take his motive to the grave.

In a major novel unlike anything he has written before, John Grisham takes us on an incredible journey, from the Jim Crow South to the jungles of the Philippines during World War II; from an insane asylum filled with secrets to the Clanton courtroom where Pete’s defense attorney tries desperately to save him.

Reminiscent of the finest tradition of Southern Gothic storytelling, The Reckoning would not be complete without Grisham’s signature layers of legal suspense, and he delivers on every page.

About John Grisham

John Ray Grisham, Jr. was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas on February 8, 1955. Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University and later from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981. He was a practicing criminal attorney for over ten years and then served in the House of Representatives from 1984 to 1990. He published his first novel in 1989 after working on it for five years. ‘A Time to Kill’, his first novel, launched his new career and was later made into a major motion picture. His first bestseller, ‘The Firm’, released in 1991, sold over seven million copies and was made into a box office hit starring Tom Cruise two years later. Almost twenty years later in 2012, a TV series was launched and picks up the life of Mitch McDeere and his family ten years after the events of the novel.

John Grisham has had his novels translated into more than forty languages and has sold nearly 300 million copies worldwide. He is a winner of the prestigious Galaxy British Book Award and is one of only three authors (the other two being Tom Clancy and J.K. Rowling) to ever sell two million copies of a first published novel. Nine of his novels (including ‘The Firm and ‘A Time to Kill’ have been made into major motion pictures.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Matthew on December 25, 2018

4.5 to 5 stars This was the most epic and intricate novel Grisham has released in quite some time. It's a mixture of legal drama and historical fiction that keeps you guessing until the very last page. Most of his recent books have been fairly quick reads with a basic storyline. The Reckoning is anyt......more

Goodreads review by William (Bill) on November 01, 2018

Far From One of Grisham's Best: I typically enjoy anything by Grisham and rate them in the 4 star range most always. The Reckoning fell well short of what I would expect from Grisham. Most disappointing was that at about 30% of the book reads like an historical fiction account of World War II battle......more

Goodreads review by Misty on January 04, 2019

417 pages. Four HUNDRED and seventeen pages. For a story that could have been told...in fact SHOULD have been told...in about 250, and that is being generous. I liken this novel to a trip I once took with my parents when I was a child. We drove from Pennsylvania to Florida to visit my grandparents.......more

Goodreads review by Darla on October 20, 2022

This is some story! Grisham returns to his roots and we are given a glimpse of the Jim Crow South in good ole Ford County. The book begins with a mystery. Why does Pete Banning shoot the minister and refuse to defend his actions? We watch his trial on the edge of our seats wondering if he will be se......more

Goodreads review by Cody | CodysBookshelf on November 21, 2020

The latest novel by John Grisham, The Reckoning (release date October 23), is a sprawling and enthralling read set in the Ford County of A Time to Kill, Sycamore Row, etc. By setting this story of murder and Gothic-esque family drama in the county most familiar to longtime Grisham readers, The Recko......more


Quotes

“The quest for justice is only the beginning in this Southern-family saga…Grisham does so much more this time around.”
Associated Press
 
“John Grisham is not only the master of suspense but also an acute observer of the human condition. And these remarkable skills converge in The Reckoningan original, gripping, penetrating novel that may be his greatest work yet.”
—David Grann, New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon
 
John Grisham is the master of legal fiction, and his latest starts with a literal bang — and then travels backward through the horrors of war to explore what makes a hero, what makes a villain, and how thin the line between the two might be.”
—Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Spark of Light and Small Great Things

“In this saga of love and war, John Grisham has given us a sprawling and engrossing story about a southern family, a global conflict, and the kinds of secrets that can shape all of us.  From the courtrooms and jails of rural Mississippi to the war-torn Pacific, Grisham spins a tale that is at once entertaining and illuminating.”
—Jon Meacham, New York Times bestselling author of The Soul of America

“When a master of storytelling and suspense takes on one of the most wrenching stories in history, the result is a book that will break your heart, set your blood pumping and your mind racing, and leave you gasping for breath by the final page. I’m still trying to recover from The Reckoning.”     
–Candice Millard, New York Times bestselling author of The River of Doubt and Destiny of the Republic