A Time to Kill

A Time to Kill

John Grisham

A Time to Kill was published in 1989 and is John Grisham's first novel. The novel takes place in rural Mississippi, and centers around the Hailey family. When Carl Lee Hailey receives a phone call from his wife at work telling him that his daughter is missing, he doesn't hurry home; Gwen has been known to overreact and exaggerate. However, when he does arrive home, his life as he knows it has been flipped upside down. Tonya Hailey, 10 years old, had been kidnapped, raped, and almost beaten to death. The two rednecks who raped her are caught, but Carl Lee seeks vengeance, and kills them with an M-16 in the basement of the courthouse. When Carl Lee is arrested and put on trial for capital murder, he seeks the help of defense lawyer, Jake Brigance, to save him from the gas chamber.

This book is very much a downplayed version of To Kill a Mockingbird, but is still good nonetheless. Grisham's writing style makes for an easy read, and it is definitely a page-turner. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick summer read and enjoys a good court room case.

3 out of 5 stars