Sycamore Row
Ratings39
Average rating3.7
In this novel the author takes you back to where it all began in A Time to Kill. Now we return to that famous courthouse in Clanton as Jake Brigance once again finds himself embroiled in a fiercely controversial trial; a trial that will expose old racial tensions and force Ford County to confront its tortured history. Seth Hubbard is a wealthy man dying of lung cancer. He trusts no one. Before he hangs himself from a sycamore tree, Hubbard leaves a new, handwritten, will. It is an act that drags his adult children, his black maid, and Jake into a conflict as riveting and dramatic as the murder trial that made Brigance one of Ford County's most notorious citizens, just three years earlier. The second will raises far more questions than it answers. Why would Hubbard leave nearly all of his fortune to his maid? Had chemotherapy and painkillers affected his ability to think clearly? And what foes ita ll have to do with a piece of land once known as Sycamore Row? -- From book jacket.
Series
Featured Series
4 primary booksJake Brigance
Jake Brigance is a 4-book series with 4 primary works first released in 1989 with contributions by John Grisham.
Reviews
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The book wasn't that exciting a read to be honest. I'm a fan of Grisham's courtroom dramas but until the last 1/3 of the book I didn't really care what happened.
Since I read A Time to Kill and I remember liking it a lot, I was ready to jump into the next book in the series when I found out about it. Although I like John Grisham a lot and I read a few of his books, I didn't find out that there is not one, but two sequels, until recently. I don't remember everything about A Time to Kill, I also didn't read that one in English so I can't really compare them in terms of writing, but I liked that there were some hints about what happened there. I definitely forgot some details so it was appreciated. However, the books can be read as standalone perfectly fine.
I do know I liked Jake Brigance in A Time to Kill, I remember one specific scene that I hope I'm not confounding with another book. I liked him in Sycamore Row too, he is great. A pretty good guy and a better lawyer. I'm already looking forward to seeing him again, in A Time for Mercy.
I always love how realistic John Grisham's books are, how every side of the trial is shown, nothing is left out. It gives a lot of insight and I feel more immersed in the story. When it comes to the plot of this book, I overall enjoyed all of it, I liked most of the characters, and liked the dialogue very much.
While I can't stop the nagging that everything could have been easily avoided if the will would have been changed properly, in advance, through a lawyer, I get it. I get why it was made this way, what the purpose was, and on that part I think it worked perhaps better than intended. In a way. My point is the plot is definitely believable, people do stuff like this on a daily basis.
One small thing I liked a lot was Jake being described as 'seething'. It's such a small thing to mention, but I loved the use of the word. Jake is a lawyer, he's a man who likes what he's doing and he's a man who doesn't like when things don't go his way. His words, not mine, his ego is really big and it shows. While he is fundamentally one of the good guys, I liked having this side of him. Valid for the other characters as well, everything is an array of shades of grey.
For me, John Grisham's novels are very entertaining, I absorb every word and I enjoy every little detail. While Sycamore Row isn't one of his best, it's pretty high up there. It is definitely a great read, especially if you are a fan of the genre and/or of John Grisham.
