I’ve become a fan of John Grisham since I read Pelican Brief. He has a way of entertaining book lovers like me that made us want to collect his novels in our book shelves. If you're a fan of legal thrillers, you would love to read this book.
The story is set in Clanton Mississippi. Two white men Billy Ray Cobb and Pete Willard brutally rape a 10 year old black girl named Tonya Hailey. Carl Lee Hailey, the father of the black girl – kills them with an M-16. Because of his action and race (he is also black just like his daughter), he faces the murder trial that could send him to the gas chamber. Young and ambitious lawyer Jake Brigance handles his case. The case gets national attention, angers both whites and blacks and incites violence and brutal killings particularly since the Ku Klux Klan gets involved...
Does the black man get off the case? You can only find the answer to that question if you read this novel.
This novel assails the reader questions that are more challenging than that. Which is right: to let the vigilante walk a free man or fry him in the gas chamber? Does Carl Lee have the right to kill the men responsible for damaging his daughter’s life? As a black man does he deserve to get off the case? Does death penalty have to exist? The answers are usually up to the reader. But then this novel can change the way you think. If you were a racist it can convert you to a non-racist. If you think that Carl Lee shouldn’t have killed the rapists, you will realize that if you were in his place you will feel the urge to do the same. If you think death penalty should not exist, you will realize that people like Billy Ray and Pete deserve it.
A legal thriller supposed to have a realistic crime story, legal terms and from time to time - informal language so it wouldn’t be a bore. A Time to Kill has all these characteristics. It’s more than a good read. It’s a forceful, deeply emotional and well-crafted novel.
