The Last Juror

Never make an enemy of a murderer. In 1970, the Ford County Times went bankrupt - and to the surprise and dismay of many, was bought by 23-year-old college dropout Willie Traynor. The paper's future was grim, until a young mother was brutally raped and murdered by a member of the notorious Padgitt family. Traynor reported all the gruesome details, and his newspaper prospered. The murderer, Danny Padgitt, was tried before a packed courtroom in Clanton, Mississippi. The trial came to a dramatic end when the defendant threatened revenge against the jurors if they convicted him. Despite his threats, they found him guilty, and he was sentenced to life in prison. But nine years later, his influential family get him paroled. And then, one by one, the jurors who convicted him start to fall victim to terrible murders... Review The Last Juror sees Grisham at the absolute peak of his form - page-turning urgency - Mail on Sunday Masterful - when Grisham gets in the courtroom he lets rip, drawing scenes so real they're not just alive, they're pulsating - quality thriller writing - Daily Mirror The Last Juror does not need to coast on its author's megapopularity. It's a reminder of how the Grisham juggernaut began - New York Times Wholly engrossing - Grisham's story-telling knack has not deserted him; and the hint that something more serious is at stake than the solution of a crime gives the narrative an extra depth - Evening Standard