Tried and true storyteller John Grisham has produced three novellas in this captivating book. In true Grisham style, all pertain to the law and demonstrate the power, both good and bad, that it holds over humans.
In the first story, Mack Stafford is a well-known lawyer practicing in the rural south. He surprises everyone by taking money and fleeing to Costa Rica, abandoning his daughters and wife. Mack manages to stay invisible until Jake Brigance, another lawyer from the same small town as Mack, receives an envelope from him asking for his help. Mack wants to return home and make things right with his daughters and wife who is now dying from cancer.
In the second most moving story (in this author's opinion), Cody Wallace is a book-loving, library building death row inmate. He has only hours to live. Convicted of murder when he was only fifteen years old, Cody is now twenty-nine and faces imminent execution and the injustice of it all.
The third novella tells of the dysfunctional Malloy family and their law firm. The patriarch, Bolton Malloy is in prison for manslaughter of his wife and mother of his two sons. Those two sons, Rusty and Kirk, run the law firm but can barely stand the sight of each other and avoid being in the same room at all costs. The three Malloy men find themselves in an entanglement over tobacco money they think they all deserve and high-staked crooked dealings with the governor of their state.
Grisham skillfully illustrates the inner workings, justices, and failings of our legal system and how a person's money and connections can change everything for a person. Contrarily, the lack of power and influence can ensure that the ones deserving compassion the most are let down. This is a compelling book and because of the three novellas, easy to pick up and put down and mix with other reading material. John Grisham is a prolific writer, and these stories prove his expertise.
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