by John Grisham
First published 1989
In a small Mississippi town, a black man's 10-year-old daughter is brutally raped. Consumed by grief and rage, the father takes bloody vengeance on her attackers. Now facing the death penalty, he turns to a young, ambitious attorney, Jake Brigance, to defend him. As the trial ignites a firestorm of racial tensions, Brigance battles both the prosecution and the angry mobs threatening his town, his career, and his family.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, legal-thriller
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, underdog
Setting: America, Clanton, Clanton (Miss.), Clinton (Miss.), Ford County, Mississippi
Period: 1980s
425 pages · Hardcover · Wynwood Press
Content warnings: graphic-violence, racism, rape