A TIME TO KILL - GRISHAM JOHN - Random USA

The office of the public defender is not known as a training ground for bright young litigators. Clay Carter has been there too long and, like most of his colleagues, dreams of a better job in a real firm. When he reluctantly takes the case of a young man charged with a random street killing, he assumes it is just another of the many senseless murders that hit D.C. every week.

As he digs into the background of his client, Clay stumbles on a conspiracy too horrible to believe. He suddenly finds himself in the middle of a complex case against one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, looking at the kind of enormous settlement that would totally change his life—that would make him, almost overnight, the legal profession's newest king of torts...


From the Hardcover edition.

Paperback edition of Grisham's international bestseller set in the world of pharmaceutical litigation. Grisham is one of the world's most read authors with sales of over 90 million books and a string of successful film adaptations including: }T

Neely Creshaw torna alla sua città natale dopo quindici anni, richiamato come molti dalla voce che Eddie Rake, il mitico allenatore degli 'Spartans', la squadra di football della high-school, sta per morire. Ma Neely non è uno dei tanti ex-alunni ed ex-giocatori. A diciott'anni era già un grande campione, venerato da tutta la cittadinanza e oltre i confini. A diciannove divenne la star, profumatamente pagata in nero della squadra di un college e sembrava che il futuro gli riservasse l'ingresso nella National Football League. Ma il football americano è un gioco duro. Quando, durante una partita, un giocatore avversario gli fracassa un ginocchio i suoi sogni si infrangono per sempre. A poco più di trent'anni Neely Creshaw è un uomo che deve convivere col fatto di avere già vissuto la parte più gloriosa della sua vita. È per questo che non voleva più sapere nulla di football e di Eddie Rake, l'uomo che sta all'origine del suo destino, e non capisce bene neanche lui che cosa l'abbia riportato indietro. Eppure lo ha fatto e in più è tornato dritto al campo di gioco. 'Rake Field', come lo stadio è stato ribattezzato di recente in onore dell'uomo che lo ha voluto, contiene diecimila posti mentre la città conta solo ottomila abitanti. Ma ai tempi d'oro era sempre stracolmo. Eddie Rake cominciò la sua carriera a ventott'anni portando la sua prima squadra al suo primo successo. Sotto la sua guida gli Spartans incassarono una vittoria dopo l'altra e al culmine riuscirono a rimanere imbattuti per sei anni consecutivi. Ma per allenarsi a vincere in uno sport duro bisogna usare metodi duri e quelli di Eddie lo sono stati fino al limite della tortura: maratone sotto il sole in cui ragazzi vomitavano e fermavano la loro corsa solo quando stramazzavano a terra. Su e giù dalle gradinate dello stadio. Dimostrazioni del coach che fanno male quanto gli scontri in partita. Insulti. Minacce. Elogi mai. È tutto questo che Neely ricorda insieme ai vecchi compagni di squadra che, come lui, sentono il bisogno di ripercorrere la loro storia con Rake seduto sulle gradinate dello stadio. Paul è diventato un banchiere e ha quattro figli, Silo smercia auto rubate, Nat gestisce un café-libreria alternativo ed è apertamente gay, ma il passato e il legame con Eddie li unisce. Solo Neely crede di odiarlo ed è l'unico a non sapere che cosa avesse provocato il suo licenziamento dopo trentaquattro anni di gloriosa carriera. Un ragazzo quattordicenne perfettamente sano era morto per un colpo di sole durante uno dei più temuti allenamenti, la corsa su e giù dalle gradinate, e il padre, persona influente, riuscì a farla pagare a Rake. Da quel momento la città, privata del suo unico vanto, si spacca in due. Fra il partito di chi era soddisfatto del declino di Rake, ci fu anche Cameron, il primo grande amore di Neely, tradita e abbandonata per una ragazza più vistosa e disponibile che lo ha mollato non appena ha cessato di essere una star. Forse è il rimpianto di quello sbaglio che ha riportato Neely indietro, il desiderio di rivedere Cameron e di farsi perdonare. Alla fine giunge la notizia che Rake è morto. Durante la celebrazione funebre tenuta allo stadio che torna ad essere gremito come ai tempi d'oro, viene letto un suo messaggio in cui chiede perdono per le due colpe di cui si riconosce colpevole: la morte del ragazzo e un cazzotto mollato in faccia a Neely durante un intervallo, un colpo così duro da spaccargli il naso. Dal suo letto di morte Rake voleva fare pace. È per questo che fra gli oratori funebri voleva ci fosse pure Neely. E anche Neely è ora in grado di fare pace con Rake e con il suo passato, riconoscendo l'amore che lo aveva legato al suo grande coach.

High school all-American Neely Crenshaw was probably the best quarterback ever to play for the legendary Messina Spartans. Fifteen years have gone by since those glory days, and Neely has come home to Messina to bury Coach Eddie Rake, the man who molded the Spartans into an unbeatable football dynasty.

Now, as Coach Rake's “boys” sit in the bleachers waiting for the dimming field lights to signal his passing, they replay the old games, relive the old glories, and try to decide once and for all whether they love Eddie Rake – or hate him. For Neely Crenshaw, a man who must finally forgive his coach – and himself – before he can get on with his life, the stakes are especially high.

Grisham non molla lo scettro del legal thriller e la stampa americana lo accoglie anche questa volta con commenti entusiastici. Il protagonista si chiama Clay Carter e lavora da tempo come avvocato della pubblica difesa a Washington. Un giorno gli viene affidato il caso di un giovane accusato di omicidio senza movente. Scavando nel passato del suo cliente, Clay scopre una cospirazione tanto incredibile da non sembrare vera e si ritrova senza volerlo al centro di un complesso caso contro una delle case farmaceutiche più importanti del mondo. Da un giorno all’altro Clay potrebbe diventare il più famoso re degli illeciti…

The office of the public defender is not known as a training ground for bright young litigators. Clay Carter has been there too long and, like most of his colleagues, dreams of a better job in a real firm. When he reluctantly takes the case of a young man charged with a random street killing, he assumes it is just another of the many senseless murders that hit D.C. every week.

As he digs into the background of his client, Clay stumbles on a conspiracy too horrible to believe. He suddenly finds himself in the middle of a complex case against one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, looking at the kind of enormous settlement that would totally change his life—that would make him, almost overnight, the legal profession's newest king of torts...

Ray Atlee, professore di legge all'Università della Virginia, appena divorziato, riceve una lettera dal padre, giudice di Clanton. Il vecchio, gravemente malato, lo convoca insieme al fratello per discutere della sua eredità. Ray si reca all'appuntamento malvolentieri ma trova il padre morto sul divano. Il fratello Forrest, che ancora non si è presentato, è la pecora nera della famiglia, tossicodipendente e con molti precedenti penali. Mentre Ray lo aspetta nella vecchia casa di famiglia, scopre nello studio del padre una serie di scatole zeppe di dollari, una vera fortuna. Che fare? Chi oltre a lui sa di questi soldi? E da dove vengono?

Once Judge Atlee was a powerful figure in Clanton, Mississippi--a pillar of the community who towered over local law and politics for forty years. Now the judge is a shadow of his former self, a sick, lonely old man who has withdrawn to his sprawling ancestral home. Knowing the end is near, Judge Atlee has issued a summons for his two sons to return to Clanton to discuss his estate. Ray Atlee is the eldest, a Virginia law professor, newly single and still enduring the aftershocks of a surprise divorce. Forrest is Ray's younger brother, who redefines the notion of a family's black sheep.

The summons is typed by the judge himself, on his handsome old stationery, and gives the date and time for Ray and Forrest to appear in his study. Ray reluctantly heads south to his hometown, to the place where he grew up and now prefers to avoid. But the family meeting does not take place. The judge dies too soon, and in doing so leaves behind a shocking secret known only to Ray.

And perhaps someone else.

John Grisham contro il consumismo. La più originale parabola sul Natale di tutti i tempi. Luther e Nora Krank sono un'affiatata coppia di mezza età, abituata a vivere secondo le tradizioni. Quando però la loro unica figlia decide di partire come volontaria per il Sudamerica, i due decidono concordemente di rinunciare per una volta ai costosi e inutili festeggiamenti di Natale e di andare finalmente a farsi una bella crociera ai Caraibi. Ma le cose non sono affatto semplici come sembrano, il Natale infatti è un tiranno crudele e i poveri Krank, presi di mira da tutta una comunità che non accetta deroghe alla norma, dovranno rivedere i loro piani. Un romanzo grottesco e divertente che non rinuncia a far riflettere sui vizi della società moderna.

Imagine a year without Christmas. No crowded malls, no corny office parties, no fruitcakes, no unwanted presents. That's just what Luther and Nora Krank have in mind when they decide that, just this once, they'll skip the holiday altogether. Theirs will be the only house on Hemlock Street without a rooftop Frosty; they won't be hosting their annual Christmas Eve bash; they aren't even going to have a tree. They won't need one, because come December 25 they're setting sail on a Caribbean cruise. But, as this weary couple is about to discover, skipping Christmas brings enormous consequences–and isn't half as easy as they'd imagined.

A classic tale for modern times, Skipping Christmas offers a hilarious look at the chaos and frenzy that have become part of our holiday tradition.

For the first time since 'A Time to Kill', Grisham returns to Ford County, Mississippi - a place rich in colourful characters and dark family secrets. This time he tells the story of a dying judge who leaves his dissolute sons three million dollars in used bank notes.

Ray Atlee is a professor of law at the University of Virginia. He's forty-three, newly single, and still enduring the aftershocks of a surprise divorce. He has a younger brother, Forrest, who redefines the notion of a family's black sheep.

And he has a father, a very sick old man who lives alone in the ancestral home in Clanton, Mississippi. He is known to all as Judge Atlee, a beloved and powerful official who has towered over local law and politics for forty years. No longer on the bench, the Judge has withdrawn to the Atlee mansion and become a recluse.

With the end in sight, Judge Atlee issues a summons for both sons to return home to Clanton, to discuss the details of his estate. It is typed by the Judge himself, on his handsome old stationery, and gives the date and time for Ray and Forrest to appear in his study.

Ray reluctantly heads south, to his hometown, to the place where he grew up, which he prefers now to avoid. But the family meeting does not take place. The Judge dies too soon, and in doing so leaves behind a shocking secret known only to Ray.

And perhaps someone else.

Ray Atlee is a professor of law at the University of Virginia. He's forty-three, newly single, and still enduring the aftershocks of a surprise divorce. He has a younger brother, Forrest, who redefines the notion of a family's black sheep.

And he has a father, a very sick old man who lives alone in the ancestral home in Clanton, Mississippi. He is known to all as Judge Atlee, a beloved and powerful official who has towered over local law and politics for forty years. No longer on the bench, the Judge has withdrawn to the Atlee mansion and become a recluse.

With the end in sight, Judge Atlee issues a summons for both sons to return home to Clanton, to discuss the details of his estate. It is typed by the Judge himself, on his handsome old stationery, and gives the date and time for Ray and Forrest to appear in his study.

Ray reluctantly heads south, to his hometown, to the place where he grew up, which he prefers now to avoid. But the family meeting does not take place. The Judge dies too soon, and in doing so leaves behind a shocking secret known only to Ray.

And perhaps someone else.

A thriller about a rookie lawyer defending a member of the Ku Klux Klan who has been on Death Row for 23 years and faces the gas chamber. The lawyer hates his client's racist views, but as the case develops, it appears that his client may be innocent.

Mitch qualified at Harvard, third in his class, and is sought by law firms all over America. The one that gets him is small, but well-respected, and pays him beyond his wildest dreams. But then the nightmares begin - secret files, bugs in the bedroom, colleagues' mysterious deaths and mob money.

Late one night Abe Rosenberg, the Supreme Court's liberal legend, is gunned down in his own home. The same night, Myron Jensen, the court's youngest and most conservative justice, is strangled. What linked the two men and what caused their deaths? Darby Shaw thinks she knows the answer.

Michael was a rising star at 'Drake and Sweeney', a giant Washington DC firm with 800 lawyers. But a violent encounter with a homeless man stopped him cold. Michael survived; his assailant did not. Michael did some digging, and found a dirty little secret, which involved 'Drake and Sweeney'.

A tale of suspense which goes behind the closed doors of a Mississippi court. In a landmark trial involving hundreds of millions of dollars, the jury starts to behave mysteriously, and at least one juror is convinced that he's being watched. Is the jury being manipulated? If so, by whom, and why?

A US state senator is dead, and a young boy is told the name of the killer - a mafia hit-man, Danny 'The Blade' Muldano - by Muldano's lawyer. After the lawyer's suicide, Muldano and the boy are the only people who know the killer's identity. By the author of 'The Firm' and 'The Pelican Brief'.

The tale of a journey from innocence to experience. Autumn 1952, and seven-year-old Luke helps his family pick cotton on the Arkansas farm that they rent. Times are hard, tension is high, and he finds himself keeping secrets that threaten the crop and will change the life of his family forever.

Trumble is a minimum security federal prison, home to an assortment of criminals, including three former judges. When one of their scams goes awry, it ensnares the wrong victim, an innocent on the outside, a man with dangerous friends.

A black girl is raped by two drunken rednecks. The town reacts with horror until the girl's father takes justice into his own hands. He kills the two whites on their way to jail. For days the nation sits spellbound as the defence lawyer struggles to save his client's life and then his own.

An eccentric, reclusive billionaire is looking for a way to die. A burnt-out Washington litigator is just out of rehab and trying to hold it together. These two are brought together with a woman who left the modern world to live and work with a primitive tribe of Indians in the Brazilian jungle.

The man they were about to kidnap had not always been called Silva. As a lawyer - Patrick S. Lanigan - he had had a previous life which ended in a car crash in February 1992. Six weeks after his death, $90 million disappeared from his law firm. It was then that his partners knew he was still alive.

Until that September of 1952, Luke Chandler had never kept a secret or told a single lie. But in the long, hot summer of his seventh year, two groups of migrant workers — and two very dangerous men — came through the Arkansas Delta to work the Chandler cotton farm. And suddenly mysteries are flooding Luke's world.

A brutal murder leaves the town seething in gossip and suspicion. A beautiful young woman ignites forbidden passions. A fatherless baby is born ... and someone has begun furtively painting the bare clapboards of the Chandler farmhouse, slowly, painstakingly, bathing the run-down structure in gleaming white. And as young Luke watches the world around him, he unravels secrets that could shatter lives — and change his family and his town forever....

The hill people and the Mexicans arrived on the same day. It was a Wednesday, early in September 1952. The Cardinals were five games behind the Dodgers with three weeks to go, and the season looked hopeless. The cotton, however, was waist-high to my father, over my head, and he and my grandfather could be heard before supper whispering words that were seldom heard. It could be a "good crop."

Thus begins the new novel from John Grisham, a story inspired by his own childhood in rural Arkansas. The narrator is a farm boy named Luke Chandler, age seven, who lives in the cotton fields with his parents and grandparents in a little house that's never been painted. The Chandlers farm eighty acres that they rent, not own, and when the cotton is ready they hire a truckload of Mexicans and a family from the Ozarks to help harvest it.

For six weeks they pick cotton, battling the heat, the rain, the fatigue, and, sometimes, each other. As the weeks pass Luke sees and hears things no seven-year-old could possibly be prepared for, and finds himself keeping secrets that not only threaten the crop but will change the lives of the Chandlers forever.

A Painted House is a moving story of one boy's journey from innocence to experience.


On-sale February 6, 2001.

Five CDs, approx. 5 hrs.
performance by David Lansbury

The hill people and the Mexicans arrived on the same day. It was a Wednesday, early in September 1952. The Cardinals were five games behind the Dodgers with three weeks to go, and the season looked hopeless. The cotton, however, was waist-high to my father, over my head, and he and my grandfather could be heard before supper whispering words that were seldom heard. It could be a "good crop."

Thus begins the new novel from John Grisham, a story inspired by his own childhood in rural Arkansas. The narrator is a farm boy named Luke Chandler, age seven, who lives in the cotton fields with his parents and grandparents in a little house that's never been painted. The Chandlers farm eighty acres that they rent, not own, and when the cotton is ready they hire a truckload of Mexicans and a family from the Ozarks to help harvest it.

For six weeks they pick cotton, battling the heat, the rain, and fatigue, and, sometimes, each other. As the weeks pass Luke sees and hears things no seven-year-old could possibly be prepared for, and finds himself keeping secrets that not only threaten the crop but will change the lives of the Chandlers forever.

A PAINTED HOUSE is a moving story of one boy's journey from innocence to experience.

They call themselves The Brethren: three disgraced former judges doing time in a Florida federal prison.  One was sent down for tax evasion.  Another, for skimming bingo profits.  The third, for a career-ending drunken joyride.  Meeting daily in the prison library, taking exercise walks in their boxer shorts, these judges-turned-felons can reminisce about old court cases, dispense a little jailhouse justice, and contemplate where their lives went wrong.

Or they can use their time in prison to get very rich- very fast.

And so they sit, sprawled in the prison library, furiously writing letters, fine-tuning a wickedly brilliant extortion scam....while events outside their prison walls begin to erupt.  A bizarre presidential election is holding the nation in its grip- and a powerful government figure is pulling some very hidden strings.  For the Brethren, the timing couldn't be better.

Because they've just found the perfect victim....

I 'Confratelli' sono tre ex giudici che quotidianamente si riuniscono nella biblioteca del carcere di Trumbe, Florida, un centro di rieducazione più che un vero e proprio istituto di pena. Hatlee Beech, del Texas, esperto di sentenze e appelli, Finn Yarber, della California, specializzato in fallimenti e divorzi e Joe Roy Spicer, del Mississippi, giudice di pace, passano il tempo ad occuparsi di casi di altri compagni d'istituto, a dispensare giustizia in qualche modo e soprattutto a scrivere lettere. I tre infatti, grazie alla loro preparazione giuridica, guadagnano fiumi di soldi ricattando ricchi personaggi dalla vita privata non immacolata. Ma un giorno incappano nella persona sbagliata...