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    A Time to Kill
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    A Time to Kill
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    A Time to Kill
    Audiobook16 hours

    A Time to Kill

    Written by John Grisham

    Narrated by Michael Beck

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    In this searing courtroom drama, best-selling author John Grisham probes the savage depths of racial violence...as he delivers a compelling tale of uncertain justice in a small southern town...

    Clanton, Mississippi. The life of a ten-year-old girl is shattered by two drunken and remorseless young man. The mostly white town reacts with shock and horror at the inhuman crime. Until her black father acquires an assault rifle -- and takes justice into his own outraged hands.

    For ten days, as burning crosses and the crack of sniper fire spread through the streets of Clanton, the nation sits spellbound as young defense attorney Jake Brigance struggles to save his client's life...and then his own...

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJul 4, 2000
    ISBN9780553754506
    Unavailable
    A Time to Kill

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    Reviews for A Time to Kill

    4/5

    3,177 ratings78 reviews

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    • 3/5
      very interesting
    • 4/5
      Grisham at his best!!
    • 2/5
      I read this as A Famous Author's First Book on my reading list. I haven't read any other Grisham - only seen the movies The Firm and Runaway Jury, so I can't say whether his writing has improved. This story runs too long, has numerous details that do nothing for the plot and leaves a lot of loose ends in what is an unbelievable tale. The opening chapters use too many adjectives describing characters rather than scenes letting their character show. I especially struggled with the Klan in the early 80s doing things as they had in the 60s. And with the trial continuing in spite of an assassination attempt on lead counsel, a kidnapping of lead counsel's clerk and the fire-bombing of lead counsel's home. An easy read but not a recommendation.
    • 4/5
      I read this book a very long time ago and I was left with so much catharsis. I frankly did not touch a book for quite some time after that. It kept me up at nights thinking about it. It is not just the story or just the character, both of which are great bytheway, but also how it was written and how the story was told. The placement the depth. It isnt a book you read and forget overnight.
    • 5/5
      A Time to Kill by John Grisham; (5*)Grisham has produced many great and fascinating novels but this one really draws the reader in and makes you think. Who among us has not been sickened when the justice system makes victims out of the criminals, and forgets the innocent? The author digs deep into the innermost feelings of a man who wants justice for his child even if that means breaking the law himself. It is an absolutely spectacular novel and I think it is Grisham's best. I still find it difficult to believe that it was his first novel.
    • 4/5
      Great book!
    • 4/5
      Still Grisham's best.
    • 5/5
      A Time To Kill was Grisham's first book all the way back in 1989. Whilst it lacks some of the polish of his later, more popular works, it's still a great good story within the pages covering the murder of two men by the father of a young girl who was raped by them. Another layer is added by the two men being white and the father & daughter being black and it taking place in the South, Mississippi.
    • 5/5
      Justice and RevengeThe story of a guilty man and his judgment in Clinton, Mississippi. Revenge leads to a double murder. Can the jury appreciate his motives? Is it possible to justify the murders of two whites men by a black one? The story of Carl Lee Hailey's judgment and the facts that surrounds it is telling in a riveting way by John Grisham. Once I start to read it, I get hooked. The book flows nicely and is very interesting. This is the first book by Grisham. I must proceed to the others.
    • 1/5
      I recently wrote that I couldn't see myself ever giving a Grisham book less than 3 stars...now I guess I should eat my words....This is Grisham's very first novel, and having re-read a number of his other books recently, it shows. The writing is rambling, he includes a lot of irrelevant detail and he is far more crass and lewd than he is in his other books. The subject matter may be to blame for some of these aspects, but cannot explain all of them.

      The story is centred around trial lawyer Jake Brigance who ends up defending a black man who is being tried for the murder of two white men. Oh.....and he murdered them because they raped his ten year old daughter. The story opens with the very graphic details of the appalling rape. I was tempted to abandon the book after the first few pages but realised that once the main event was over, it should become more bearable. However, the details are obviously replayed during the trial and throughout the book. The murders of the two white men are also extremely graphic--details of the bodies after death. Further to this, there are several scenes where members of the Ku Klux Klan kidnap and torture people which don't make for light reading....

      There are a number of sub plots and fringe characters, a few of them seemed to be superfluous and just confused me. I didn't warm to the main character (the lawyer Brigance) at all and didn't like the way he treated his family, his colleagues, his clients or anyone else for that matter. I also found the leering over his secretary cringeworthy and the frequent comments about her underwear or lack of it.

      I can't even say that the writing is good. The book is far too long, and although it highlights some important aspects of racial tensions in the Southern US, I found some of the stereotypes annoying and exaggerated to the point that I wanted to skip over entire passages just to get to the point.

      All of this not mentioning that Grisham claims to be a Christian. I have said enough about that in other reviews of his books and I'm not sure whether he was a Christian when he wrote this. There is some bad language although it is not frequent and not of the worst kind. There is obviously extreme violence and there are several sexual scenes although mostly it is just offensive innuendo.

      Christian readers should probably give this one a miss especially as there are others out there that are so much better. Try for a more worthwhile read that won't make you nauseous!

    • 5/5
      In 1984, when a black man, Carl Lee Hailey's ten year old daughter is brutaly raped by two white men, he takes the law in to his own hands. He hires white attorney Jake Brigance to defend him. This sets off a series of events in Clanton, Mississippi that include burning crosses and death threats. A well plotted page turner.
    • 2/5
      Although this book has plenty of suspense, I just found the overall premise one that I disagree with so strongly that I couldn't enjoy it. I don't think that Carl was right in shooting the 2 rapists, especially since they were in custody.
    • 4/5
      This is the book that hooked me on author, John Grisham.
    • 5/5
      I read this my freshman year of highschool and fell in love with his writing. This book is one of the most moving, compelling and morally-immoral books I've ever read. I've it over countless times and will continue to do so until the day I die.
    • 5/5
      This is such a good book. It's really interesting and keeps you on your toes!
    • 3/5
      Not my typical cup of tea, but BF had it on during our weekend road trip and I got hooked on the story. Not for the sensitive as the N word was tossed around pretty freely, but as a period Southern piece it was done true to form of the piece. At 46 chapters, we didn't quite get through the whole book during the trip so I found myself sitting in the car over my lunch hours the first couple of days back just to wind it all up.
    • 2/5
      This is a story set in the fictional small town of Clanton, Mississippi in the near past. It's a town that boasts the only black sheriff in the state, but who has under him deputies who casually use the N-word, and where de facto segregation still exists. There are three coffee shops in the town center, and one is Black, one upscale White, and the third blue-collar White, and generally the three don't mix. Things are shaken up when two "rednecks" (complete with Confederate flag displayed in the back of their pickup) in the county brutally rape a ten-year-old black girl. And then the girl's father, Carl Lee Hailey, murders both men before they can come to trial, wounding an officer, and his White lawyer, Jake Brigance, tries to use the "they needed killing" defense on the White jury. Not an impressive book--this isn't To Kill a Mockingbird by any means, and doesn't offer up any insights into racial relations or the moral complexities of vigilantism. There's nothing here--prose style, skillful unexpected twists of plot, strong characters, striking lines, humor or suspense to make wading through the hundreds of pages worth it. Many of the turns of plot strike me as ludicrous--legally or just in terms of how real people act. Maybe this left me cold because, as despicable as those rapists were, this situation just doesn't pose a moral dilemma for me. I don't believe in any excuse for premeditated murder, especially before the legal process is played out. If Hailey is so afraid a White jury wouldn't do justice to his daughter, why does he think they'd do an injustice and let him off? And how does it redress the balance if he then goes to prison or is executed? I didn't want Hailey to get off and Brigance so often appalled me with his actions and inactions.
    • 4/5
      Grisham's first legal thriller. Underappreciated.
    • 5/5
      The debut legal thriller of John Grisham. Carl Lee Hailey's little girl is viciously raped and beaten by two local punks. On the way to the courthouse, he opens fire and kills them. Hot young lawyer Jake Briggance, hoping to make a name for himself, takes his case. The story was interesting because just about everyone knows Carl Lee was perfectly sane when it happened, and the crime was premeditated. But, the men savagely attacked his little girl. Would an all-white jury, in a deep Southern town, acquit him? Though the attack is very disturbing to read, the book is riveting. I could not put it down and it made me a fan on the spot.I have ready many, many John Grisham books since this one, including the more famous "The Firm" and "Pelican Brief." Of all, I still think this is his best work. The characters are in your face believable, the tension is superbly manipulated, and the ending was perfectly played. This was the first legal thriller I read that still had me guessing the outcome until the final pages. Overall, highly recommended!
    • 5/5
      This is by far one of my all time favorite books, and my favorite of Grisham's. This book is filled with surprises, and always keeps you guessing and on your feet! This is another book that I couldn't put down, finishing it in less than two days. The character's in this book are drastically diverse, and are each filled with their own personality that adds so perfectly to the story. The politics of this book make you think hard about your views. John Grisham has created a masterpiece, along with an intriguing and sacred plot that makes you want to jump into it yourself!
    • 4/5
      When a young black girl is raped and tortured in a small Mississippi town, her father, a vietnam vet, cold bloodedly executes the white men responsible in the courthouse. Full of questions about the inequality of black versus white, and racism in the south, I think the core message is what would any of us do for their child.Grishams best novel to date, it is one I have read more than twice.
    • 4/5
      A fantastic (and very real) depiction of a father whose young daughter is brutally raped. I went through a wave of emotions while reading. Throughout the book I was pissed, heartbroken, excited and touched...which means the author did a fantastic job.
    • 5/5
      Grisham's best book.I think that "A Time To Kill" is Mr. Grisham's best book so far. I've read many of his other novels, some are great, and some are so-so, but this novel ranks at the top. It is full of different issues like rape, murder, kkk, racism, etc. The plot just keeps on building and building. Just when you think that it is about to slow down something else happens.I recommend this book to all the folks. Enjoy it!
    • 2/5
      Good but intense. A quick read.
    • 5/5
      A great first novel! Mr. Grisham couldn't have done better.
    • 4/5
      This is the first of several Grisham books that I have read but this one made the greatest emotional impact on me. The reader can help but ask themselves about the ethical issues presented. It provides an opportunity to learn something about yourself as well as present a believable story about the injustices of the times. I'm not sure why my book list shows this as 2009?
    • 5/5
      excellent story, very griping end. Great movie.
    • 4/5
      John Grisham's, first novel, "A Time to Kill", is of special interest, because it deals with ethical issues relating to race discrimination. It poses the moral question, what would you do under this set of circumstances, as a parent and then as a juror. Would you make the same decision if the person was white (in the book, the protagonist/ defendant was black). Grisham uses the voice of one of his (deadlocked) co- jurors to determine the fate of the defendant. It changes the mind of enough jurors to result in a "not guilty" verdict. We all feel and know that murder is wrong in any form. This novel forces is to consider what we are intrinsically against, when a decent, loving man, husband and father is faced with the brutal rape and beating of his nine year old daughter and takes justice in his own hands.
    • 4/5
      One of the authours best, the only reason it loses a star is that the ending felt rather rushed to me, it didnt live up to the wonderful detail and characterzation that was given in the first 500-600 pages of the book. With that being said though, its still a great book with a lot of controversial legal and racial issues embedded in it.
    • 4/5
      Another great read from John Grisham. This book took me quite a while to read but that wasn't the fault of the author. I was just really busy and didn't have much time for leisure reading. The end was as I predicted, which was ok, because that's the way I really wanted the story to end. Although that was predictable, there were some exciting twists and turns along the way that definitely kept my attention up. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good court thriller.