A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance Book 3)

Grisham’s first novel, A TIME TO KILL, remains my favorite of his works. Originally published in 1989, it tells the story of a black father seeking revenge on the two white men who repeatedly raped and brutalized his young daughter, and the trial that ensues after he kills them. It’s set in rural Mississippi where racial tensions run high. It brings the reader into a world of legal drama and leaves them with questions of what is just and fair in tragic situations such as these.Like its predecessor A TIME FOR MERCY deals with a murder involving moral ambiguities. In this instance, the killer is a sixteen-year-old boy who kills his mother’s abusive boyfriend after he beats her, possibly to death. The boy and his sister have also been physically abused and the boy is mentally traumatized. Enter Jake Brigance, the defense lawyer from A TIME TO KILL. He’s pulled in reluctantly by the presiding judge and ordered to take the case. What follows is an emotionally and morally riveting tale. Grisham grants us the opportunity to see several different perspectives on the level of guilt involved in the boy’s acts and brings it all to a satisfying conclusion. I enjoyed the novel thoroughly. A great read for anyone who enjoys legal thrillers.

I think this is Grisham's strongest recent novel, even though it departs from most of his books. For one thing, almost the entirety of the 460 page novel is devoted to a single trial--a capital murder trial of a 16 year old. Grisham has been using his recent books to educate the reader about less familiar elements of the legal system, such as mass tort trials, public interest law firms, state lawyer disciplinary boards, and private prisons. Devoting this book to a single criminal trial, from start to finish, taking place where Grisham himself grew up and practiced law. allows him to thoroughly educate the reader as to how a criminal trial is conducted. So we learn a lot about jury selection, the insanity defense, lawyer strategy, jury dynamics and jury deliberations. His recreation of jury deliberations is particularly effective.A second important aspect is the case arises and is tried in a small Mississippi community of 20,000--the location in fact of his earliest novel, "A Time to Kill," and set 5 years after that trial. I lived in a small Ohio village of 2500 for seven years and learned that all small towns are alike: everybody knows everything about everybody. Much of our criminal litigation is not set it New York or DC but in rural towns and counties, but we seldom hear much about these cases. Here Grisham points out how the local community can really impact on a criminal trial; how local public pressure can influence counsel and sheriffs, and how much more discretion local judges have. A civil tort case is a minor player, but enough to facilitate a comparison between the two, especially the absence of broad civil discovery in criminal trials and how this affects the process.This format has some disadvantages for Grisham. He cannot rely upon his usual switching back and forth between multiple stories to hype the suspense. Also I can tell you from my own experience that much of criminal trial preparation is boring, repetitive, and not very exciting. This too if reflected in the story. Sometimes the story can get a bit tedious--but that is reality. As usual, Grisham can spin an interesting yarn, but this book is no page turner like "The Firm." Especially the non-lawyer, general reader, should find this book well worth reading and thinking about.

Five years have passed since Jake Brigance found himself handling the most controversial and consequential case of his career to date. Carl Lee Hailey, out of his mind with shock, outrage, and grief after his little ten-year-old daughter was ruthlessly, brutally attacked by two shiftless, callous young men, sought justice on his own terms. In the process of defending him, Jake nearly lost everything -- his home, his legal practice, his family, and his own life. But after the verdict was announced, the television news crews left to chase other stories, the people of the little town of Clanton, Mississippi calmed down, and things pretty much went back to normal, and Jake, Carla, and their daughter, Hanna, were able to put their lives back together. Jake is still practicing law, Carla is teaching, Hannah is growing and thriving. And for the business folks in Clanton, life still pretty much begins anew every morning in the local Coffee Shop where the waitresses don't have to ask anyone what they want to order. Everyone there is acquainted and news is shared long before it's published in the local paper.But after 2:00 a.m. on a Saturday night, in a nondescript little house six miles south of Clanton "on an old country road that went nowhere in particular," Josie "took a deep breath, said a quick prayer, and eased to the window to watch" Stuart Kofer's car as it pulled into the driveway. Josie braced herself as she tried to discern if the car was weaving or under control. Clad in a negligee that had pleased him once before, Josie watched Stuart stagger into the house as her children, Drew, age 16, and Kiera, two years younger, hid upstairs. The three of them have nowhere else to go, so Josie has endured the beatings that invariably come after Stuart has been drinking.In a mesmerizingly horrifying first chapter, Grisham describes what ensues after Stuart bursts through the door and finds Josie still awake. After a row in the kitchen as the children listen, the house suddenly goes quiet. Stuart stumbles up the stairs and appears to be headed for the room in which they have attempted to blockade themselves. Instead, he moves on to his own room. But Drew has had enough. Believing Stuart has finally killed Josie, like Carl Lee Hailey, Drew seeks justice on behalf of his mother, sister, and himself. He puts the tip of Stuart's nine-millimeter Glock -- his duty weapon -- one inch from Stuart's left temple . . . and pulls the trigger.Ozzie Wells is still the Sheriff of Ford County, having been elected in 1983. It was a historic election because Ozzie is the first black sheriff and he is deeply shaken at losing a deputy for the first time. Carl Lee Hailey shot DeWayne Looney and caused him to lose part of his leg, but DeWayne remains on the force. But now Ozzie has to call in the Mississippi state police to investigate the murder of one of his own. He warns his deputies to handle the case by the book and put Drew in mechanical restraints (handcuffs), opting to transport Drew and Kiera to the jail himself, accompanied by his chief deputy, Moss Junior Tatum. Kiera has already told Tatum that Drew shot Stuart. She is taken in by Reverend Charles McGarry, a 26-year-old pastor leading the fundamentalist Good Shepherd Bible Church that Josie and her children attended a few times.Now 37 years old, six days a week Jake is in the Coffee Shop by 6:00 a.m. On Sundays, the family enjoys breakfast before proceeding to church together. But Harry Rex Vonner, a divorce attorney and Jake's best friend, calls at 7:05 a.m. to warn him to leave town for a couple of days. The Honorable Omar Noose is sure to call Jake and appoint him to represent Drew, despite Jake's involvement in a large wrongful death case going to trial soon involving malfunctioning railroad crossing warning lights. "Listen to me, Jake, you do not want a dead-cop case. The facts are against you. The politics are against you. There's not a chance in hell the jury will show any sympathy," Harry Rex cautions.Sure enough, Judge Noose appoints Jake and he has no choice but to defend Drew for the paltry fee of $1000. Once again he is in the middle of a controversial case, and starts avoiding the Coffee Shop and the hostility directed at him by many Clanton citizens, especially members of law enforcement, many of whom are his friends and neighbors. Stuart was a popular deputy in a town that respects law and order. Indeed, Stuart's family members take possession of the house and angrily burn the pitifully few items of personal property Josie and her children owned. Jake soon learns about Josie's troubled history, and the way she has raised Drew and Kiera. Jake quickly realizes that Josie and Kiera have no voice and no one to protect them, either. Jake's investigation also unearths facts about Stuart that enrage and disappoint Ozzie, and figure prominently into Jake's defense of Drew.Despite the financial and familial strain caused by his defense of Drew, and the potential negative impact on the wrongful death case, Jake soon finds himself squaring off against Lowell Dyer, the district attorney Jake supported in his bid to defeat Rufus Buckley, the man who unsuccessfully prosecuted Carl Lee Hailey. And to make matters worse, Dyer announces he will prosecute Drew in accordance with the 1988 Death Penalty Enhancement Act making it a capital offense to murder a peace officer whether he or she is on or off duty. With no ruling on its constitutionality by a higher court, Judge Noose is not inclined to strike the indictment.Grisham deftly and compassionately details the progress of Jake's preparation for Drew's trial, as well as developments in the railroad crossing case. Although he was a pariah in his own little town during the Carl Lee Hailey trial, it is still hurtful and difficult to find himself in that situation again, and it causes strife for his family, as well. And places Jake in grave danger.But Jake literally has no choice once he is appointed, and his sense of duty, coupled with his humanity, compels him to put his client's best interests first. Grisham's affection and empathy for his characters and their circumstances is evident on every page. (He makes no secret of the fact that A Time to Kill remains his favorite book.) At issue is the question of Drew's state of mind when he pulled the trigger, killing Stuart, and how the legal system should determine what is just. How is it fair to try any 16-year-old as an adult? While Stuart was passed out drunk when Drew killed him, he had just abused Josie yet again, terrifying her children who feared he had finally killed their mother and they would be his next victims. Drew is a particularly young 16 -- small, underdeveloped, and unsophisticated. Was he capable of what Dyer characterizes as "coldblooded murder?" Yet again, Jake finds himself at the center of an ethical conundrum: Was Drew's action justified?The story moves at an unrelenting pace, compelled forward by shocking developments and the crisp, pointed, and sometimes ironically witty dialogue of Grisham's beloved characters. In addition to the others, Lucien Wilbanks, Jake's alcoholic, disbarred mentor appears, again offering advice, support, and other assistance.As always, Grisham's story asks more questions than it answers which is, of course, the point. In addition to the legal quagmire illustrated by Drew's case, Grisham explores societal issues, including the appropriateness of the death penalty, abortion, the manner in which poverty impacts a defendant's ability to receive competent representation and a fair trial, and faith. Racism also figures into the story, as Jake is assisted by Portia, a brilliant African-American paralegal who will soon start law school and become a trial attorney herself. He does so by telling his characters' stories, never letting his narrative lapse into a preachy or judgmental tone. On the contrary, as is his habit, Grisham wants his readers to draw their own conclusions. That is more clearly evident in A Time for Mercy than in Grisham's other work. Not all readers will find the ending satisfactory.Grisham again proves that he is unequalled when it comes to engrossing and thought-provoking courtroom dramas populated by colorful, fascinating, and sympathetic characters. A Time for Mercy will delight Grisham fans who are familiar with the inhabitants of Clanton, Mississippi, and surely make fans of those who get to know them through this volume, which can be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel.Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.

Good read

Texto claro, bem escrito, excelente descrição do aprofundamento da relação entre as pessoas.

No hesitation in highly recommending this title. With its incredible twists and turns the reader will be totally absorbed until the last sentence.

For Grisham fans

Please let me award 6 Stars? Buy it, read it, enjoy it! It really great