The Reckoning

Locations
Call Number: Fiction / Grisham, John, Adult Book / Fiction / Thriller / Legal / Grisham, John
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch, Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch

Pete Banning was Clanton's favorite son, a returning war hero, the patriarch of a prominent family, a farmer, father, neighbor, and a faithful member of the Methodist church. Then one cool October morning in 1946. he rose early, drove into town, walked into the church, and calmly shot and killed the Reverend Dexter Bell. As if the murder wasn't shocking enough, it was even more baffling that Pete's only statement about it - to the sheriff, to his defense attorney, to the judge, to his family and friends, and to the people of Clanton - was 'I have nothing to say'. And so the murder of the esteemed Reverend Bell became the most mysterious and unforgettable crime Ford County had ever known.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Disappointment submitted by eamcdon on February 16, 2019, 2:27pm Not like other Grisham books I've read. Story dragged on and on with no real plot advances. Big disappointment. Didn't even get halfway before shutting it. later read the ending and was glad I hadn't invested more time in it.

emotional submitted by JulieCraig on April 22, 2019, 9:51pm Agree that it's different than other Grisham novels. But I think you have to read the whole thing to appreciate the end. Hardships in Japan by Prisoners of War- vivid and emotional.

An Utterly Gripping Story submitted by sVfGI7Glt2pz7GZgVB90 on July 8, 2020, 6:07am Grisham shows very early the facts: the victim, the killer, the sentence. What is left unidentified is the cause, the motivation. The rest of the book then is dedicated to backpedal the life of the assassin, from rural Mississippi to West Point, his marriage and family building, his life as a farmer, his service in World War II and the sequels that it brought. Perhaps a little too long, but worth the final twist.