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The Reckoning
- Narrated by: Michael Beck
- Length: 17 hrs and 36 mins
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Summary
The electrifying new thriller from internationally best-selling author John Grisham.
John Grisham returns to Clanton, Mississippi, to tell the story of an unthinkable murder, the bizarre trial that followed it and its profound and lasting effect on the people of Ford County.
Pete Banning was Clanton's favourite son, a returning war hero, the patriarch of a prominent family, a farmer, father, neighbour 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.
Critic reviews
"Scintillating storytelling." (The Sunday Times)
"A buoyant, mischievous thriller... This reliable best-selling author is feeling real pleasure, and not just obligation, in delivering his work." (New York Times)
"A wild, hard-to-put-down romp." (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
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Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Simon
- 24-10-18
Grisham Grinds to a Halt!
John Grisham has once again struck out for something a bit different even though he has based it on familiar territory, Southern States, a legal system that becomes a character in its own right and the oft-troubled issue of race relations. It's a split story starting with the promised murder without a cause by war hero Pete Banning and the subsequent trial. Right in Grisham's back yard I think it's fair to say..
Then, we step back in time and follow Banning's experiences during the second world war where he was one of the poor unfortunates caught up in the infamous Bataan Death March, one of the great cruelties of that conflict.
Finally we're back to the main story where the aftermath of Banner's trial is dealt with as the family's ancestral home comes under threat and Banner's children try to answer the book's central mystery: Why did a father and a war hero gun down a seemingly innocent preacher and then refuse to give a reason in his defence?
What's good about this book is Grisham's usual ability to create a sense of place, build strong characters and of course make a twisted legal system into a character all of its own. Additionally the narration by Michael Beck is as good as it has been on previous novels where the two have collaborated.
The not so great is possibly the structure of the book. The opening part is genuinely compelling but rather than integrate the war story interspersed with it they are two very different and separate chunks. The reader is taken from Sycamore Row to something akin to "Band of Brothers" in a heartbeat and that wartime part feels like a different book. For a long time it's pretty grim with beheadings, torture and much disease thrown into the mix. The climax which is kept right to the very end, doesn't really amaze or surprise which having listened through 17 hours I think it is reasonable to expect.
So, has Grisham written in a more literary fashion? Is it more clever than his standard legal thrillers? That probably requires cleverer people than me to answer. What i can say is that I think it lacked the real cleverness, tension and killer twists that Grisham has so often provided in the past leaving me feeling fairly ambivalent towards it.
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46 people found this helpful
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- Neen Machine
- 19-12-18
Love John Grisham but...
...At the risk of being hated, found the entire middle section (one third) completely irrelevant to the story and added nothing to the big reveal.
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10 people found this helpful
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- Lotta
- 29-11-18
first Grisham book i did not like!
the story line was just not good! a book needs to have people you can connect to and like and a story line you enjoy - this book had neither!
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9 people found this helpful
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- eric
- 28-10-18
Grisham at his worst
At best you could say this was a short story dragged out into a novel. There was little plot and far too much irrelevant detail put in to fill the time. BIg mistake to pick the book based on the author, who I have enjoyed previously.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Stuart
- 28-11-18
Good story with pitiful ending
Great narration and a promising story but so so weak at the end... It's a who dunnit where you think you know done it and the attempt at a twist at the end is lacking, so dissatisfied with this!
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7 people found this helpful
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- r
- 28-11-18
The twist isn’t worth the time spent listening
Took me a lot longer than normal to get through this book but stayed with it hoping for a good ending. Predictable throughout until the very end which ultimately wasn’t very shocking. Book returned
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6 people found this helpful
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- James
- 08-02-19
would give zero stars of possible.
this was a real slog from start to finish. Regret this purchase. Made a long car journey stretch to eternity.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Squeaky Joe
- 08-05-19
A Classic
1946. In Clanton, Mississippi, the townspeople are left shocked and confused when local farmer and war hero Pete Banning drives over to the Methodist Church and shoots and kills the Reverend Dexter Bell. Instructing a bystander to fetch the sheriff, Banning returns home to await his arrest. However, what baffles everyone, not least Banning’s family, is his outright refusal to explain or justify his actions.
It’s a few years since I read anything by John Grisham, so I wasn’t sure what to expect with his latest offering. Although one section of the book deals with the court case, it is the effect on the hero’s family that moves the story along, as we shift back and forth in time from Pete’s war years and marriage to the aftermath of the trial and its effects on the Banning family.
This feels very much like one of those classic American novels in the tradition of John Steinbeck, as it follows the family from the early years to the repercussions of the trial. And though it seemed at times like it could almost have been two novels, I found it by turns gripping, thought-provoking and totally heart-breaking. A classic.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Christobel
- 31-01-20
Love Grisham. Just not THIS Grisham
After completing The Reckoning, I discovered a review written by Neely Tucker in the Washington Post that explains the underlying principle of inherent racism that runs through the entirety of this story, which to a certain extent I'd somehow missed. The second act felt misplaced - I was distracted the whole way through it, waiting to find out exactly how it tied in with why Pete murdered the preacher. It goes some way to explaining Pete's mind but whilst a compelling story in its own right, bored me with its jingoistic feel and linear characterisation of the enemy (maybe that was the point?). The reaction of key characters to the core question is troubling and I wish this had been developed more - it felt like the crux was missing. I found the narrative slow and repetitive but as with all John Grisham's books, still un-put-downable.
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3 people found this helpful
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- C. Geake
- 21-01-20
Initially gripping but ultimately underwhelming
the book is written in three parts. the middle part is essentially a historical novel - I wonder if the author was fascinated by World War II history, notably fighting against the Japanese, and created a novel around that to justify a new obsession. the novel suffered overall as a result and you had to wait far too long for a conclusion which was ultimately underwhelming.
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2 people found this helpful