This was a great read written with a focused projection that kept the plot steaming toward a very grand finalé. The characters were colorful without being Southern stereo types; even without knowledge of the prior book, I was able to fill in their personalities and get that familiarization that makes you feel comfy with a book and its inhabitants. Ethics are determined by what they catch you doing. If you don’t get caught, then you haven’t violated any ethics.” The prosecution then calls two witnesses. One hints that Lettie changed the will to get Seth to have sex with her; the other claims she had a plan to take advantage of old people. It looks like Jake isn’t going to win this case. John Grisham has brought together an eclectic mix of old and new characters. They all play their part in a legal thriller that is both entertaining and evocative. Even the nasty characters are enjoyable; they all help to add depth and colour to the book but Jake, Ozzie and Lucien carry the book as far as I’m concerned. I really seem to love almost all of Grisham's books. I keep waiting for one I will not like at all but it has not happened yet and somehow I think this is one author where that is not going to happen.

All sides decide to have a jury trial to determine if the handwritten will is legal and binding - that is, if Seth was of sound mind when he prepared the will and not unduly influenced by Lettie. If not, a previous will - which benefitted the family - would be enforced. While preparing for the trial one of the Hubbard family lawyers unearths information about Lettie's past and about Seth that he thinks will derail Lettie's claim. He cleverly (and unethically) maneuvers to hide the information from Jake until the trial is well under way. In Norse mythology, the sycamore was associated with Freya, goddess of love, fertility, and war. Freya's chariot was said to be drawn by two cats, and she was often depicted sitting in a sycamore tree. Jake Brigance is a handsome, lawyer who has a reputation for his ability to woo a jury. His mentor Lucien, a disbarred, alcoholic attorney and Harry Rex, a devious divorce attorney, all return for a second act in the ongoing saga of race equality during the early 80's in Mississippi. Lawyers and family members start popping out of the woodwork when the dollar amount of the Will is revealed and then it is off to the races.Seth expected his family to oppose the will, so he sent it to Jake Brigance. He is happy that his children would be falsely mourning him and not knowing they’ve been cut from the will.

Even accepting those choices Grisham made, I had serious issues with the story. It was too much like A Time To Kill. I enjoy the characters of Lucien and Harry Rex, but they felt a bit stale because there was no change in their relationships. Race was again the driving force of the narrative, but somehow in a scant three years, the n-bomb count in Ford County dropped from about 1,000 in A Time To Kill to 2 in this book. Either Mr. Grisham decided he was no longer comfortable casually mixing in that word, or he’s decided his original depiction was historically inaccurate (I’m guessing it’s the former). Most of all, I thought the answer to the question of why Seth Hubbard left his estate to Lettie Lamg was telegraphed from very early in the story, so there was less mystery than there should have been. The story begins three years after the sensational events in the trial of Carl Lee Hailey ( A Time to Kill). An employee of wealthy recluse Seth Hubbard is instructed to meet his boss at a location by these sycamores one early Sunday afternoon. The employee finds Mr. Hubbard has hanged himself from the tree because his terminal lung cancer had become too painful. Accompanying the body are very specific funeral and burial instructions. Lettie had/has the potential to be a great character that is a beacon of light in the sea of vultures. The problem with the housekeeper is that she wasn't developed enough to surpass being a caricature. Sure, she's the lowly housemaid that was subjected to taking care of a man who was on his way out. Then she was subjected to a small towns' speculation. She was assumed to be his lover, his manipulator, and his puppet-master. A woman who deserved none of these titles yet withstood the ridicule of of so much... crap. I wish I could feel anything for her but I didn't. An orphan that garnered no sympathy from me is a miracle. I did shed a tear as I listened to the riveting scene in which the father of two sons killed by a drunken driver reached out to the family of the driver to say he and his wife are Christians who forgive the man because that's what Christ calls them to do. In the book, this left the lawyer protagonist speechless. It left me thinking about what it truly means to be a Christian. I heard that a few days before Easter and it choked me up. Are you an admirer of Grisham’s novels but want a break from all the excitement crime fiction brings? Look no further. Influenced by his own life experiences, Grisham wrote two fascinating literary works which explore the freedoms and limitations life has to offer.

Value to wildlife

The vultures are circling even before the body is cold: the only subject more incendiary than money in Ford County is race, and this case has both. Sycamore Row is an extremely well written legal thriller which, for some reason, I didn't like all that much. I just knew that once I started, I wouldn't want to put it down. And I was right - I was hooked from the opening lines.... Sycamore Row” is a true literary event — the sequel, nearly a quarter-century later, to “A Time to Kill,” Grisham’s first and perhaps best-regarded novel. (It is taught in schools and has recently been turned into a Broadway show.) Is John Grisham in the movie Sycamore Row? This a great courtroom thriller that brings about the subjects of segregation, racial prejudice,handsome white attorney. Just remember, "its not about a fair fight, it's about winning."

The USA of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century would probably like to view itself as a post-racial society. But John Grisham's SYCAMORE ROW, a superbly told, moving and completely compelling story, portrays deep south rural Mississippi as anything but. The drama of the civic trial testing the validity of Seth Hubbard's will manages to be at once banal and work-a-day as well as totally gripping. And the conclusion, well, you'll have to read it for yourself. You'll realize that John Grisham could not possibly choose the enormous cop-out of having a mistrial declared without killing the novel entirely so you'll also be aware that he had to choose one side or another. To answer questions about Camino Winds, please sign up. MicheleReader No, you don’t have to read the first book. There is enough catching up to the plot that it isn’t necessary. You might want to read it though, as it was an enjoyable book. Is A Time for Mercy a movie? Before and during the trial a big question in everyone's mind (both the characters and the reader) is 'why did Seth do this'? Eventually, this question does seem to be answered. Still, I kept thinking 'Seth could just have given Lettie the money before he committed suicide and saved everyone a lot of bother.' Why he didn't do this is never satisfactorily answered (for me, anyway).The characters are well-written, compelling, and realistic - behaving true to their depicted personalities. The second will raises far more questions than it answers. Why would Hubbard leave nearly all of his fortune to his maid? Had chemotherapy and painkillers affected his ability to think clearly? And what does it all have to do with a piece of land once known as Sycamore Row? And now comes “A Time for Mercy.” You get the feeling that Grisham, who has written several dozen books by now, has returned to the place closest to his heart. Thirty-one years have passed in the real world since we were first in Clanton, but only five in its fictional life. What happens in a time for mercy? The themes of “A Time to Kill” include southern culture, racism in the 1980s, deception, and forgiveness. It is written from a third-person point of view. The book begins with Seth Hubbard choosing to end his life by hanging himself on a sycamore tree in Clanton, Mississippi. The Jake Brigance book series by John Grisham includes books A Time to Kill, Sycamore Row, and A Time for Mercy. Is there really a Camino Island in Florida?