Sycamore Row: A Novel (Jake Brigance Book 2)

When a successful, white Southern businessman decides to hang himself from a sycamore tree, and leave his entire fortune to his black housekeeper/maid, he knew he'd be opening a can of worms. Having grown tired of fighting his terminal illness, Seth Hubbard decides to end it all and do the unimaginable with his money. But, with $22 plus million dollars at stake, his family, who were cut out of the will, were not going to let his wishes stand without a fight. Enters Jake Brigance, the attorney who rose to fame by winning the acquittal of Carl Lee Hailey, who killed his daughter's rapists. No one is more shocked than Jake when he receives Seth's handwritten will in the mail a few days after his body is discovered. Jake has never met the Seth, nor does he know why he was chosen, but he appreciates his good fortune. Since the Hailey trial, business hasn't necessarily been booming and Jake could use the money. So Jake takes the case and is up for the challenge. It should be simple, if you ignore the other implications of executing a controversial will. After all, Seth has left explicit directions concerning what he wants done with his assets and offers no real explanation of why. He's written his kids out of his will, left a small amount to his estranged brother and his church, but the remaining 90% to Lettie Lang, is housekeeper. And while race relations have improved in Ford County (after all it is the year 1989), some things haven't. As a result, Jake finds that giving a dying man his last wishes will prove difficult and the courtroom drama ensues as some very apt attorneys fight over a fortune, only to bring past sins and family secrets long buried, to light. I will warn readers that while Jake Brigance is the same attorney that zealously defended Carl Lee Hailey, in "A Time to Kill", this is by no means a sequel. Besides revisiting some of the characters from ATTK (Harry Rex and Lucien), there are only a few references to what happened during the trial three years prior. Hard living Lucien, who can't escape the bottle, and dapper Harry Rex, are always there to provide legal advice and support to Jake as he puts his legal know how to the test against defense attorneys who will stop at nothing to win. Both visits to Clanton were familiar to me, but very different. Neither time has it been a real "who done it", instead they both have been interesting stories about race relations, reparations and forgiveness. In my opinion, this was not really what I would consider to be a legal thriller but a beautifully crafted story, in the form of a civil trial. There is a lot to appreciate about this story. To me, the writing was by far some of Grisham's best work to date. Even though it has been over 10 years between the two stories, A Time to Kill and Sycamore Row, Grisham hasn't lost his touch. Perhaps it is just something about Ford County and Jake Brigance that lures the reader in. I know I found myself transported to the small Southern town of Clanton, Mississippi. I could see the row of sycamore trees that would become pivotal to the story, and later serve as the name of the book. I could see the diner, the town and even the characters were so vivid that they came to life as the story unfolded. There were times when I cheered and times that I felt real sadness. Regardless, I enjoyed the story. Sycamore Row was a fantastic read that will stay in the hearts and mind of the reader for some time. I give it 4.5 to 5 stars.

There is a lot to like about John Grisham's novel SYCAMORE ROW. Grisham has always been a great storyteller and that's once again the case in his latest novel. His ability to touch on issues of racism and social injustice while spinning a great tale are nearly unparalleled in fiction today. As advertised, in SYCAMORE ROW Grisham returns his readers to Clanton, Mississippi and the cast of characters from his classic best seller A TIME TO KILL. Along with lawyer Jake Brigance and his family, readers will recognize the sheriff as well as a host of lawyers, newspaper writers, and judges. What I didn't expect - although if you think about it, it makes sense and I'm sure other readers had anticipated this - is how much Grisham builds from the events in A TIME TO KILL to develop the character of his protagonist lawyer Brigance. I won't write any spoilers - but if you recall from the last time we saw Brigance, his house had been burned to the ground and his life had been threatened by the KKK, and so it stands to reason that in writing about Jake Brigance three years after those events that Grisham would show readers the impact they've had on Brigance and his family. My opinion is the way Grisham did so is a compelling part of the book - but I won't give away how, you'll just need to read it and see for yourself. The book description gives you the gist of the story - an old man hangs himself and cuts his children out of the will, leaving a fortune to his maid. It's in the Deep South and the element of race plays a huge part. There are greedy lawyers and greedy family members and all sorts of tragic stories. And yes, Grisham writes it exceptionally well. However ... I have just a couple of criticisms that prevent me from giving this book 5 stars ... From the product description: "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?" Well, all very good questions. And that brings me to my major criticism and what really bugged me in reading the book (I guess this could be a minor spoiler, though I don't really think so): all these smart lawyers in the book, and no one ever thinks to ask the question "why commit suicide by hanging from a tree in the middle of the woods?" I mean really, of all the ways a rich man has to kill himself, wouldn't you think someone would ask that question from the very start and be curious if it had any meaning to what's going on? I say that, because when you're reading the book it's almost the first thing that pops into your mind. But in the story, it comes almost as an afterthought. And secondly, the part about "the second will raises far more questions than it answers" ... well, the old man who hanged himself had plenty to say in his will and his suicide note and the letter he wrote to his lawyer ... practically said everything you could want to know, except, that is, for the one thing that's key to the whole mess that ensues. But logically, based on what the old man did write, seems he would have said why he was leaving everything to the maid. And okay, I get it, Grisham couldn't tell us that because he needed a mystery for the rest of the story - and that's fine, but I felt like there was plenty left for a powerful story simply based on the racial tensions of a white man leaving his fortune to a black maid in rural Mississippi, without the contrived search for "why he did it" being interspersed with the story of whether or not the maid is going to get to keep the money. Anyway, it really is a great book. In my opinion Grisham has gone from being not "only" a great storyteller to also being a tremendous writer who offers remarkable insight into what motivates and ultimately what can destroy or bring success to individuals - a great line from the book to illustrate this: "When you have no future, you live in the past, and Lonny would be stuck there forever." It's pretty much a summation of the book - a lot of people with seemingly no future, a lot of people stuck in the past, and some who, no matter how many chances they're given, you can tell will never move forward and get on with their lives. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed reading SYCAMORE ROW and would highly recommend it to anyone.

This book is magnificent. I purchased it a very few days ago and wanted to read it right away. I am a great admirer of Mr. Grisham and I can go back to the very beginning of his courtroom sagas. I liked him from the start and basically was buying every single book that he published, but soon starting losing interest in his books. They simply did not seem as interesting as the first few he wrote. I read The Firm and saw the movie, both of which I loved - then I read A Time to Kill and also saw the movie. This last book did it for me! I was hooked, loved the stories and wanted to continue reading Mr. Grisham. Then I read The Client, The Pelican Brief, the Runaway Jury - and then I stopped. Over the last few years I have added to my collection other books of John Grisham and started a couple of them, but have not been able to get interested in them. Somewhere, somehow, the original John Grisham was gone and with the excitement and interest that a great book holds on you. I've had a Kindle for 3 years now and I don't buy books anymore that I can't donwload to my Kindle an my computer. I do spend a lot of time reading (I have the time) and I download many more books that it seems possible to read. At last count, I believe I have about 537, or so, and, my taste is eclectic, so I have various books on many different topics and typically I read 2 or 3 books at once. I like to do this. When I get tired of one subject, I start reading another book with a different subject and I then keep going back to the books I am reading, until I finish them. I go back to old classics that I haven't read since HIgh School and college, or I read the latest scientific information on some particular subject. I am a history buff and read a lot of history and biography books' I love medical thrillers; I love Baldacci, Grisham, Patterson, Cornwell, Connelly, Patterson, - and my favorite, Ken McClure. I am equally adept at reading in either Spanish or English and I spend a lot of time reading books in Spanish as well. Anyhow, Mr. Grisham just hit the top of the ladder with Sycamore Row. I loved it! A great, entertaining story. Loved to go back to the old courthouse and reading about Jake Brigance. What a treat! Kudos! Congratulations! I have visions of Mathew McConaughey in his old role in the new movie of Sycamore Row. Keep 'em coming!

John Grisham is a storyteller, pure and simple. He's not classic literature, nor is he Pulitzer prize worthy, but he's among the most "readable" author' we have today. He gets you from the first page, and you can't let go. His characters across most of his 'southern' novels are composites of southern stereotypes, e.g. the hard drinking ruthless lawyer, the caring and trustworthy diner waitress, etc. but he draws his characters well and his dialogue is superb. Once in a while his plot lines are contrived (i.e. no matter how far they stray it always comes together neatly in the end) but still entertaining. This novel is, IMHO, the closest he has come to 'literature'. A reclusive southern white business man, not the most likeable of characters, a cold and distant father to his children and without friends - only business associates, with a history of failed marriages and relationships, manages to accumulate a sizable fortune over the last 10 years of his life. Upon being diagnosed with cancer at 71 and undergoing the pain and suffering of both the disease and the treatment, he commits suicide by hanging himself from a Sycamore tree on his property (that Sycamore will return later, tellingly, in the story). A few days before his death, he has his black housekeeper drive him to his office, where he writes a handwritten (holographic) will, legal in Mississippi, that completely negates his previous will which left the bulk of his estate to his (unlikable, but after their childhood, maybe in part his fault) children, and leaves the bulk of his estate to his black housekeeper. He sends a copy of his will to Jake Brigance (the same attorney from Grisham's "A Time To Kill" first novel, now three years later), specifically charging him to defend the will. The remainder of the novel is about the expected contentious legal and other battles over the will. Infused throughout the novel is the subtle, but continuing theme, of racism, and Grisham handles it perfectly - facing it head on, but walking a fine line between the pre-1950's lynch mentalities to modern day "calm on the surface, but still ever present" white southern attitudes about color and culture. The ending, while (again, with Grisham) a little contrived, is still satisfying. His characters, even the caricature drunks and lowlifes, are always likable and enjoying, The ensemble of characters he employes mesh well, and all in all we have yet another book from the man i call our greatest storyteller - rivaling Mark Twain in that regard and, again, Faulkner in probing and portraying the southern culture and environment. Eminently readable and highly recommended,

I'm really surprised at some of the super positive reviews for this book. There is just not enough that happens in the here. It's as if someone wrote a 464 page book on a boring trial about people contesting their father's will. Yes that is what this is about. No major drama, no action, just slow and predictable. Yes it is readable. I was struggling to find a book to read, had started a few that didn't take, and finally when I got Sycamore Row, I was pleasantly surprised at it's style and readability. So I give Grisham that. He's able to keep you interested just by the way he writes. The characters and the setting are all well described and easy to visualize in your mind, which is part of the fun. Seriously though, there is just not enough plot here. Really John Grisham and no plot, yes it is true. It really is a long haul to get to a trial that plays out pretty much as you would predict. Yes there are some surprises (sort of), but nothing totally out of the blue. ****SPOILERS START HERE ***** Ok, someone explain to me why the lawyers for the children, can't go to Lettie (not Jake) and say, "Hey, we will withdraw our case, if you agree to give the children most of the money. You keep $2 million. They get the rest. Just sign here." You don't need Jake for that. They can "settle" with Lettie via contract instead of settling with the Estate. They withdraw the case, Lettie gets the money and transfers most to the children. Guess what? This is exactly what is proposed AFTER the trial is over. Go figure. Why include Jake and the estate here? Just deal with Lettie, before the case gets going. Also, WTF with Lucien getting like no credit from Jake? Not even a thanks for winning my trial for me. Jake is a serious moron. Totally bungles his side, can't get any good decisions from the Judge. Doesn't research Lettie's past to find out her "secret". I mean come on, at least we expect a good lawyer in a book about law, not getting saved at the last minute by a drunkard. We knew all along that Ancil had some story to tell. I figured it was either something that Seth felt guilty about like either a killing or rape or something that he was responsible for. Turns out, he wasn't responsible for anything, just witnessed some stuff as a kid. So yeah, guilt might still be natural, but at least if he were responsible in some way it would have made more sense. Whatever, it's still 3 stars because the writing style is pretty good. Characters are decent even if they don't do much, etc. So go figure. Grisham still writes pretty well, but seriously this book lacks court room drama, lacks real plot, has plot holes, and just didn't do it for me. Sorry.

What a great tale! I am in love with Jake Brigance. Just like in the first book he was charming and fabulous. I went into this right after reading A Time to Kill even though they were published approximately nine years apart, so please disregard some of this if you have not read the first in a very long time. Firstly, I really enjoy John Grisham's writing, however, there was a lot of back story in this. There was also a lot of reminding about A Time to Kill, but in that case I totally understand as I said above, the stories were published a few years apart and I'm sure most would appreciate the reminders. Just like A Time to Kill this starts out with a bang but as a reader I didn't now what the entire bang was about. Slowly but surely Jake Brigance and his crew have to figure out what the hell is going on while another race war is starting. And to make things worse, many things happen throughout the book which make the race war become an inferno which makes having a case ridiculously difficult. All of the drama is there, it was great. And then I hit about 50% and I absolutely hated it. Well, hate is a strong word. There's a lot of words in here and I mean a LOT. And most of them aren't about what is going on with the actual plot. There's an entire storyline that the reader is finding out about, an ENTIRE storyline. I started getting lost. With so much going on and so many people to get to know and find out about, it was a bit overwhelming. But some of it did have to do with the plot just not all of it. The end of it was fabulous though. I loved the last 1/4 of the book. The plot was amazing and what Jake and his team had to go through was brilliantly written. I didn't want to miss a single word of it. And then the ending was spectacular. And I do mean awesome. I actually ended the book with tears in my eyes! So, although I didn't love 100% of it, I loved it. He has fantastic writing and I would recommend to anyone, even if it's a bit out of your comfort zone.

Grisham knows how to insert little items that later become very important. He knows how to weave a very exciting story so that you are surprised as it unravels and it comes to the surprising end.

It's perhaps unfortunate for John Grisham that a sizable number of his fans consider his debut novel, A Time to Kill, to be his best. For his ego it might mean that people think that he hasn't gotten better. For me, and I vacillate on whether ATTK is his best or not (it alternates with Runaway Jury and The Last Juror), the characters of Clanton are what do it for me. I love it when he returns to that locale (hence my affection for Last Juror), and I was delighted to see Jake Brigance come back. The Grisham plan right now is very well known. The underdog lawyer taking on the case for the poor person (sometimes black, sometimes white), against the large firm. All the odds are against him, but he somehow pulls through with either a win, or a draw that shouldn't have been even that much. That's not the case here, not really. Jake is tasked with executing the last will of a rich businessman from Ford County that hates his family, and wants his millions given mostly to his black housekeeper, Lettie Lang. Needless to say, the family is not pleased with this, as it shuts them out, so they sue. Jake's task is to defend the will, not the beneficiary, though he ultimately has to wind up doing both. Lettie Lang is the usual sainted black person that exists in Grisham lore, shades of Miss Callie from last Juror, but she's sympathetic without being too unreal a person. Sycamore Row (a title that is explained in the story), takes place just a few years after the events of ATTK, and many, though not all, of the familiar characters are back. Harry Rex Vonner is the prime supporting player that returns, as he continues his role as Grisham's most re-used character, and every time I read him (I love Harry Rex), I wonder what Joel Schumacher was thinking when he cast Oliver Platt. He and Lucien Wilbanks are the "wise" heads that advise Jake, and it's interesting to see how he responds to them, it's not the same dynamic as the first time. It's hard to talk about the negative characters, most of whom you really can't call villains per se, without giving away more of the plot. All I'll say is that their motives are justified for the most part, and while you don't really feel for the disinherited family members......you do see where they're coming from. This is, for all intents and purposes, John's first direct sequel, and I'm wondering now why he waited so long. The novel moves really well, never gets bogged down in too much unnecessary detail, and has Clanton, Mississippi and its setting and people. I loved it. Five stars.

Très bien développé

Right from the first page this book grabs your attention and doesn't let go to the very end. The various twists and turns keep you guessing which way it will go next.

Full of unexpected details and twists and gripping reading. None of John Grisham's novels have ever disappointed me, and I have read them all. Totally

Very good. One of the best by Grisham old South stories. Mistery, suspence and deep emotions from the fist to the last page.

“Sycamore Row” is one of the finest novels Grisham has written in recent times and will, probably, ever write in his lifetime. More of a drama than a thriller, it is a sequel to Grisham’s debut work, “A Time To Kill.” about Jake Brigance, a lawyer who defends a black person who kills two whites that raped and murdered his 10-year old daughter. (This is an independent tale and it’s not necessary to have read the first book.) The first chapter starts with a meticulously planned suicide through hanging (down to the type of rope to be used) by a 71-year old, twice-divorced, cancer stricken (“good mind, decaying body”) millionaire, Seth Hubbard. Seth despised lawyers (“Vultures. Bloodsuckers”) but had enough trust in Jake, who he knew by reputation and appoints him attorney though a letter, delivered after his death, with instructions to leave most of his inheritance to his housekeeper, Lettie, with a small share to his missing brother, if alive. Seth specifically prohibits Jake from giving anything to his family. If that was not bad enough, Lettie is black, raising questions about the relationship between the two and/or the motive behind his leaving her a vast fortune. The story’s center has two wills written by Seth with vastly different instructions: a recent handwritten one without witnesses and another older one in the presence of lawyers, which, lays the stage for some messy conflicts. In a welcome deviation from a standard legal procedure, justice prevails through a witness outside the four walls of a court. With any other writer, the narration would have turned out dull. . After all, what’s so novel about children contesting wills, greedy lawyers and greedier family members, drunks, small town gossip and racism? However, this story moves full throttle without respite, from the first page itself and lapses, only occasionally. Lately I had been reading Grisham’s recent novels more out of loyalty and left “Playing for Pizza” (dealing with American football which to us in India is like what cricket is to the Americans) half way and have not read the “Theodore Boone” series. Though much has been trumpeted about the book’s shocking end, we Indians will identify more with an episode about forgiveness, tucked in the book somewhere after midway. If this short part on compassion does not move you, check your pulse. Save for “The Pelican Brief.”, what prompted Grisham to have a title like “Sycamore Row” when all his legal thrillers have generic, boring names? The first (obvious) reason is that it’s the tree on which branches Seth commits suicide. The second reason is more symbolic. The Sycamore Tree has a non-elastic outer bark that breaks away as slough (allegorising his family whom he despises) when the inner wood (Seth, maybe) starts growing: the growth of the wood being faster than the growth of the bark. Dig deeper and it’s a book about atonement and not racism or money, as we are lead to believe. Welcome back, Grisham…..