Sycamore Row

I was a little worried when I sat down to read Grisham’s latest which returns to the setting of A Time to Kill, Clanton, Mississippi and lawyer Jake Brigance.  Since A Time to Kill is probably my personal favorite Grisham novel, I was excited to return to those characters, but I was also worried it wouldn’t live up to the first, sequels are rarely as good as the original.  Of course it didn’t live up to the original, I didn’t really expect that it would, but it came much closer that I could have hoped for.

Brigance is back in the thick of race tensions when he wanders into the office one morning and opens the mail.  A local wealthy white man, in the end stages of lung cancer, has hung himself over the weekend.  Jake has never met him, but there it is – a letter naming him as the dead man’s lawyer and a new handwritten will, one that cuts out his family and leaves his substantial fortune to his black housekeeper, Lettie Lang.    The courtroom is full of lawyers – some for the kids, some for the grandkids, some for Lettie – and Jake as he fights to see that his dead client’s wishes are fulfilled.   Tensions are high and gossip runs rampant as this small town tries to figure out why he left his money to Lettie, and whether or not she should actually get it.

Of course it all comes down to legal-wrangling and new information at the last possible second, with twists and turns that keep you guessing.  Another page-turning courtroom drama from the master of the genre.

Title: Sycamore Row
Author: John Grisham
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 464
Publication: Doubleday, October 2013

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Tuesday Top Ten

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. Book bloggers create their own lists based on the chosen topics and post links to our lists. It’s a way of all sharing our thoughts and our love of books.  And who doesn’t love lists??

So this week’s challenge was to list the top ten upcoming sequels that I’m anticipating.  Since I have tried to give up on reading series until all of the books are coming out, this was a tricky list for me, but there are a couple of series that I still have not finished…

Next-in-Series YA Novels:

1. Allegiant by Veronica Roth – The final book is out!  And as soon as my daughter is done with it, I will take my turn!
2. Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater – A fun series – – I’m not “dying” to read the next book, but it should be entertaining.
3. Fall of Five by Pittacus Lore – See #2.
4. Just One More Year by Gayle Forman – I read the first book in the series, Just One Day, without realizing it was part of a series, so now I want to know the end of the story!

Next-in-Series Adult Fiction – Coming Soon!

1. Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich – Always hilarious and books that I always am excited for each November.
2. Sycamore Row by John Grisham – John Grisham returns to the setting of A Time to Kill, one of my favorite Grisham novels.

I’m Going to Have to Wait a Long Time…

1. Eden in Winter by Richard North Patterson – I’m really reaching now, since this book doesn’t come out until July 2014, but I really enjoyed the different directions he took with the first two novels, Fall from Grace and Loss of Innocence, and am looking forward to seeing where he goes now.
2. By Its Cover by Donna Leone – The next book in the Commissario Guido Brunetti series isn’t due out until April 2014, but I am ready for another dose of Venice!
3. The Hollow Girl by Reed Farrel Coleman – The Moe Prager novels are some of my favorites, truly some of the best detective writing out there today, coming out in May 2014 this will be the last in the series!  😦
4. Others that have not yet been announced and that I will have to wait far too long for – the next Inspector Gamache book by Louise Penny, the next Odd Thomas book by Dean Koontz, and probably many more that I can’t think of right now…

Tuesday Top Ten

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. Book bloggers create their own lists based on the chosen topics and post links to our lists. It’s a way of all sharing our thoughts and our love of books.  And who doesn’t love lists??

So this week’s challenge was to list the top ten list of books that I want to read this fall.  There are WAY more than ten, there are always way more than ten books on my TBR list, and I am probably forgetting some or there are some that will hop to the top of the list later this year when I realize they are coming out, but here’s what I’m looking forward to right now…

1. Allegiant by Veronica Roth – This is a series that I have been reading along with my daughter this summer and I am eager to read the final book!
2. Sycamore Row by John Grisham – Grisham’s legal thrillers are always a fast and fun read and I am looking forward to a return to the setting of A Time to Kill.
3. The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch Albom – I’ve been a fan of Albom’s work in the past but found The Time Keeper to be a disappointment.  I’m hopeful for better things with his next book.
4. Just One Year by Gayle Forman – I read Just One Day earlier this year, not realizing that it was part of a series, and now I want to finish the story!
5. Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich – The one series that always makes me laugh out loud!
6. Loss of Innocence by Richard North Patterson – This novel is a prequel to Fall from Grace which I devoured in a day!
7. Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith – This series always entertains me, yet always leaves me feeling relaxed and peaceful – must be something to do with the main character’s personality.
8. Death of Santini by Pat Conroy – An author I have always enjoyed, with much of his work based on his life – this autobiographical story is sure to be worthwhile.
9. Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin by Jill Lepore – I am interested in learning about Ben’s little sister who apparently had quite an active part in history as well.
10. Edison and the Rise of Innovation by Leonard DeGraaf – The dork in me is always interested in the great scientific and engineering minds throughout history.