’The hill people and the Mexicans arrived on the same day. It was Wednesday, early in September 1952. The Cardinals were five games behind the Dodgers with two weeks to go, and the season looked hopeless. The cotton, however, was waist high to my father, almost over my head, and he and my grandfather could be heard before supper whispering words that were seldom heard. It would be a ’’Good Crop’’... Thus begins the new novel from John Grisham, a story inspired by his own childhood in rural Arkansas.
Well, as a loyal Grisham fan, I had bought this book long before my vacations started and couldn’t wait to turn the first page. However, for the first time, I was bitterly disappointed. This book lacked the high action court drama that we so naturally expect from John Grisham. Also, the details are painfully long. Take for example the baseball games! Unless you are a big Cardinals fan, you are bound to get bored through those long pages of Baseball.
A seven year old kid called Luke, 100s of acres of cotton farms, a little nudity, a couple of dead bodies and a lazy cop...that basically covers the story. If you are a loyal Grisham fan, give this book a shot. But please don’t let this be the first Grisham you read...you may never pick up another one.