Product Description

In a crowded courtroom in Mississippi, a jury returns a shocking verdict against a chemical company accused of dumping toxic waste into a small town's water supply, causing the worst "cancer cluster" in history. The company appeals to the Mississippi Supreme Court, whose nine justices will one day either approve the verdict or reverse it. Who are the nine? How will they vote? Can one be replaced before the case is ultimately decided? The chemical company is owned by a Wall Street predator named Carl Trudeau, and Mr. Trudeau is convinced the Court is not friendly enough.With judicial elections looming, he decides to try to purchase himself a seat on the Court. The cost is a few million dollars, a drop in the bucket for a billionaire like Mr. Trudeau. Through an intricate web of conspiracy and deceit, his political operatives recruit a young, unsuspecting candidate. They finance him, manipulate him, market him, and mould him into a potential Supreme Court justice. Their Supreme Court justice. "The Appeal" is a powerful, timely, and shocking story of political and legal intrigue, a story that will leave readers unable to think about the electoral process or judicial system in quite the same way ever again.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4098 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Amazon.co.uk
John Grisham is now an institution -- a writer whose bestselling status is assured, So assured, in fact, that expectations for each new book are as high as can be imagined. Does The Appeal make the grade? And will it appeal to Grisham admirers -- or disappoint them?

The stakes in the novel’s plot are high: corporate crime on the largest scale. The duo of lawyers at the centre of the narrative are Mary and Wes Grace, who succeed in a multimillion dollar case against a chemical company, who have polluted a town with dumped toxic waste. A slew of agonising deaths have followed this, but lawyers for the chemical company appeal, and a variety of legal shenanigans are employed -- and it is certainly not clear which way the scales of justice will be finally balanced.

As ever with Grisham, the mechanics of plotting are key, and the characterisation is functional rather than detailed. But it is (as always) more than capable of keeping the reader totally engaged. Given John Grisham's much-publicised conversion to born-again Christianity, it's intriguing to note here the implicit criticism of the moral majority’s religious values, but that is hardly central to the enterprise. What counts is the storytelling, and while the writing is as straightforward and uncomplicated as ever, few readers will put down The Appeal once they have allowed it to exert its grip on upon them. --Barry Forshaw

From the Inside Flap
In a crowded courtroom in Mississippi, a jury returns a shocking verdict against a chemical company accused of dumping toxic waste into a small town’s water supply, causing the worst "cancer cluster" in history. The company appeals to the Mississippi Supreme Court, whose nine justices will one day either approve the verdict or reverse it.

Who are the nine? How will they vote? Can one be replaced before the case is ultimately decided?

The chemical company is owned by a Wall Street predator named Carl Trudeau, and Mr. Trudeau is convinced the Court is not friendly enough. With judicial elections looming, he decides to try to purchase himself a seat on the Court. The cost is a few million dollars, a drop in the bucket for a billionaire like Mr. Trudeau. Through an intricate web of conspiracy and deceit, his political operatives recruit a young, unsuspecting candidate. They finance him, manipulate him, market him, and mould him into a potential Supreme Court justice.Their Supreme Court justice.

The Appeal is a powerful, timely, and shocking story of political and legal intrigue, a story that will leave readers unable to think about the electoral process or judicial system in quite the same way ever again.

From the Back Cover
In a landmark trial in Mississippi, a jury returns a shocking verdict against the giant Krane chemical company: its dumping of toxic waste has caused the worst cancer cluster in history.

The verdict is a triumph for Wes and Mary Grace Payton, the small husband and wife legal team who have fought Krane for years. Now nothing stands in the way of million dollar settlements for all of Krane’s victims.

Except for one thing: The Appeal.

Krane’s billionaire owner had decided not one cent will be paid to any of the plaintiffs. Instead he will buy himself some justice at the Supreme Court. Instead of a victory, the biggest legal battle of their lives is just beginning for the Paytons and their clients.

‘Riveting’ Sunday Times

‘Utterly compelling’ Guardian

‘A blatant page turner …I guarantee you will hate reaching the end’ Sunday Express

Customer Reviews

Lost the Plot!!!!
Has a great and one of my favourite authors, simply lost the plot?!!!!
This book and his last 'Playing for Pizza' have been the two worst Grisham books that I have read. How can a man who has written some of the best books I have ever read write two books on the spin which, in being kind, I would say were a complete waste of money?!!!!!!!
In all sincerity, I would have to think twice before buying another Grisham new release!

Much ado about nothing
I've just finished reading more than 250 pages of filler with nothing worth mentioning at the end of it all, except that the ending "majorly" sucked.

Essentially a sordid tale of big business and politics vs. big verdicts and class action lawsuits, it begins nicely, and gathers steam, then proceeds to continue blowing hot air at the reader until the unsatisfactory quickie ending.

While there's some food for thought regarding how the legal, political, religious and business arenas may all be connected, there's more garnish than meat in a story which could have been cut by about 100 pages of the filler, and sweetened with about 50 more pages of conclusion for dessert.

Short Attention Span Summary (SASS)

1. Large company dumps chemicals in rural community
2. Water changes color
3. People get sick
4. Some die
5. Small law firm files lawsuit
6. Large verdict awarded
7. Big business takes over
8. Money talks
9. Once again, Grisham gets tired of his own rambling and wraps up story in indecent haste leaving most of his ends dangling
10. His ends aren't pretty

I'd like to sue for 50% of my money back, plus loss of productive time, legal costs and mental trauma, and also for punitive damages, but I guess I'd lose on appeal.

Rated: 2.5 stars for half of a good book


Amanda Richards

Pretty Pathetic
What a disappointing Grisham novel. They are slowly getting worse. Of course the legal side is interesting but the story - boring and tedious - too many uninteresting characters about whom I couldn't care less. The book dragged on to a poor ending. I thought the new yacht, together with all the useless people on board, was going to sink - pity it didn't. I think this novel may have been written by a 'ghost writer'. I shall not bother to purchase any more of Grisham's novels.