The Reckoning: A Novel (Unabridged)
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3.8 • 985 Ratings
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “An original, gripping, penetrating novel . . . Grisham is not only the master of suspense but also an acute observer of the human condition.”—David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon and The Wager
October 1946, Clanton, Mississippi
Pete Banning was Clanton, Mississippi’s favorite son—a decorated World War II hero, the patriarch of a prominent family, a farmer, father, neighbor, and a faithful member of the Methodist church. Then one cool October morning he rose early, drove into town, and committed a shocking crime. Pete’s only statement about it—to the sheriff, to his lawyers, to the judge, to the jury, and to his family—was: “I have nothing to say.” He was not afraid of death and was willing to take his motive to the grave.
In The Reckoning, John Grisham takes us on an incredible journey, from the Jim Crow South to the jungles of the Philippines during World War II, from an insane asylum filled with secrets to the Clanton courtroom where Pete’s defense attorney tries desperately to save him.
Reminiscent of the finest Southern Gothic storytelling and layered with Grisham’s signature legal suspense, The Reckoning delivers on every page.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
John Grisham takes a hiatus from his legal thrillers to serve up a subversive mystery—it’s a whydunit, not a whodunit. When upstanding vet Pete Banning commits a methodically planned and inexplicable murder, it shocks his 1940s Mississippi hometown. Pete refuses to reveal his motive, setting up a complex puzzle of a story that pieces together dark family secrets, World War II stories, and the racist realities of the Jim Crow–era South. Narrator Michael Beck’s commanding, no-nonsense delivery echoes Banning’s unblinking stoicism and is a perfect fit for Grisham’s terse prose.
Customer Reviews
Well written as expected
But the biggest tragic tragedy I’ve read in a while
Terrible
Entire book can be summed up in two sentences. And you’d be capturing a lot of detail if you did.
No
Very disappointing. This is on a par with Sycamore Row; drawn out, going nowhere and offering no redeeming qualities to bring it out of the 15+ hour rut it takes you through.
I couldn’t care for any of the characters and cannot believe how an author could drag such a simple story out so long. Split into three parts that are so long-winded that I actually gave myself a pat on the back for finishing it.
No.