The Appeal
A Novel
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3.9 • 274 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A “chilling and timeless” (The Washington Post) political and legal thriller that will leave readers unable to think about our electoral process or judicial system in quite the same way ever again.
“Fascinating . . . filled with deadly accurate characterizations by an author who knows both the law and politics from the inside.”—Los Angeles Times
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 mold him into a potential Supreme Court justice. Their Supreme Court justice.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A Mississippi jury returns a $41-million verdict against a chemical company accused of dumping carcinogenic waste into a small town's water supply. The company's ruthless billionaire CEO is thwarted and the good guys (a courageous young woman who lost her husband and child and her two lawyers who've gone half a million dollars in debt preparing her case) receives its just reward. This sounds like the end of a Grisham legal thriller, but instead it's the beginning of a book-length lesson in how greed and big business have corrupted our electoral and judicial systems. Grisham's characters are over-the-top. The CEO and the other equally overdone villains his venal trophy wife, a self-serving senator and a pair of smarmy political fixers as well as the unbelievably good-hearted, self-sacrificing lawyers and an honorable state judge, are one dimensional. Michael Beck, with his natural Southern drawl, does a fine job of adding credibility and nuance to the large cast. But his efforts are for naught. In fact, the more he makes us feel for these characters, the less apt we are to be satisfied with the sourball moral of Grisham's downbeat discourse. Simultaneous release with the Doubleday hardcover (reviewed online).
Customer Reviews
Your basic
A distraction. Ok but not on any kind of must read list.
Horrible
Bad. Not worth it. The book writes itself. Come on John. You can do better. Be Better!
The appeal
So disappointed with this book. Yes I agree it's how politics work and the corruption is equally real. Painful and boring read. No fireworks or unexpected outcomes. I'm truly upset that I wasted my time on this one.