Book Review: A Time for Mercy by John Grisham
In โA Time for Mercyโ, we meet up again with Jake Brigance the brilliant young defence lawyer, working in Clanton, Mississippi whoย we first read about in Grishamโs earlier novel โA Time to Killโ (if you havenโt read that one, get hold of a copy and read it!). This time, much against his will and better judgement, Jakeโs been hijacked by Judge Omar Noose to defend 16-year-old Drew Gamble whoโs shot and killed his motherโs boyfriend Stuart Kofer. To make matters worse, Kofer is a Deputy to Sheriff Ozzie Walls and an esteemed member of Clantonโs law enforcement team. What no-one seemed to know, and certainly didnโt talk about, was that Kofer, when off duty, was also a hardened drinker and an ugly violent drunk. Drewโs mother, Josie had had a chaotic life of crime, drugs, periods in prison and homelessness and had ended up living with Kofer, thinking that it would offer some security for her and her two children โ she also had a 14-year-old daughter, Kiera. As it turned out that wasnโt a happy choice as, before long, she and her children were frequently on the receiving end of his drunken rages and violence.
The story starts late on a Saturday night/early Sunday morning when Kofer comes home extremely drunk and angry. Josie tries to calm him to protect her children but fails and is severely beaten. Drew and his sister have locked themselves into Kieraโs bedroom, terrified and hoping to avoid his anger, but can hear their mother being both verbally and physically abused. Finally, all goes quiet, but Kofer then can be heard coming up the stairs and calling to Kiera. Fortunately, their locking and jamming of the bedroom door holds and after a while he goes away. After waiting for a while, the children open the door and, making sure that there was no sign of Kofer, creep downstairs in search of their mother. They find her lying on the kitchen floor, blood all around her and, in their fear, when they canโt wake her, conclude that sheโs dead. They call 911 and report that their motherโs been killed and then, while Kiera holds her motherโs head, crying over her and pleading with her to wake up, Drew goes to check on Kofer and finds him fully dressed, flat out on his bed and in a deep sleep. At this point, Drew, with a deep hatred of Kofer and in the certainty that Kofer would want to kill all of them when he woke up, goes and picks up Koferโs service revolver holds it against Koferโs head and pulls the trigger and returns to the kitchen. Asked by Kiera โwhat did you doโ he replies, โI shot himโ. When the Sheriff Ozzie Walls and his team arrived, just ahead of the ambulance, Drew says nothing but Kiera said, โDrew shot himโ.
It turns out that Josie is not dead but is very badly injured and is rushed off to hospital. Drew and Kiera are taken to prison; Drew to await trial and Kiera for her own protection while some safe place can be found for her. Eventually, as she has no other family or connections anywhere, sheโs taken in by Charles McGarry, the Pastor of a small local church, and his wife Meg who will care for her for as long as is necessary.
So, Jake is stuck with a case he doesnโt want, which is going to make him very little money and quite possibly going to cost him money which he doesnโt really have. As he knows very well, it will also alienate him from many in the Clanton community who canโt understand him defending a โcop killerโ, especially when the cop concerned was an esteemed part of their community. Jake has been there before, of course, being widely hated when he defended black Carl Lee Hailey whoโd killed a couple of white youths whoโd raped and killed his daughter โ (read โA Time to Killโ) but has no way of getting out of it. At the same time, he and his less reputable associate, Harry Rex, have a much bigger, case theyโre working on. The โSmallwood caseโ, concerns a family whoโd been killed when their car, driven by Mr Smallwood, had collided with a freight train on a crossing. Jakeโs case hung on the belief that the crossing was in a bad state of repair and its warning lights werenโt working. The defendantโs claim was that the lights were working, that the wagons of the train carried reflective stripes which drivers should have seen, and that Mr Smallwood had been drinking and that the alcohol was the reason why heโd failed to see the train. Jake and Harry Rex believed that they had a strong case and that the lawyers for the railroad company would settle for a considerable sum which would give them both a significant payment. All this is jeopardised when an isolated individual is noticed in CCTV footage of the crash and its aftermath. What seems like gold to Jake, turns to ashes when he learns that the individualโs evidence will favour the railroad company.
So, thatโs the story so far. If you want to know how it turns out, youโll have to read the book…
Phil L
Book Review: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
This story revolves around a forensic psychotherapist, Theo Faber, and his attempt to uncover the truth about Alicia Berenson, a patient in the ward where Theo works who has not spoken a word since she murdered her husband. In this story, Alex Michaelides takes the reader on a thrilling journey with the protagonist to comprehend one thing: the fascinating mind of Alicia Berenson and discover the reasoning that led her to commit her violent crime which trapped her in a world of silence and solitude. Michaelides possesses the ability to keep the reader hooked and interested as revelations grow ever-nearer with the use of perspective changes from the intelligent and seemingly innocent protagonist, Theo, to the antagonistic and potentially deadly Alicia, providing greater depth and insight into the contrasting characters as their lives seemingly begin to intertwine.
My favourite character in the book was Alicia Berenson. Despite her notoriety mainly being credited to the brutal murder of her husband, I like how Michaelides can portray her as the intelligent and talented woman she once was before she begins to transition into the strategic killer, she is made out to be. Although Alicia should and is culpable for her crimes throughout the book, I admired how Michaelides was able to persuade the reader into sympathising with her during the book’s progression which reveals other seemingly virtuous and innocuous characters to also be partially liable for Aliciaโs actions.
Amy (Work Experience Student)
Book Review: You Are Awesome by Matthew Syed
All of these books and many more are available to borrow now at Blackfen Community Library. Come along, sit and have a read at our community hub and enjoy a fresh coffee from Rooted Coffee House, our in house coffee shop.
To enquire about the availability of these books you can login via your membership loginย or pop into the library and ask our team.
@hello_blackfen
@helloblackfen
@helloblackfen
Problem displaying Facebook posts. Backup cache in use.
Click to show error