The Appeal by John Grisham

I was excited to see that John Grisham was returning to writing books about lawyers and trials when I read The Appeal. I loved The Firm and The Client and A Time to Kill—all fantastic books about trials and lawyers set in Mississippi. I enjoyed some of his other books; Playing for Pizza was fun and Bleachers was good, but those books don’t compare to his legal thrillers.

The Appeal is about a trial in Bowmore, Mississippi where Krane Chemicals has dumped a lot of toxins in the soil and contaminated the ground water. The people of Bowmore have a higher cancer rate than anywhere in the US, in fact, it is 17 times higher. There are so many people who have cancer in the county that it has gained the nickname “Cancer County.” Jeanette Baker lost both her husband and son to cancer and she is suing Krane Chemical for their deaths. Wes and Mary Grace Payton have risked everything to represent her case because they believe that Krane Chemical should pay for what it has done. At the beginning of the book, the jury rules on the Baker case and then the entire book is about the appeal. And what the huge multi-billion dollar company will do to get out of paying for what it has done to the city of Bowmore.

Of course, like all of Grisham’s books, many of the legal and political practices make me angry! But I really enjoyed this book! And I am glad that Grisham has returned to what he does best!