The Reckoning, A John Grisham Thriller
It's been years since I have done a book report and even then I would have made sure I had a good word count going so as to not displease Mrs. Whateverhername and get a bad grade.
I have always liked reading. The kid who read under the sheets with the flashlight. Early on they were mostly paperbacks except for trips to the library to get a hardcover. That was the ultimate. To this day I read mostly hardcover and have shelves of hours of reading to show for it.
The Reckoning, by John Grisham, is the story of a local farmer's son who always respected others. He was a decorated World War II hero; the patriarch of a prominent Mississippi family, big on cotton; a kind father, helping neighbor and a faithful member of the church.
So what would possess this model person to get up early in the morning, drive into town, walk into the church, and calmly shoot and kill his pastor and friend.
As if the murder weren't shocking enough, it was even more baffling that his 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.
This is what I call historical fiction as it takes the main character, Peter Banning on a ride through the prevailing tone of the times in the deep South, to the jungles of the Philippines as a guerrilla fighting the Japanese during World War II. Through an asylum where a beloved aunt struggles with a past, and into a Southern courtroom, of the Atticus Finch type, where this man's attorney tries desperately to save him.
Like so many of the novels by John Grisham, the text is rich with facts and the suspense is always there right through to the end.
This is written for the ActiveRain Contest this month titled "Book Review | August 2021 ActiveRain Contest".
The Reckoning, A John Grisham Thriller
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