Books by John Grisham
John Grisham is a writer of pacy legal thrillers, often with a serious edge, and a range of authors have included his books as among their favourites.
Grisham shot to international fame after he published his second book, The Firm, in 1991. For many, it remains his best book. According to fellow bestselling author, Jeffrey Archer: “If you’ve never read John Grisham, The Firm is the one to start on, because his genius is that he was a professional lawyer as a young man, after coming down from university.”
Grisham is a prolific writer, sometimes producing two books in one year. All his books, with a focus on his most recent, can be found here.
The Exchange
by John Grisham
More than 30 years after shooting to fame for The Firm, John Grisham has written a sequel. Mitch and Abby McDeere now live in Manhattan and Mitch is a partner in a law firm. Initial reviews suggest this a nice book if you're a big fan of The Firm.
“It’s probably the best thing Grisham has ever done. It came out 30 years ago. It’s a wonderful story about a young man who leaves Harvard third in his class. Every law firm in the country is desperate to get hold of him. He comes from a poor family, he’s just got married, and he gets an offer he just can’t refuse. He gets a wonderful salary, wonderful provisions, wonderful everything. It includes what he thought was important at the time, a BMW.” Read more...
Jeffrey Archer, Novelist
“This was the holiday-reading book which, as a teenager, inspired me to pursue criminal law. The gritty reality of criminal practice is of course somewhat removed from the fictionalised ideal, and any lawyer acting in the way that our hero Jake Brigance does in securing a just outcome for his innocent client would have to deal with fairly serious professional consequences, but the underlying themes transcend time and realities.” Read more...
The best books on Justice and the Law
The Secret Barrister, Lawyer
“This was probably the last book I read where I literally stayed up until three o’clock in the morning because I could not stop reading it. I just think it is such a brilliant fast-paced story. The characterisation is sparse, terse, but nevertheless really well-drawn. He doesn’t do psychology but it’s a chase story with an ongoing mystery in the back.” Read more...
Louise Bagshawe, Novelist
Interviews where books by John Grisham were recommended
The Best Chase Stories, recommended by Louise Bagshawe
Everyone’s on the run from something in their life. Bestselling author Louise Bagshawe recommends some of her favourite chase stories, a world of jailbreaks, secret documents, beautiful heroines, honour, revenge, death and glory.
The best books on Justice and the Law, recommended by The Secret Barrister
The English legal system is struggling to ensure justice. Drastic government cuts and disastrous reforms have led to innocent people being let down by the system again and again. Reporting anonymously from the front line, The Secret Barrister sees it as their duty to keep the public informed. Here they discuss the books that have shaped the way they think about justice and its relation to the law.
The Best Detective Fiction, recommended by Jeffrey Archer
With so many works of detective fiction coming out each year, which books stand the test of time? Here, bestselling British author Jeffrey Archer talks us through some of his favourites, the books he found completely unputdownable and made him want to read everything the author had written.
