Sycamore Row

By: John Grisham

Narrated by: Michael Beck

Length: 20 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Finalist, Thriller/Suspense, 2014

John Grisham takes you back to where it all began...

John Grisham's A Time to Kill is one of the most popular novels of our time. Now we return to that famous courthouse in Clanton as Jake Brigance once again finds himself embroiled in a fiercely controversial trial - a trial that will expose old racial tensions and force Ford County to confront its tortured history.

Seth Hubbard is a wealthy man dying of lung cancer. He trusts no one. Before he hangs himself from a sycamore tree, Hubbard leaves a new, handwritten, will. It is an act that drags his adult children, his Black maid, and Jake into a conflict as riveting and dramatic as the murder trial that made Brigance one of Ford County's most notorious citizens, just three years earlier.

The second will raises far more questions than it answers. Why would Hubbard leave nearly all of his fortune to his maid? Had chemotherapy and painkillers affected his ability to think clearly? And what does it all have to do with a piece of land once known as Sycamore Row?

In Sycamore Row, John Grisham returns to the setting and the compelling characters that first established him as America's favorite storyteller. Here, in his most assured and thrilling novel yet, is a powerful testament to the fact that Grisham remains the master of the legal thriller, nearly 25 years after the publication of A Time to Kill.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2013 Belfry Holdings, Inc (P)2013 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

Praise for the novels of John Grisham

"John Grisham is about as good a storyteller as we've got in the United States these days." —The New York Times Book Review

"John Grisham is exceptionally good at what he does—indeed, right now in this country, nobody does it better." —Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post

"Grisham is a marvelous storyteller who works readers the way a good trial lawyer works a jury." — Philadelphia Inquirer

"John Grisham owns the legal thriller." —The Denver Post

"John Grisham is not just popular, he is one of the most popular novelists of our time. He is a craftsman and he writes good stories, engaging characters, and clever plots." — Seattle Times

"A legal literary legend." — USA Today

Return to Ford County

Grisham has a way of simultaneously making the reader both admire and despise the law and certain lawyers as he provides the reader of a view into all the backroom legal maneuvering. In my opinion this book falls short of some of Grisham’s better works like The Firm and The Pelican Brief, but it is enjoyable, if slow at times. A sequel of sorts to “A Time to Kill”, it picks up with some old characters from that novel and if you like Grisham's writing style and the law, you should like this book.

another good book

another good book from my favorite author adds another book to my liberty good job thanks

Another great Grisham novel!

I love John Grisham, and this book doesn’t let me down! It’s full of suspense, with a few surprises! The narrator is great... totally entertaining! Would highly recommend!!!
Audible 20 review sweepstakes entry

Loved it!

What a great yarn. Grisham never disappoints. My first audible with Grisham. Looking forward to another yarn! Narrator was excellent!

I teared I screamed I laughed

soo thrilling I rather listened than go find something to eat bath or even sleep. it's been fun John listening to the Sycamore row.

Couldn't wait for outcome, yet hated when it ended

Would you consider the audio edition of Sycamore Row to be better than the print version?

I did not read the print version - and won't. This was perfect.

Any additional comments?

I couldn't wait to get to the outcome of the trial and see how Grisham would work it out. He gives you inklings through out the story, but with the trial taking twists and turns and coming to the end - you are still guessing. Very well read. This is Grisham story telling at its best! I highly recommend that you invest yourself in this book.

Excellent rendering of a first-rate story

Worthy return to Ford County. Welcome back, Jake Brigantine, Carla, Harry Rex. The new characters excellently portrayed.

Powerful!

What made the experience of listening to Sycamore Row the most enjoyable?

The reader and how he gave personality, through his narration, to each character.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The plot definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. I hated to leave my car sometimes because I wanted to know what happened next.

What does Michael Beck bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His grasp of each character's personality.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, absolutely.

Any additional comments?

This was a very good book. It truly grasped what race relations were and are in the deep South. The book was honest and gritty.

Review

I absolutely love Michael Beck as a narrator with all his incredible voices. The story itself was worth the read but I'm just not too excited with it.

Clever stretch of deep south history into mystery

What made the experience of listening to Sycamore Row the most enjoyable?

A thrilling, twisting story. The story used the main character as a great thread carrying the story forward. Bits of southern history were modified to create near-real incidents that were important to the outcome of the book. The current and past come together, but not in the way a reader might expect.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Each discovery made in the book seemed to change the possible outcome of the trial. But the threads came together in an unexpected conclusion.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scene was when the lead lawyer was recreating the days leading up to and through the incident that triggered the case. (No spoilers!)

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The author helped me feel compassion for one of the main characters, only to have me question it when another lawyer brought forth contradictory evidence.

Any additional comments?

The story was well read. The narrator was well chosen to match the setting of the book. His voice helped me immerse myself into the story.