The Appeal

A Novel

By: John Grisham

Narrated by: Michael Beck

Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

In a crowded courtroom in Mississippi, a jury returns a shocking verdict against a chemical company accused of dumping toxic waste into a small town's water supply, causing the worst "cancer cluster" in history. The company appeals to the Mississippi Supreme Court, whose nine justices will one day either approve the verdict or reverse it.

Who are the nine? How will they vote? Can one be replaced before the case is ultimately decided?

The chemical company is owned by a Wall Street predator named Carl Trudeau, and Mr. Trudeau is convinced the Court is not friendly enough. With judicial elections looming, he decides to try to purchase himself a seat on the Court. The cost is a few million dollars, a drop in the bucket for a billionaire like Mr. Trudeau. Through an intricate web of conspiracy and deceit, his political operatives recruit a young, unsuspecting candidate. They finance him, manipulate him, market him, and mold him into a potential Supreme Court justice. Their Supreme Court justice.

The Appeal is a powerful, timely, and shocking story of political and legal intrigue, a story that will leave listeners unable to think about our electoral process or judicial system in quite the same way ever again.

©2008 Belfry Holdings, Inc. (P)2008 Random House, Inc.

Not entertaining, No lessons learned. Not good.

I listened to the whole thing waiting for the story to get better. Unfortunately, the most interesting part was the first part- many characters were introduced, but I didn't care about any of them. Having read almost all Grisham's, I don't mind that they've become a bit formulaic as long as the story is enticing. But this was not. I remain his huge fan and highly recommend all his other books.

Juinkey Soap Box Grisham

If you are liberal, democrat, gay, anti-guns, anti-religion, a victim, plaintiff, or plaintiffs' atty, recieve medical treatment, injured by a product, want to place blame on everyone but yourself, you will just love this book. It places all the blame for everyone's ill's on business, politicians, the republicans, conservatives, gay-bashers, defense attorneys, corporate executives, corporations, business, etc. It's like watching the republicans and democrats calling each other names, with a defined favorite siding with the liberals. I just don't think it is right for an author to use what might otherwise be called "contemporary literature" as a soap box to vent his (or her) political and social views. This book is great on the literary fiction (I even enjoyed the similies and metaphores, and stories) for which it gets a "5". But it has been misused obviously by the author to push his own political agenda for which it gets a "0". Ergo a compromising "3". (Don't get me wrong on this, I love the Grishams, read all all of them, but this one is probably the lowest ever rated.)

Political Drama

I have loved other Grisham books however, this one definatley different still slack in a lot of areas. For a political drama it wasn't bad but being a mystery or suspenceful didn't even come close. I agree with the other reviewer that we have all heard this story line some where in the past. It was a little creative but very little. I think Grisham is running out of things to write. I will be more reluctant to buy another by the same author without reviews. Luckily I was able to get this on sale. I guess I got what I paid for. If you looking for a Political Drama this is it. If you want Mystery and Suspence look for something else.

Looooooonnnng but good.

I love John Grisham stories. The end of this one made me mad but I won’t spoil it.

It's Worth It

I feel like John Grisham is back - with a vengeance. The ending was different than I expected, but it left it open for a sequel (very smart on Grisham's part). The characterization in the book was believable. I could picture the residents of "cancer county", as well as some of the trial lawyers. Grisham, as always, introduces the shady sides of the law. Well worth listening to. I particularly liked the person reading the book (he has read some of Grisham's work before), as he pulls off the Mississippi accent very well.

unexpectedly interesting; good ending

Since legal tales (outside of John Galsworthy's and Anthony Trollope's Victorian era courtrooms) don't usually interest me, I did not expect to like Grisham, but since my friend recommends him and this novel was on sale, I downloaded it.

It took several attempts to become interested in the novel because at first it did resemble movies based on his books, but, in the end I enjoyed the listen. It gave me insight into a state judical system (so different from Canada) and an entertaining, if predictable, indictment of the commercial-industrial-politcal complex. His prose is a bit wordy, though, and although the narration was good, listening to the prose for itself wasn't enjoyable. I thought the ending better than a story book one.

Not a typical Grisham novel

As I listened to The Appeal, it struck me how different it was from the typical Grisham novel. I was also amazed at how familiar the story sounded. It was not until after the I finished the story that I learned that Grisham used my home state as the foundation for the story. Of course it was loosely based on the 2004 West Virginia Supreme Court election. In that election, a coal executive spent millions of dollars through a group called "And for the Sake of the Kids" in an effort defeat a sitting justice. Of course Grisham added some suspense and evil characters on both sides of the election that hopefully didn’t exist in West Virginia, but I found the ending to be a bit disappointing. I miss Grisham's earlier work.

Great story!

As usual, great character development. Of course Michael Beck was superb. Just don’t leave me hangin’, John!

Great story

I have read several John Grisham books and this one rates right up there with others I’ve read and enjoyed! They are all different, but have great twists and turns. I recommend any and all of his books!

Not bad, not great

Not one of Grisham's best, but worth the read if you have liked his work. A bit more of the technical legal side of things, which I find interesting, but more for non fic than fiction. This book is a bit more agenda driven by Grisham's left-leaning political orientation.