• The Appeal

  • A Novel
  • By: John Grisham
  • Narrated by: Michael Beck
  • Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (4,038 ratings)

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The Appeal  By  cover art

The Appeal

By: John Grisham
Narrated by: Michael Beck
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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.

What listeners say about The Appeal

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,776
  • 4 Stars
    1,240
  • 3 Stars
    662
  • 2 Stars
    223
  • 1 Stars
    137
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,599
  • 4 Stars
    467
  • 3 Stars
    127
  • 2 Stars
    29
  • 1 Stars
    19
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,221
  • 4 Stars
    585
  • 3 Stars
    272
  • 2 Stars
    87
  • 1 Stars
    70

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Typical Grisham

If you like Grisham novels, you will probably like this one. It is nothing special and left me hoping the bad guys are not nearly as bad as he makes them out to be. While not great, it is certainly a good listen, well narrated with a fast moving plot.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another Good Read

Good read, good narrator. Dive in. It’s worth a listen. Researched to see if there is a sequel to this one. Doesn’t appear to be. That’s a shame

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Appeal

As usual with John Grisham, stories are wonderful and I love listening to the legal information (knowing that maybe not all of it is true).
Good story. My recommendation is for the the future readers to pay close attention to the reasons this next judge gets voted in.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The Appeal

A very good story that is probably very close to fact. Ending made me sad!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Beck!

Thank you for the entertaining story , nice to listen too without being boring at all

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A story that mirrors reality!

The book was amazing just like every other book I have read by John Grisham, but I have to admit that the ending was a total letdown! Several times in my life I have been on the losing end of some Authority figures decision as many of us no doubt have, but even though I know this is just a story, it serves as a painful reminder that until the Almighty himself finally passed "judgement" that justice will not always be just that!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Slow to develop

I found myself losing interest, having to replay parts. There were many characters, each meticulously developed, and challenging to keep connected to some of the other characters.
Overall, I guess not every story has a satisfying ending. This one left me feeling disappointed.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Mediocre writing, formulaic

Lack of character development some good insights, but overall not very realistic not one of his best

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Booo!

Too long to wait for this. I guess he had a reason for not writing a legal thriller for so long, he didn't have one!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Ho Hum

Grisham has done better. He had an opportunity here to really show what corporate America and insurance companies are doing to this country and decided to make write a "so what--learn to live with it" piece. I kept waiting for someone to step up and ACT, for gosh sakes, but it never happened. If this story was supposed to stir us to action, Grisham would make a poor coach. Didn't make me want to write my Congressman, or even go to vote.

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1 person found this helpful