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 my favorite

Not my favorite book by this author. But still good read. I would recommend it

Sadly this story is based on the truth

I am not a big Grisham fan so I was very happy with this book - well read and very engrossing. Sadly, it is also based on the truth - justice is often bought in a country where our Supreme Court has put money on the same level of protection as speech. Maybe somebody should point out to them that what they have done is given the people with lots of money a lot more speech than the rest of us.

Not his best but still worth reading

The book was about how big business and money can influence many areas of life in America. It wasn’t as riveting as some of Grisham’s other novels and was slow and predictable at times. The narration was fine.

Disappointing

I wanted a good ending, I know that’s not life, but it broke my heart that all those neglected, abused, injured or killed need closure and justice.

Great Listen!

A great story line, characters are Grisham style down home people. I did not like the ending.

Predictable but entertaining

John Grisham is to books what Honda is to cars. Dependable! He doesn’t write the greatest novels in the world, but they are always entertaining. Worst part about this one is the narrator’s overdone southern accents.

A Sure Bet

John Grisham books are always a sure bet, and this one is no exception. This book brings politics in and produces just as scary a sensation as previous books when we consider that the foundation is probably more non-fiction than fiction.

Narration is excellent. Characters are realistic and believeable. (I did feel sorry for the chump that was manipulated.) Time flew by listening to it.

Easy to listen to I love the story

It is a great story. The ending does not work out the way one would expect it to you. Great book great story

Big Business and Big Law vs. Justice

We've seen this before with John Grisham: a scrappy lawyer(s) takes on Big Business and Law. Done exceptionally well, and with a very interesting twist focused on corrupt judicial elections, I am giving this five stars. In this case, the bad company is a chemical company that has dumped its chemicals in a small town and created tragic harm via a plague of cancer and other awful ailments. The good guy is a barely surviving law firm that takes on the case as a class action tort. The case is so cut and dried that the company loses in court despite being able to pay for the most expensive lawyers. And here is the special twist: the company decides it can stack the supreme court so as to overturn the lower court's decision. And it succeeds! How it succeeds is the most interesting part of the novel and enough to turn even the most jaded citizen into an advocate for judicial reform.

Enjoyable but way liberal!

Thankfully John Grisham has returned to the Mississippi-oriented legal thriller. The story is captivating and I always waiting for what would happen next. My biggest complaint with the book is liberal tone the book takes. To read this book, conservative businessmen are sleazy and money-grubbing, conservative politicians do nothing but play dirty tricks on the poor victimized moderates/liberals, businesses are not entitled to any representation of their interest in our system, and trial lawyers are selfless heroes only looking to do the right thing for their clients. Grisham conveniently creates cases where the 'right position' is clear cut, thus not allowing a legitimate exploration of the realities of political campaigns, tort law and big business. If you can get past the liberal-promoting tone, it is an enjoyable book.