The Confession

A Novel

By: John Grisham

Narrated by: Scott Sowers

Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

An innocent man is about to be executed.

Only a guilty man can save him.

For every innocent man sent to prison, there is a guilty one left on the outside. He doesn’t understand how the police and prosecutors got the wrong man, and he certainly doesn’t care. He just can’t believe his good luck. Time passes and he realizes that the mistake will not be corrected: the authorities believe in their case and are determined to get a conviction. He may even watch the trial of the person wrongly accused of his crime. He is relieved when the verdict is guilty. He laughs when the police and prosecutors congratulate themselves. He is content to allow an innocent person to go to prison, to serve hard time, even to be executed.

Travis Boyette is such a man. In 1998, in the small East Texas city of Sloan, he abducted, raped, and strangled a popular high-school cheerleader. He buried her body so that it would never be found, then watched in amazement as police and prosecutors arrested and convicted Donté Drumm, a local football star, and marched him off to death row.

Now nine years have passed. Travis has just been paroled in Kansas for a different crime; Donté is four days away from his execution. Travis suffers from an inoperable brain tumor. For the first time in his miserable life, he decides to do what’s right and confess.

But how can a guilty man convince lawyers, judges, and politicians that they’re about to execute an innocent man?

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

©2010 Belfry Holdings, Inc (P)2010 Random House Audio

enjoyed completely.....

was very happy with how all the different story lines were all given an ending of their own. the death penalty is awful....and this book, though fiction, only makes my view even clearer.

Loved this book!

Don't know how I had missed this book before! Good story! Wish it was a movie.

Amazing Story

an amazing story, from start to finish. very sad outcome what an amazing finish, everyone should you to read or listen to this book as it is absolutely incredible

A fizzler, not a sizzler

I love Grisham and often re-read his earler works. I've been disappointed with some of his more recent novels, though. When I began reading The Confession, I was excited. John Grisham back in full form--another gripping, can't-put-it-down novel--right up to the....middle? Yes, it seems Grisham forgot that the climax goes at the end of the novel, not in the middle. After that, it just fizzled out. Very disappointing.

I think Grisham began this novel years ago, put it up and recently dusted it off and finished it. The clue came when a character stopped to get gas and worried that he didn't have enough cash to pay for it. I immediately thought, "What? You pay with a card, not cash," but 10 to 15 years ago, it would have been cash.

My theory makes sense since The Confession started out to be a gripping tale (like his earlier novels) and ended up being a soap-box (like some of his recent stuff).

That being said, the first half of The Confession was good enough to make it worth the read, as long as you understand that the second half isn't worth the effort.

Gripping story. Very enjoyable

Great Grisham book once again. The story is painful and very emotional. However, it is a very enjoyable listen and makes you think about death penalty really hard. Highly recommend.

A Wonderful Story!

I use the audio books to exercise by. I don't let myself listen any other time. This story is so captivating, I couldn't wait to get on the treadmill!

Gripping from beginning to end

Any additional comments?

Grisham is amazing with his editing to the story that leaves on just the right notes that make you sway before landing on what happens next. The situation is near impossible, but just crazy enough to be seen happening now. This book was captivating and leaves a clear picture in your head while everything plays out. How this book unfolds makes you want to hold on to something for stability. The ending was perfect and made me smile in a horrible way. I won't ruin it, but it's nice to read something so relatable, and foreign. Truly entertaining.

Exciting, intelligent, moving

I thought Grisham was an airport novelist, but I was astounded by how great this book is. The plot is smart and gripping, the characters are vivid, and a thoughtful, tough critique of the death penalty is compelling and appropriate to the story. The performance is superb.

His Best Work?

I am not usually a Grisham fan. His books have always seemed beach reads and not really anything of substance. Enter The Confession. This book uses fiction to take a long hard look at the death penalty and its ramifications. While I'm pretty neutral on the death penalty, this book did what good fiction should do. It made me connect with real life problems and ponder the rights and wrongs of the issue. I HIGHLY recommend this book. Not your normal Grisham but I think it's his best work ever.

Entertaining and Poignant

First of all, I agree with the abolition of the death penalty so the politics of the book not only did not bother me but actually bolstered my beliefs. The story is very well crafted and although there are quite a few stereotypical characters, those characters accurately reflect the culture of that region. I grew up in East Texas and, trust me, the attitudes and prejudices of the people are real. The book did seem to go on when it could have ended, but overall, I was thoroughly entertained and at times, touched.