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

The best Grisham in years.

Excellent work - - great characters and a real message - - whether you believe in the cause or not. Very well written and the reader is pitch perfect.

Not up to Grisham standards but still ok.

I'm a great Grisham fan, have all of his books and listen to some of them every few years. This one is certainly not my favorite but if you're a Grisham fan I would still recommend it. The story takes quite a while to get going and the fist half reads like a documentary not a legal thriller.

one of Grisham's best

This is one of the best books I have read by Grisham. The descriptions he gives of people, places and situations put the reader right in the thick of the action. You find yourself feeling compassion for characters, disbelief, and a host of other emotions. Regardless of your politics, the writer definitely catches your attention, and it is hard to put the book down. The reader, Scott Sowers, is perfect for this book.

Poignant and provocative

With a clear political agenda undergirding a tightly paced story line, Grisham has delivered again. Hard to turn off, The Confession draws the reader into the whirlwind of controversy.

Never a boring moment

This is one of Grisham's best. Besides an exciting story line, one gets an insider's view into political and personal machinations in America's legal system. The storyline is believable, yet incredible at the same time. The frustrations of people trying to save an innocent man and the persistence of two men--one a sleazy lawyer and one a minister who is a stranger to all involved--is riveting.

Not one of his best

What did you like best about The Confession? What did you like least?

The first half up to the court denying the final appeal

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The second half was predictable up to Texas keeping the law as written after the dust up about the innocent man being executed. It ends up being a political cause book.

Have you listened to any of Scott Sowers’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

He always does a good job

Any additional comments?

Two to three stars at most

Uneven

(Possible spoiler alert) Grisham has always been uneven, and usually better in audio than text. In this story, he clearly started out with a political opinion and wrote a story around it. Then I think he got too attached to his characters and couldn't see them hurt. There were many opportunities to boost the suspense then... nothing happened. The death penalty part, however, was unfortunately very plausible and was of course the main point. That part was so awful, and the rest was so... safe... it's conceivable he did that on purpose but it bothered me and made the story less compelling.

enjoyed this book

I just really enjoyed this book. Opened my eyes to things I haven't thought about. Sad that things like this still go on.

Another winner, Mr. Grisham!

My husband and I we’re hooked from the 1st chapter.
Super narrator also! Can’t wait to to hear another one.

Spine tingling

Intriguing storyline. Captures interest right from the first. Thoroughly enjoyed this book. I recommend this book without reservation. Grisham always delivers!