The Confession

A Novel

By: John Grisham

Narrated by: Scott Sowers

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this “grab-a-reader-by-the-shoulders suspense story” (The Washington Post) from “the master of the legal thriller” (USA Today), an innocent man is about to be executed—and only a guilty man can save him.

WINNER OF THE HARPER LEE PRIZE FOR LEGAL FICTION

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, 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 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?

Critic reviews

“Brilliant . . . The Confession is the kind of grab-a-reader-by-the-shoulders suspense story that demands to be inhaled as quickly as possible. But it’s also a superb work of social criticism in the literary troublemaker tradition of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle.”—The Washington Post

“[John Grisham] is a master at pacing. . . . The book starts fast and finishes faster.”—Los Angeles Times

“Packed with tension, legal roadblocks and shocking revelations . . . Readers who share his views as well as those sitting on the fence will find much to love and lament in the tragic story of Donté Drumm.”—USA Today

“Grisham is an adept ringmaster. . . . He channels his zeal and his legal expertise into a story that his fans will appreciate.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

One of Grisham’s best

A very powerful novel about the death penalty. I could not stop listening. Well written, we narrated.

love the novel

it so nice that i can listen, instead reading.
nice narration. I enjoyed every chapter.

Superb!

Oh Mr. Grisham! What you do is so extraordinary! This book kept my attention from the first chapter to the epilog! I listened to this on a drive from SC to Louisiana and many times I had to pull over because tears were streaming down my face making it difficult to drive. One of his best! The reading was also excellent. The use of many readers to portray different characters was an excellent choice. Thank you Audible for producing this book.

unacceptable story lines

poor story line,we read to get away from the unjust bullies or at least see them get justis.I almost quit this book several times ,this is not what I expect from this author

Great read!

As with all other John Grisham books, I couldn’t stop listening until the end. I am the odd Texas Republican who does not support the death penalty. Although a bit far-fetched, Grisham’s story should make the reasons for that clear.