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| Categories | Thrillers & Suspense |
| Author | John Grisham |
| Publisher | Hodder Paperbacks (July 8, 2021) |
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 469 pages |
| Item Weight | 11.9 ounces |
| Dimensions |
5.04 x 1.42 x 7.72 inches |
I. Book introduction
A Time for Mercy, a legal thriller novel by American author John Grisham, is the sequel to A Time to Kill (his first novel, published in 1989) and Sycamore Row (published in 2013). The latest book features the return of the character Jake Brigance, a small-town Mississippi lawyer who takes on difficult cases. The novel was released on 13 October 2020.
Once again, Brigance is the court-appointed lawyer who seeks truth and justice for his client, in this case a sixteen-year-old boy named Drew Gamble, who is charged with murdering a law enforcement officer and faces the death penalty. As Jake digs into the details of the case, he knows he has to find a way to save the boy, even at the risk of his career and his family’s safety.
Plot
In 1990, five years after successfully defending accused murderer Carl Lee Hailey (in A Time to Kill, the first book in the series), attorney Jake Brigance of fictional Clanton (Ford County), Mississippi, is assigned by Circuit Court Judge Omar Noose to the case of 16-year-old Drew Gamble. The boy was accused of murder after he shot and killed Stuart Kofer, a deputy sheriff who was his mother Josie’s boyfriend.
After Josie, along with her 14-year-old daughter Kiera and Drew, moved in with Kofer, the deputy beat them on many occasions after coming home drunk. Josie called 911 several times but never pressed charges. Since Kofer performed well when he was sober and was well-liked by his fellow officers, no reports were filed, and Sheriff Ozzie Walls was unaware of Kofer’s violent tendencies when he was drunk. On the night of the murder, Kofer again came home in a drunken rage and knocked Josie unconscious while breaking her jaw. Both Drew and Kiera thought their mother was dead and were afraid of what Kofer might do after he came to from his stupor. After calling 911 to report the situation, Drew used Kofer’s service pistol to shoot the deputy in the head.
Taking the case puts Brigance at odds with most of the residents of Clanton, as well as the local law enforcement community, including his longtime friend Sheriff Walls. He tries to convince Judge Noose to find another lawyer to defend young Gamble but to no avail. Meanwhile, Brigance and his associate Harry Rex Vonner are working on a tort case against the Central and Southern Railroad. The case involves the death of a young family named Smallwood in a collision with a train at a poorly maintained crossing. Brigance needs to win that case, also in Judge Noose’s court, in order to pay the costs of defending Drew Gamble, as Drew’s mother is penniless and the government will only pay Brigance a small stipend of $1,000.
With the assistance of his paralegal Portia Lang and the advice of his mentor Lucien Wilbanks, Brigance puts together a case he hopes will sway at least some jurors to find young Gamble not guilty. The strategy is based on the fact that Kiera Gamble is pregnant after being sexually assaulted by Kofer. By concealing the pregnancy until the trial, the element of surprise does indeed have the desired effect, resulting in a hung jury and the release of Drew Gamble on bail. Because Josie Gamble wants her daughter to avoid the problems she had faced as a young mother, she agrees to let Brigance and his wife Carla adopt the baby.
Meanwhile, Judge Noose orders Ford County to pay Brigance in full for his time and expenses of defending Drew Gamble, a decision which is promptly appealed by the attorney for the county. In addition, Wilbanks suggests a way for Brigance to get the Smallwood case moved to chancery court, where the case can be tried without a jury and Judge Reuben Atlee will undoubtedly force the railroad into a settlement.
Editorial Reviews
“Grisham has returned to the place closest to his heart… The trial is riveting…it’s striking how suspenseful the story is…how much we’re gripped by the small details.”–Sarah Lyall, The New York Times
“Textbook Grisham—and that’s a compliment…a briskly paced legal drama, with just the right amount of suspense, conflict, plot twists, and courtroom theatrics.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Editors’ pick: Grisham’s storytelling gifts are on full display in A Time for Mercy as he keeps the reins tight on a complex courtroom thriller.”—Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editor
About John Grisham
John Grisham (born February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas) is an American novelist, lawyer and former member of the 7th district of the Mississippi House of Representatives, known for his popular legal thrillers. According to the American Academy of Achievement, Grisham has written 28 consecutive number-one fiction bestsellers, and his books have sold 300 million copies worldwide. Along with Tom Clancy and J. K. Rowling, Grisham is one of only three authors to have sold two million copies on a first printing.
Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University and earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981. He practised criminal law for about a decade and served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1983 to 1990.
Grisham’s first novel, A Time to Kill, was published in June 1989, four years after he began writing it. Grisham’s first bestseller, The Firm, sold more than seven million copies. The book was adapted into a 1993 feature film of the same name, starring Tom Cruise, and a 2012 TV series which continues the story ten years after the events of the film and novel. Seven of his other novels have also been adapted into films: The Chamber, The Client, A Painted House, The Pelican Brief, The Rainmaker, The Runaway Jury, and Skipping Christmas.
Grisham is a two-time winner of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction and was honored with the Library of Congress Creative Achievement Award for Fiction.
When he’s not writing, Grisham serves on the board of directors of the Innocence Project and of Centurion Ministries, two national organizations dedicated to exonerating those who have been wrongfully convicted. Much of his fiction explores deep-seated problems in our criminal justice system.
John Girsham lives on a farm in central Virginia.
II. [Reviews] A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance Book 3) by John Grisham
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1. NILUFER OZMEKIK review A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance Book 3)
Hell yeah! My wishes came true! Matthew McConaughey will reprise his role as Jake Brigance for HBO limited series! He’s back!🥳
I still remember the day I bought “a time to kill” because of high recommendation of bookstore salesman when I insisted I was something addictive and unputdownable! I was young, dumb high school wannabe, not so picky and tough reader! I was enjoying to be introduced to new authors. This was my first John Grisham book and a year later, I was also introduced the young and hot Texan Matthew delicious McConaughey with his blonde curls who was playing Jake Brigance, the heroic lawyer who has saved Carl Lee Hailey (for the love of Samuel L. Jackson) from spending his life behind the bars.
As soon as I learned this brilliant character returned back for a new adventure: another tragic, thought provoking, action packed criminal case, I screamed “yessss!” I already started to wish seeing older and wiser McConaughey to play this role again. I think I cannot imagine anyone on my mind when I read the character. His handsome face just imprinted on my mind!
I have to warn you: the book’s opening is shocking, jaw dropping and disturbing as hell! After this impactful start, the book captures your mind! You cannot put it down even though you try. The story is just hooking you! No matter what you do to go back to your normal life, your mind is already stuck with the events and what’s gonna happen to that 16 years old boy who committed a crime to save his mother and little sister’s lives!
The story starts, drunk and outrageous deputy sheriff Stuart Kofer’s arrival at his home he shares with his girlfriend and her two teenage children( one boy and a girl) As like usual, he gets out of control, attacking his girlfriend, brutally beats her. The children who listen them from upstairs, secretly coming down to check their mother when Stuart passes out in his room. But their mother is not breathing! Did Stuart kill beat her to death?
Drew gets panicked because his mother ilmight be dead and before passing out Stu already tried to attack his sister Kiera, too. He can wake up at any minute to finish what he started. So he HAS TO STOP HIM ASAP! They call the police but their arrival takes more time than they expected!
When they finally arrive at the crime scene: they found crying Kiera holding her mother into her arms, shocked Drew holding a gun into his hands, confessing that he shot Stu on the head!
Drew is taken to jail, getting charged for capital murder. If jury finds him guilty, his penalty is getting killed in the gas chamber.
As you may imagine Jake Brigance’s decision to take this impossible case makes him more unpopular person in the town of Clayton, Mississippi because he’s defending a cop killer. Stu is already popular policeman among his colleagues so people seemed like this is a betrayal to the memory of one of the bravest crime fighters.
The book is well written just like the other brilliant works of the author. Only thing bothered me is too long case preparation process. The trial process, twisty, shocking were the most exciting parts of the book but unfortunately they take place only last %15 of the novel!
I liked the meaningful, brilliant, satisfying conclusion and beginning of the book was mind blowing but in the middle I lost my interest a little bit and got lost in law jargons.
So I’m cutting only one point and welcoming Jake Brigance back with open hands by giving four justice for all stars! Crossing my fingers to see Mr. all right all right all right McConaughey on the big screen for the adaptation of this book!
2. SUSANNE review A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance Book 3)
Jake Brigance is back and it’s about time!
The year is 1990 and the place is Clanton, Mississippi.
It has been five years since Jake Brigance represented Carl Lee Haley. Now, Jake is asked to represent sixteen year old Drew Gamble, accused of murdering his mother’s boyfriend Stuart Kofer, a cop on the local police force who Drew and his sister claimed were abusing their mother.
This is a case that no one wants, for good reason and yet, after being appointed by the Court, Jake defends it to the best of his ability, regardless of the backlash or the consequences.
A brilliantly plotted, taut legal thriller that includes compelling characters and a myriad of prevalent issues all of which make for a truly thrilling read.
This courtroom thriller kept me on the edge of my seat throughout and completely delivered.
3. MANDY WHITE review A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance Book 3)
Absolutely Sensational! A Time For Mercy is John Grisham at his best! It is an old school legal thriller, just like A Time to Kill and I could not get enough or get the story out of my mind. It took me back to when I first read a Grisham novel as a teenager and I couldn’t be happier about it.
Jake Brigance returns, 5 years after he dramatically got Carl Lee off on a murder charge in A Time to Kill. Now I can only see Jake as Matthew McConaughey after the film… not that that is a bad thing. This time the case does not centre on race. He is appointed as as the attorney for Drew Gamble, a 16 year old boy who shot and killed his mothers boyfriend, who also happened to be a local deputy on the police force. He admits to the crime and then say no more. It seems like the impossible case to defend, but if anybody can Jake can.
Once again this case makes him unpopular in his town of Clayton, Mississippi. He is defending a cop killer. But this is nothing new for him. Jake has always been the lawyer with a big heart, who believes in doing the right thing. He has a big heart and he lives for his family and his work. He is not loaded, his practice is still struggling to stay afloat but he is determined to help this boy – no matter what the cost.
I loved this book, being back in the world of Jake Brigance and his team, fighting for the little guy. Grisham brings it all to life with the way he writes, and I can absolutely see this as a movie. A Time For Mercy can be read without reading the previous books and I guarantee that you will want more when you are finished. It is not a fast read, it is a book to take your time with and appreciate the master of the legal thriller.
Thank you so much to Hachette Australia for my advanced copy of this book to read.
4. JOEY R review A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance Book 3)
“A Time for Mercy” is the 3rd Jake Brigance novel from John Grisham. I wasn’t a big fan of the last Grisham book I read and was hoping that this one would be back up to his usual high standards. After not being able to read for a week due to COVID issues, I breezed through this very well written and interesting novel in just 5 days. “Mercy” tells the story of a 16 year old boy who is charged with capital murder after killing his mother’s abusive boyfriend, who just happens to be a cop. When Brigance is appointed to be the boy’s attorney for trial, the small town turns against Jake (much like they did in “A Time to Kill”)and Jake has to try to overcome long odds to get his client a fair trial. Grisham does a great job of creating compelling, believable characters that make the novel an interesting read from start to finish. Grisham also does a great job of interjecting humor and sarcasm throughout the book that at rimes is laugh out loud funny. The only weakness was Grisham’s courtroom scenes were lacking, especially when he made Brigance into super-lawyer and the prosecutor a bumbling idiot who was unable to ask a single intelligent question on cross-exam due to the traps and scripted answers Jake had prepared his witness with before trial. Also, the Judge’s rulings were legally wrong time and again which also aided Jake considerably. Other than these slight irritations, the book was good from start to finish and I would highly recommend.
5. PAT’SPIX review A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance Book 3)
Since A Time to Kill was one of my favorite Grisham tomes, I enjoyed a visit with Jake five years after the stunning trial and Carl Lee Hailey’s acquittal. (Why Jake stayed in that god forsaken town is beyond me, but that does make the story.) Revenge is ripe and hostility is ever present when a good-ol’-boy town sheriff is murdered in his bed. Said sheriff has terrified and knocked around his live-in girlfriend and her kids for months. It looks to the kids that the beating their mother just took was her last, and she is lying dead on the kitchen floor. Afraid for his life, and that of his sister, sixteen year old Drew is sure that when sheriff Stu awakes from his drunken stupor, he will kill them. Drew is a skinny, under developed kid. He finds the courage to take Stu’s gun, hold it to his head, and . . .you know the rest. The town of Clanton is blood thirsty for revenge, and the death penalty, which, of course, is king in Mississippi, is the only way this can end. Jake is assigned the case by Judge Noose. He doesn’t want it. He has no choice. So this is a teaser, no spoilers here. But I will mention that sheriff Stuart Kofer has lived two lives: upstanding, well regarded sheriff, and drunken thug who enjoys nothing more than beating women and children when the mood hits him. The town and his family are blind to the side of Stu they don’t want to see. Go figure. Jake digs in, hoping Noose will find another lawyer to take this case off his hands. And this is just the first few chapters. It’s a page turner. Enjoy a visit to good ole Mississippi.
6. SOBRYAN review A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance Book 3)
An early holiday gift to each fiction readers each year is a John Grisham novel. This year, it gives us “A Time for Mercy” wrapped in decorative paper and tied with a pretty bow. In other words, his latest legal/crime thriller is a gift that should be “opened” as soon as possible and enjoyed at once.
Grisham returns to his novel roots with this novel featuring Jake Brigance and his cast of cohorts, plus quite a few new ones. Before we get into the merits of this new novel, let’s review the Brigance legacy. He first was the lead character in “A Time to Kill,” Grisham’s first novel, but second to made into a movie after “The Firm.” That novel followed a young lawyer caught up in the fraud and criminal activity at his first law firm job. The movie starred Tom Cruise.
It was a “Time to Kill” that set the tone for what has become Grisham’s best-selling author status. The novel was filled with racial tension, injustice, a father’s despair after his daughter’s rape, and a conclusion that felt so right, so deserved. Jake Brigance was just starting out as a lawyer in the small southern town of Clanton. He was handed a case that many in his community felt would crash his career before it even started. Grisham’s protagonist proved them wrong.
When the movie came out, Matthew McConaughey stole the show with his depiction of Brigance. It’s hard to reread “A Time to Kill” without inserting McConaughey’s distinctive accent into every word.
Grisham wrote another Brigance-based novel, “Sycamore Tree” (2013), about a dying man who hangs himself and leaves behind a handwritten will that throws the Clanton community into a racial storm, murder trial, and more. It was a fascinating story, but it doesn’t compare to the latest Brigance legal thriller.
In “A Time for Mercy,” Brigance has settled into normal life as he waits for a hopeful “cash cow” trial to refill his coffers. All is on track until Judge Noose taps him as the court-appointed attorney for Drew Gamble, a young man accused of shooting a domestic abuser. When the man wasn’t beating up the boy’s mom, he was a deputy for Sheriff Ozzie Wells. From there, the story evolves into a fight for juvenile justice, women’s rights, legal reform, and much, much more. The town and surrounding areas are divided with many, including the dead man’s family, clamoring for a speedy trial and the death penalty.
This is where Grisham shines. His own experiences as a lawyer in the South give a depth of truth, justice, and personal struggle to his writing. This is especially true in “A Time for Mercy,” where the author’s true desire for justice shows in the way Brigance approaches law. The character’s strong beliefs in equal representation for all, innocent or guilty, and fighting for the little guy drive him steadily forward. Brigance comes off as a compassionate human that readers can’t help be admire. Yes, he stumbles and sometimes falls, but he gets up again to confront his mistakes, his personal beliefs, and his need to protect his family.
Brigance’s representation of a 16-year-old, who happens to look more like a 12-year-old, divides the community. The boy and his younger sister Kiera thought their mom Josie was dead. They were afraid her boyfriend, Stuart Kofer would come after them when he woke up from a drunken sleep. The boy shot him and confessed. End of story? Far from it, but to tell more would spoil it for the reader.
In the Brigance trilogy, there’s a time to kill, a time for justice, and a time for mercy. And, as said earlier, as you read this novel, Matthew McConaughey will be whispering in your ear.
7. LINDA GALELLA review A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance Book 3)
What a relief to read “A Time for Mercy” and find Jake doing what he does best – defending the indefensible. This time, his client is a 16 year old boy charged with murdering his mother’s abusive boyfriend who just happens to be an officer of the law, in a small southern town.
Welcome back to Clanton, where most of us met Jake, (Carla, Judge Noose, Sheriff Ozzie), in “A Time to Kill” and became fans of his and Grisham. This story is not heavily entrenched with racial issues. In its place are issues of: social class, blue lives, alcoholism, rape, spousal abuse, small town corruption and much more.
There’s no need for me to rehash the plot any more specifically; the synopsis is quite clear and others are sure to do so. What I will mention is Grisham’s extraordinary ability to develop characters. The children in this story have had an horrific, oppressive and abusive existence. They love their mother but her ability to parent is abysmal. The depth of their need and lack is compassionately revealed by Grisham’s careful prose and spot on dialogue.
Grisham’s brilliance is equally evident in the antagonists and there are a few. None of them are great literary figures that readers will refer to for ages to come. These are the baddies that resonate in your soul; that you recognize from your town, neighborhood; God forbid, your family. There’s no superhero performing miraculous feats to conquer these monsters, just nice guys doing the right thing, putting their all on the line at great personal cost; totally inspiring!
The story contains two mysteries and 2 arcs. Consequently, there are two endings, of sorts. This open aspect of the book was rather unique, at least in my experience. My recollection is that Grisham tied up his endings in previous books. Perhaps this happened in the books I took a pass on, (I’d quit reading many of his books due to formulaic fodder), but there are issues purposely left for future purposes. If those volumes are of this caliber and involve the new characters, I’m all about it!
In true Grisham style, the writing is clear of foul language and descriptive sexual or violent scenes. There are very tension filled chapters that include violence – it is after all, a book about murder, rape and abuse. This author knows how to write without resorting to single f word modifiers and over written, graphic literary explosions that take the place of finely nuanced prose.
Professionally published & edited, it is indeed a “Time for Mercy”📚
8. JEAN review A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance Book 3)
The opening of this book grabs the reader and does not let go. It is Grisham at his finest. The story is about domestic violence and all its ramifications. In many ways the story is a heartbreaker. The plot is interesting and the characters are colorful. There is enough racial tension and legal drama to keep the reader on edge. The story follows the real-world disagreements about domestic violence and what happens when the children victims fight back. I think the book could have been a bit shorter. If you enjoy a legal thriller, you will want to read this book.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is nineteen hours and fifty-nine minutes. Michael Beck does a good job narrating the book. Beck has narrated many of the Grisham books.
9. GARY review A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance Book 3)
This is the third book in the Jake Brigance series by John Grisham and it seems like the author has his mojo back. I really enjoyed the two previous books in this series but have been a little disappointed by some of the authors latest offerings so it was good to have normal service resumed.
Jake Brigance is back in a murder trial that nobody wants, defending Drew Gamble who is accused of murdering a local deputy. The case is stirring the local citizens of Clanton, Mississippi, leaving them looking for justice and the death penalty following the murder of their local deputy. .
Although it is with reluctance that Jake accepts this case he is a lawyer who seeks truth and justice at all costs, never sidestepping decisions that may put him and his family in danger. Many in Clanton want a swift trial and the death penalty, but Brigance sees it another way. Once he learns the details of the case, he realises he has to do everything he can to save sixteen year old Drew.
I always enjoy court room drama and there was plenty in this novel to keep me happy. Excellent characters and good plot written by a master storyteller. John Grisham specialises in legal thrillers and this is well worth reading.
10. DARLA review A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance Book 3)
Jake Brigance is back and better than ever. The drama in this third Brigance installment is right on par with the first one. I could not help seeing Matthew McConaughey in my mind’s eye as I read this book. The case is complicated. The town is once again in an uproar and Jake has become the least popular guy on Clanton, MI square. There are some very difficult life situations to consider in this book and many a book group will find this to be a substantial choice for consideration. When is capital punishment appropriate? Can the victim be put on trial as part of the defense? Should a 16-year-old be sent to death row? When a man’s public life and private life are polar opposite, why do those closest have to bear the price? Above it all is the principal of “innocent until proven guilty.” When that flies out the window, it is indeed a time for mercy. And we need another Jake book — sooner than later, please.
III. [Quote] A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance Book 3) by John Grisham
The best book quotes from A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance Book 3)
“He prayed long and hard for justice and healing, but was a bit light on mercy.”
A voice told him that they, along with Drew, would be a part of his life for years to come.
“Why do so many white people love the death penalty?” Portia asked. “It’s in the water. We grow up with it. We hear it at home, at church, at school, among friends. This is the Bible Belt, Portia, eye for an eye and all that.” “What about the New Testament and Jesus’s sermons on forgiveness?” “It’s not convenient. He also preached love first, tolerance, acceptance, equality. But most Christians I know are quite good at cherry-picking their way through the Holy Scriptures.”
“Murder must be punished, but murder can also be justified.”
“Being fearless, unafraid to take unpopular cases, fighting like hell for the little people who have no one to protect them. When you get the reputation as a lawyer who’ll take on anybody and anything—the government, the corporations, the power structure—then you’ll be in demand. You have to reach a level of confidence, Jake, where you walk into a courtroom thoroughly unintimidated by any judge, any prosecutor, any big-firm defense lawyer, and completely oblivious to what people might say about you.”
“I can’t believe you would represent a killer like that Jake. I thought you were one of us.
xxx
‘Gotta have a lawyer, Helen. You can’t put the boy in the gas chamber if he doesn’t have a lawyer. Surely, you understand.’
xxx
‘…I can’t imagine doing that for a living, representing killers and child rapists and such.’
‘How often do you read the Constitution?’
‘…the Constitution, as interpreted by the Supreme Court, says that a person accused of a serious crime must have a lawyer. And that’s the law of the land.”“You were enduring these terrible attacks, yet you never sought help?” “From who?” “What about law enforcement? The police?” Jake’s heart froze at the question. He was stunned by it, but prepared, as was his witness. With perfect timing and diction, Kiera looked at Dyer and said, “Sir, I was being raped by the police.”
“Those pricks down at the Rotary Club and the church and the coffee shop will not make you a lawyer and will not make you a dime.” And, “To be a real lawyer, first you grow a thick skin, and second you tell everybody but your clients to go to hell.” And, “A real lawyer is not afraid of unpopular cases.”
“his fingertips. No sir. They will follow the lawyer who tells them the truth.” Word for word, same as always. “So, what’s the truth with Drew Gamble?” Jake asked. “Same as Carl Lee Hailey. Some people need killing.” “That’s not what I told the jury.” “No, not in those words. But you convinced them that Hailey did exactly what they would do if given the chance. It was brilliant.” “I’m not feeling so brilliant these days. I have no choice but to put a dead man on trial, a guy who can’t defend himself. It will be an ugly trial, Lucien, but I see no way around it.”
“He was still wet with sweat and the coffee did little to cool things, but he needed it because it was an old friend and starting the day without it was unthinkable.”
“The only way to improve Noose’s favorite courtroom was to burn it.”
“They filed in, dressed for the day in short-sleeve shirts and cotton dresses. As they took their seats, a bailiff handed each a funeral fan—a decorative piece of cardboard glued to a stick—as if flapping it back and forth in front of their noses would bring relief from the stifling heat. Many of the spectators were already waving them.”
“IN THE PARLANCE of the Bible Belt, those within the faith used many words and terms to describe those outside of it. On the harsher end of the spectrum, the “lost” were referred to as heathen, unsaved, unclean, hell-bound, and just old-fashioned sinners. More polite Christians called them nonbelievers, future saints, backsliders, or—the favorite—unchurched.”
“But most Christians I know are quite good at cherry-picking their way through the Holy Scriptures.”
“Forget insanity. It was justifiable homicide.” “Then why go through the motions of a M’Naghten hearing?” “We won’t. I’ll ask for one and make Dyer do some work. They’ll send Drew to Whitfield to be examined by their doctors and they’ll find one who’ll testify that the kid knew exactly what he was doing. Then, before the hearing I’ll withdraw the motion. Just mess with them a little.”
“breath. “Yeah, one time Stu took him out behind the barn and they shot at targets. I don’t know which gun they used. Stu had a bunch of them, you know? It didn’t work out too well because Drew was afraid of guns and couldn’t hit anything and Stu laughed at him.”
“bad press. And there is really no way Noose can force the county to pay more than a thousand bucks. If the supervisors dig in, and they will, we’re screwed.” She nodded as if she understood, took another sip, and eventually said, “Lovely.”
“The M’Naghten Rule states: To establish a defense on the ground of insanity it must be clearly proved, that, at the time of committing the act, the party accused was laboring under such a defect of reason from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing, or if he did know it, that he did not know that what he was doing was wrong.”
“Dyer was quick to rise and object. He should have remained quiet. “Objection, Your Honor. I object to the word ‘rape,’ which implies a—” Jake went berserk. He turned to Dyer, took a step, and yelled, “Good God, Lowell! What do you want to call it?! She’s fourteen years old, he was thirty-three.” “Mr. Brigance,” Noose said. Jake ignored him and took another step toward Dyer. “You want to use something a bit lighter than ‘rape,’ say ‘sexual attack,’ ‘molestation,’ ‘sexual abuse’?”
“chairs. Carla found a seat near the front, not far from Jake. She had taken Josie and Kiera to Finley’s office where they would spend the afternoon, waiting. If Dyer wanted to talk to Kiera, she was a phone call away.”
“We’re visiting another church today.” “Why?” “Because you always say that the sermons are boring. Half the time you fall asleep. There are at least a thousand churches around here and we thought we’d try another one.” “But I didn’t say I wanted to go somewhere else. What about my friends in Sunday school?” “Oh, you’ll see them again,” Carla said. “Where’s your sense of adventure?” “Going to church is an adventure?” “Just hang on. I think you’ll like this place.” “Where is it?” “You’ll see.”
“And from the testimony given by your mother and sister, we know that before the camper you lived in a car, in an orphanage, in foster care, and in a juvenile detention center. Anywhere else?” What a stupid mistake! Bust him, Drew, Jake wanted to yell. “Yes sir. We lived under a bridge one time for a couple of months, and there were some homeless shelters.” “Okay. My point is that the home Stuart Kofer provided was the nicest place you ever lived, right?” Another mistake. Do it, Drew! “No sir. A couple of the foster homes were nicer, plus you didn’t have to worry about gettin’ slapped around.”
“The unhappy little home was out in the country, some six miles south of Clanton on an old county road that went nowhere in particular. The house could not be seen from the”
“Stuart was a sloppy, violent drunk. His pale Irish skin turned red, his cheeks were crimson, and his eyes glowed with a whiskey-lit fire that she had seen too many times. At thirty-four, he was graying and balding and tried to cover it up with a bad comb-over, which after a night of bar-hopping left long strands of hair hanging below his ears. His face had no cuts or bruises, perhaps a good sign, perhaps not. He liked to fight in the honky-tonks, and after a rough night he usually licked his wounds and went straight to bed. But if there had been no fights he often came home looking for a brawl.”
“was about to look bad regardless of what happened. He would sit next to the defendant, stand next to him, consult with him, speak for him, and so on. The clear and obvious guilt of Drew Gamble was about to rub off on his lawyer.”
“Drew nodded and might have spoken. “Please speak up, sir,” Noose almost yelled into his microphone. Jake looked down at his client. “Yes sir.” “And you are represented by the Honorable Jake Brigance, right?” “Yes sir.” “And you have been indicted by the grand jury of Ford County for the murder”
“I don’t know. My first impulse is to take her, but something in my gut says no.” “Great. We’ll lose Rodney Cote and Della Fancher, two of our three”
“Gentlemen.” Noose grimaced in pain and tried to stretch. “It’s going on four o’clock. I have an appointment with a physical therapist at five-thirty. I’m not whining but my lower lumbar needs some work. It is difficult to sit for more than two or three hours at a time.”
Excerpted from A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance Book 3)
Six days a week, every day but Sunday, Jake Brigance allowed himself to be dragged out of bed at the unholy hour of 5:30 a.m. by a noisy alarm clock. Six days a week he went straight to the coffeepot, punched a button, then hurried to his own private little bathroom in the basement, far away from his sleeping wife and daughter, where he showered in five minutes and spent another five with the rest of his ritual before dressing in the clothes he’d laid out the night before. He then hurried upstairs, poured a cup of black coffee, eased back into his bedroom, kissed his wife goodbye, grabbed his coffee, and, at precisely 5:45 closed the kitchen door and stepped onto the rear patio. Six days a week he drove the dark streets of Clanton to the picturesque square with the stately courthouse anchoring life as he knew it, parked in front of his office on Washington Street, and, at 6:00 a.m., six days a week, walked into the Coffee Shop to either hear or create the gossip, and to dine on wheat toast and grits.
But on the seventh day, he rested. There was never an alarm clock on the Sabbath, and Jake and Carla reveled in a long morning’s rest. He would eventually stumble forth around 7:30 and order her back to sleep. In the kitchen he poached eggs and toasted bread and served her breakfast in bed with coffee and juice. On a normal Sunday.
But nothing about this day would be normal. At 7:05 the phone rang, and since Carla insisted that the phone be located on his night table, he had no choice but to answer it.
“If I were you I’d leave town for a couple of days.” It was the low raspy voice of Harry Rex Vonner, perhaps his best friend and sometimes his only one.
“Well good morning, Harry Rex. This better be good.”
Harry Rex, a gifted and devious divorce lawyer, ran in the dark shadows of Ford County and took enormous pride in knowing the news, the dirt, and the gossip before almost anyone not wearing a badge.
“Stuart Kofer got shot in the head last night. Dead. Ozzie picked up his girlfriend’s boy, sixteen-year-old kid without a trace of peach fuzz, and he’s at the jail just waitin’ on a lawyer. I’m sure Judge Noose knows about it and is already thinkin’ about the appointment.”
Jake sat up and propped up his pillows. “Stuart Kofer is dead?”
“Deader’n hell. Kid blew his brains out while he was sleeping. Capital, dude, death penalty and all. Killing a cop will get you the gas nine times outta ten in this state.”
“Didn’t you handle a divorce for him?”
“His first one, not his second. He got pissed off about my fee and became a disgruntled client. When he called about the second, I told him to get lost. Married a couple of crazies, but then he had a fondness for bad women, especially in tight jeans.”
“Any kids?”
“None that I know of. None that he knew of either.”
Carla scurried out of bed and stood beside it. She frowned at Jake as if someone was lying. Three weeks earlier, Officer Stuart Kofer had visited her class of sixth graders and given a wonderful presentation on the dangers of illegal drugs.
“But he’s only sixteen,” Jake said, scratching his eyes.
“Spoken like a true liberal defense lawyer. Noose will be calling you before you know it, Jake. Think about it. Who tried the last capital murder case in Ford County? You. Carl Lee Hailey.”
“But that was five years ago.”
“Doesn’t matter. Name another lawyer around here who’ll even think about taking a serious criminal case. Nobody. And more important, Jake, there’s no one else in the county who’s competent enough to take a capital case.”
“No way. What about Jack Walter?”
“He’s back in the sauce. Noose got two complaints last month from disgruntled clients and he’s about to notify the state bar.” How Harry Rex knew such things was always a marvel to Jake.
“I thought they sent him away.”
“They did, but he came back, thirstier than ever.”
“What about Gill Maynard?”
“He got burned in that rape case last year. Told Noose he’d surrender his license before he got stuck with another bad criminal appointment. And, he’s pretty awful on his feet. Noose was beyond frustrated with the guy in the courtroom. Give me another name.”
“Okay, okay. Let me think a minute.”
“A waste of time. I’m telling you, Jake, Noose will call you sometime today. Can you leave the country for a week or so?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Harry Rex. We have motions before Noose at ten Tuesday morning, the rather insignificant matter of the Smallwood case? Remember that one?”
“Dammit. I thought it was next week.”
“Good thing I’m in charge of the case. Not to mention such trivial matters as Carla and her job and Hanna and her classes. It’s silly to think we can just disappear. I’m not running, Harry Rex.”
“You’ll wish you had, believe me. This case is nothing but trouble.”
….
Note: Above are quotes and excerpts from the book “A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance Book 3) by John Grisham”. If you find it interesting and useful, don’t forget to buy paper books to support the Author and Publisher!
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