This is a book that was picked up from a generous freecycler (dical1) in the area of Waldorf, Maryland!

this was an excellent book; really exciting and fast paced.

dical1 gave me this book before she got the chance to register it and so after I registered it I gave her the number so that she could make journal entries and be able to track the journey.

From the back cover:

They are the center of a multimillion-dollar legal hurricane: twelve men and women who have been investigated, watched, manipulated, and harrassed by high-priced lawyers and consultants who will stop at nothing to secure a verdict. Now the jury must make a decision in the most explosive civil trial of the century, a precedent-setting lawsuit against a giant tobacco company. But only a handful of people know the truth: that this jury has a leader, and the verdict belongs to him....

He is known only as Juror #2. But he has a name, a past, and he has planned his every move with the help of a beautiful woman on the outside. Now, while a corporate empire hangs in the balance, while a grieving family waits, and while lawyers are plunged into a battle for their careers, the truth about Juror #2 is about to explode, in a cross fire of greed and corruption - and with justice fighting for its life....

John Grisham continues to amaze me with stories that wildly complex and well thought out that are written in a plain, easy-to-read language. The stories quickly draw me in as I try to figure out what is going on and start to wonder where the story might go.

With this book I could quickly tell from the title that much of the book would be a behind the scenes tale of life in a jury room. I was amuzed by Nicholas, repulsed by Fitch, and intriqued by Marlee. The host of other jurors, lawyers and even the judge made for interesting reading as we get to know this complex group of people that are gathered together to decide what to do about a huge tobacco company that refuses to take responsibility for selling a potentially deadly product.

This book is well thought out and I am amazed at the complexity of the situation and the vast amount of planning and work it took to get to the point of the trial.

When Marlee starts trading stocks I had an inkling of what might happen in the last chapter but Grisham always manages to keep you guessing to the very end. The book could have turned out so many different ways and the reader never really knows where the tale will take us.

I'll continue to read Grisham and I hope that I am never disappointed and that future readers will enjoy this book as much as I have.

RELEASE NOTES:

I left this near the fireplace.