The Reckoning: A Novel [Paperback]

#1 bestselling author John Grisham’sThe Reckoningis his most powerful, surprising, and suspenseful thriller yet.
 
“A murder mystery, a courtroom drama, a family saga…The Reckoning is Grisham's argument that he's not just a boilerplate thriller writer. Most jurors will think the counselor has made his case.”
—USA Today
 
 October 1946, Clanton, Mississippi

Pete Banning was Clanton, Mississippi’s favorite son—a decorated World War II hero, the patriarch of a prominent family, a farmer, father, neighbor, and a faithful member of the Methodist church. Then one cool October morning he rose early, drove into town, and committed a shocking crime.  Pete's only statement about it—to the sheriff, to his lawyers, to the judge, to the jury, and to his family—was: I have nothing to say. He was not afraid of death and was willing to take his motive to the grave.
           
In a major novel unlike anything he has written before, John Grisham takes us on an incredible journey, from the Jim Crow South to the jungles of the Philippines during World War II; from an insane asylum filled with secrets to the Clanton courtroom where Pete’s defense attorney tries desperately to save him. 

Reminiscent of the finest tradition of Southern Gothic storytelling, The Reckoning would not be complete without Grisham’s signature layers of legal suspense, and he delivers on every page.“The quest for justice is only the beginning in this Southern-family saga…Grisham does so much more this time around.”
—Associated Press
 
“John Grisham is not only the master of suspense but also an acute observer of the human condition. And these remarkable skills converge in lĂ3