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James Grippando

Goodreads Author

Born

The United States

Website

http://www.jamesgrippando.com/

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James_Grippando

Genre

Mystery & Thrillers, Suspense, Thriller

Member Since

February 2012

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The first thing you should know about bestselling author James Grippando is that he is no longer clueless—or so they say, after “A James Grippando Novel” was a clue for #38 Across in the New York Times crossword puzzle. James is the winner of the Harper Lee Prize for legal fiction and a New York Times bestselling author with more than 30 novels to his credit, including the popular series featuring Miami criminal defense attorney Jack Swyteck. His latest, "Goodbye Girl" (HarperCollins 2024), is the 18th in the Swyteck series. His novels are enjoyed worldwide in 28 languages. As an adjunct professor he teaches "The Law & Lawyers in Modern Literature" at the University of Miami School of Law. He is also counsel at one of the nation’s leading ...more

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What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

James Grippando I would encourage anyone who loves to write to give it a try. But you have to go in with your eyes open and realize that to make a career out of writi…moreI would encourage anyone who loves to write to give it a try. But you have to go in with your eyes open and realize that to make a career out of writing it does take some luck. People tell me that I have talent, and I know I work hard. But so do a lot of aspiring writers. The difference between them and me is that I found my first break. My advice to them is to keep looking. So maybe it’s luck and perseverance.
The first question you should ask yourself is “why do I write?” For some people the answer is “because I have to.” That’s fine. For me, the answer is “I love it.” At age eleven I wrote a comedy western and put my friends in it so they would sit and listen to me read it to them. In high school and college I was the guy who actually looked for courses that required you to write a paper. As a lawyer I published in more academic journals than most tenured law professors. I keep an “idea file” in my closet, and I’ll never live long enough to write all the stories I want to write. It blows my mind that I actually get paid to do this. Truly. But my point is this: until you understand why you write, you’ll have a hard time figuring out who you are as a writer. (less)

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How do you get inspired to write?

James Grippando Sometimes an idea percolates in your head for years. Sometimes, the inspiration hits like a lightenng bolt.
When I first starting writing, I was worki…moreSometimes an idea percolates in your head for years. Sometimes, the inspiration hits like a lightenng bolt.
When I first starting writing, I was working 50-60 hour weeks in a big law firm, secretly writing a novel nights and weekends. And, I had my share of disappointment along the road to success. After four years of writing, not a single publisher wanted my first manuscript. But my agent believed in that book. "Jim," he said, "you got the most encouraging rejection letters I've ever seen." It sounds goofy, but what else can you say to an author who's taken his best shot and landed face down on the floor? Artie the optimist, I called him. With Artie’s encouragement, I decided to try again, but I was having trouble coming up with another idea.
Then one night in October 1992, tired of staring at a blank computer screen, I went for a walk before going to bed. I got about three blocks from my house when, seemingly out of nowhere, a police car pulled up onto the grassy part of the curb in front of me. A cop jumped out and demanded to know where I was going. I told him that I was just out for a walk, that I lived in the neighborhood. He didn't seem to believe me. "There's been a report of a peeping tom," he said. "I need to check this out." I stood helplessly beside the squad car and listened as the officer called in on his radio for a description of the prowler. "Under six feet tall," I heard the dispatcher say, "early to mid-thirties, brown hair, brown eyes, wearing blue shorts and a white t shirt." I panicked inside. I was completely innocent, but it was exactly me! "And a mustache," the dispatcher finally added. I sighed with relief. I had no mustache. The cop let me go. But as I walked home, I could only think of how close I'd come to disaster. Even though I was innocent, my arrest would have been a media event, and forever I would have been labeled as "the peeping tom lawyer.”
It was almost 2 a.m. by the time I returned home, but I decided that I needed to write about this. I took the feeling of being wrongly accused to the most dramatic extreme I could think of. I wrote about a man hours away from execution for a crime he may not have committed. What I wrote that night became the opening scene of The Pardon. I finished the manuscript in seven months, and it is now available all over the world in 28 languages.
That's a long-winded way of saying that inspiration can come from anywhere. Take a walk. Maybe you'll get hit by lightening.
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James Grippando’s books

Average rating: 3.92 · 79,732 ratings · 6,552 reviews · 48 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Pardon (Jack Swyteck, #1) 3.83 avg rating — 4,611 ratings — published 1994 — 47 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Gone Again (Jack Swyteck, #12) 4.05 avg rating — 4,109 ratings — published 2016 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Twenty (Jack Swyteck, #17) 4.20 avg rating — 3,758 ratings — published 2021 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Most Dangerous Place (Jack Swyteck, #13) 3.99 avg rating — 3,248 ratings — published 2017 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Death in Live Oak (Jack Swyteck, #14) 4.18 avg rating — 2,995 ratings — published 2018 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Beyond Suspicion (Jack Swyteck, #2) 3.87 avg rating — 3,234 ratings — published 2002 — 41 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Last To Die (Jack Swyteck, #3) 4.04 avg rating — 3,050 ratings — published 2003 — 45 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	When Darkness Falls (Jack Swyteck, #6) 3.93 avg rating — 2,844 ratings — published 2007 — 36 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Blood Money (Jack Swyteck, #10) 3.96 avg rating — 2,822 ratings — published 2013 — 18 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Goodbye Girl (Jack Swyteck Novel #18) 3.87 avg rating — 2,728 ratings — published 2024 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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James Grippando is now friends with Nathalie Herrera
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Apr 18, 2025 11:01AM · 4 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Goodbye Girl by James Grippando. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Goodbye Girl by James Grippando <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
James Grippando liked Betty's status update Betty is on page 182 of 341 of Head Cases
Feb 09, 2025 11:49AM · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Head Cases by John McMahon. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Head Cases by John McMahon <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
James Grippando answered Lanie's question: Why does The Abduction not have closure? This answer contains spoilers… (view spoiler)
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Quotes by James Grippando (?)

“There are only two types of people who can be totally honest with each other, lovers and strangers. Everyone else is just negotiating.”
― James Grippando

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“The NRA was laying down its weapons. Yankee fans were rooting for the Boston Red Sox. The French were eating English food and loving it. Matthew was sure all those things were happening.... This was the proverbial cold day in hell, and Matthew was living it.”
― James Grippando, A King's Ransom

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“you love’?” “No”
― James Grippando, Blood Money

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Polls

Which book would you like to in April?

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

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Selected: A Thriller by J. Allen Wolfrum

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Flood by Andrew Vachss

3 votes, 1.6%

A Death in Live Oak: A Jack Swyteck Novel by James Grippando

2 votes, 1.0%

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Replay by Marc Levy

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191 total votes

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