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The Testament / A Time to Kill
When Carl Lee Hailey guns down the hoodlums who have raped his ten-year-old child, the people of Clanton see it as a crime of blood and call for his acquittal. But when extremists outside Clanton hear that a black man has killed two white men, they invade the town, determined to destroy anything and anyone that opposes their sense of justice. Jake Brigance has been hired to defend Hailey. It's the kind of case that can make or break a young lawyer. But in the maelstrom of Clanton, it is also the kind of case that could get a young lawyer killed. 'The best thriller writer alive' Ken Follett, Evening Standard
988 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2000
16 people are currently reading
805 people want to read
About the author
John Grisham
489 books89.5k followersJohn Grisham is the author of more than fifty consecutive #1 bestsellers, which have been translated into nearly fifty languages. His recent books include Framed, Camino Ghosts and The Exchange: After the Firm.
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 lives on a farm in central Virginia.
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 lives on a farm in central Virginia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
September 19, 2025
A Time to Kill by John Grisham is included on the 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read list, in the Crime section
https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...
Nine out of 10
In the stupendous positive psychology book The How of Happiness by glorious Sonja Lyubomirsky http://realini.blogspot.com/2014/07/t... one Happiness Activity is Learning to forgive and we have an extreme example, wherein a daughter is killed in South Africa, her parents travel to meet the killer there and the mother talks to the man and furthermore, she would get into a sort of NGO (if memory does not play tricks) and they talk to others about healing, forgiveness and dealing with PTSD – most people who experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are diminished, traumatized by it, but for a few, there is the chance for PTG, Post Traumatic Growth, which may be the South African case…
However, in A Time to Kill the main theme is the opposite and the mantra, leitmotif would be ‘what would you do if you were in the shoes of Carl Lee Hailey’, and while many, probably most whites answer with a racist bias, almost all blacks and quite a number of parents from other groups say that they would do the same and the man deserves a medal…his ten year old daughter, Tonya Hailey, is kidnapped, taken to the woods by James ‘Pete’ Willard and Billy Ray Cobb and raped repeatedly, beaten so viciously that her jaws are broken and in fact they leave her for dead, after torturing and viciously abusing her…
Carl Lee determines that he will kill the two monsters that have raped, tortured and very nearly killed his daughter (there is talk that they have urinated on her, though I am not sure if this was verified, it is clear that they had done anything possible to humiliate, abuse, beat and if she survived, it was not due to their diligence, but just because they did not care one way or another) and thus he contacts Jake Brigance, the attorney that had represented Hailey’s brother and the latter and two other clients he had had, also accused of murder, had been acquitted.
The grieving, enraged father had been fighting in Vietnam, knows how to handle a gun and kill, he travels to a bigger town and gets a rifle to use in the plan he had made, which comes to fruition when the two rapists are transported…punishment comes over them (though one of the principle invitations here is to think if vigilante justice is the way, while also trying to think what we would do if placed, God forbid, in similar circumstances) and they are killed – alas, the deputy that escorts them is also hit and injured, his leg will have to be amputated, although he declares Hailey to be a hero and forgives him for his disability.
The avenging father is arrested and then there will be two camps, those who are ready to kill him right away, mostly white men and women – the Ku Klux Klan will arrive in the small town and their vengeance will be vicious, they will place dynamite near the house of the white lawyer defending the African American in jail, they will attack the husband of his secretary and the heart of the latter would give way and he dies, they will also kidnap and abuse the law clerk that comes to offer her services for free, intimated as many jurors as they can, also those who would potentially serve, before they get a chance, with the infamous burning crosses and a campaign of violence, which will be pushed back against by marches, one of them getting together about ten thousand African Americans that are organized through churches, word of mouth and come to demand the release of Carl Lee…
Arguably there are a few too many sub-plots, though the author admits to some superficial, perhaps not absolutely necessary passages (he does not use these words, but you could always google for them) he says that he would not change a word and that the ‘young attorney is himself’, talks about his experience with a devastating trial where the crime involves the rape of young girls, John Grisham also mentions the influence that To kill a Mockingbird http://realini.blogspot.com/2014/12/t... has had on him...
One side line that we could have done without has a local reverend connected with money for the trail – the main character is not the tormented father, albeit he clearly plays one of the leading roles, but the lawyer, who asks for ten thousand dollars for a case of capital murder – it had been premeditated, though the defense will clearly try to plead innocent and get an acquittal – but then the bank does not approve a loan, he has to accept only one thousand and then when things get tough, he gives one hundred out of that to the wife of the accused, when she has no more money for bills and expenses…however, organizations like the NAACP, church committees gather money, about twenty thousand, on condition that their lawyers are used in court, and then there is a conflict with the local clergy, the reverend that seems to be determined to keep the five thousand collected for...himself
Though very long (this reader would say too long and it could have done with about two hundred, maybe three less) the crime novel is indeed captivating, with setbacks that seem to point the plot one way, only to be taken back in the opposite direction – the defense has no choice but to plea insanity and hope for a hung jury, they want initially to have the premises moved, hoping for a county with a higher proportion of African Americans and the issue of the prejudiced jurors is raised, and dismissed.
The expert who is brought in does not have the most impressive credentials, but then the budget they operate on is modest to very poor, and he has some strange boots (one juror likes them however) when the prosecutor attacks the doctor, his credibility is almost destroyed, for the he had been convicted for statutory rape…we learn that the girl was seventeen, he would marry her and the father in law, a judge, would strike out the felony and later, the mother and child would be killed in an accident, thereafter the doctor would start drinking heavily and now he nearly takes the case to the prosecution…
Again, the six hundred and more pages might have been easier read if reduced to two hundred and fifty, which is about the size that the under signed prefers these days, not benefiting from the same patience of antan [ou sont les neiges d’antan] and worried that giving too much time to say A Time to Kill, would prevent him from getting to read a Magnum opus like The Moviegoer [read twice] http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/01/t...
https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...
Nine out of 10
In the stupendous positive psychology book The How of Happiness by glorious Sonja Lyubomirsky http://realini.blogspot.com/2014/07/t... one Happiness Activity is Learning to forgive and we have an extreme example, wherein a daughter is killed in South Africa, her parents travel to meet the killer there and the mother talks to the man and furthermore, she would get into a sort of NGO (if memory does not play tricks) and they talk to others about healing, forgiveness and dealing with PTSD – most people who experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are diminished, traumatized by it, but for a few, there is the chance for PTG, Post Traumatic Growth, which may be the South African case…
However, in A Time to Kill the main theme is the opposite and the mantra, leitmotif would be ‘what would you do if you were in the shoes of Carl Lee Hailey’, and while many, probably most whites answer with a racist bias, almost all blacks and quite a number of parents from other groups say that they would do the same and the man deserves a medal…his ten year old daughter, Tonya Hailey, is kidnapped, taken to the woods by James ‘Pete’ Willard and Billy Ray Cobb and raped repeatedly, beaten so viciously that her jaws are broken and in fact they leave her for dead, after torturing and viciously abusing her…
Carl Lee determines that he will kill the two monsters that have raped, tortured and very nearly killed his daughter (there is talk that they have urinated on her, though I am not sure if this was verified, it is clear that they had done anything possible to humiliate, abuse, beat and if she survived, it was not due to their diligence, but just because they did not care one way or another) and thus he contacts Jake Brigance, the attorney that had represented Hailey’s brother and the latter and two other clients he had had, also accused of murder, had been acquitted.
The grieving, enraged father had been fighting in Vietnam, knows how to handle a gun and kill, he travels to a bigger town and gets a rifle to use in the plan he had made, which comes to fruition when the two rapists are transported…punishment comes over them (though one of the principle invitations here is to think if vigilante justice is the way, while also trying to think what we would do if placed, God forbid, in similar circumstances) and they are killed – alas, the deputy that escorts them is also hit and injured, his leg will have to be amputated, although he declares Hailey to be a hero and forgives him for his disability.
The avenging father is arrested and then there will be two camps, those who are ready to kill him right away, mostly white men and women – the Ku Klux Klan will arrive in the small town and their vengeance will be vicious, they will place dynamite near the house of the white lawyer defending the African American in jail, they will attack the husband of his secretary and the heart of the latter would give way and he dies, they will also kidnap and abuse the law clerk that comes to offer her services for free, intimated as many jurors as they can, also those who would potentially serve, before they get a chance, with the infamous burning crosses and a campaign of violence, which will be pushed back against by marches, one of them getting together about ten thousand African Americans that are organized through churches, word of mouth and come to demand the release of Carl Lee…
Arguably there are a few too many sub-plots, though the author admits to some superficial, perhaps not absolutely necessary passages (he does not use these words, but you could always google for them) he says that he would not change a word and that the ‘young attorney is himself’, talks about his experience with a devastating trial where the crime involves the rape of young girls, John Grisham also mentions the influence that To kill a Mockingbird http://realini.blogspot.com/2014/12/t... has had on him...
One side line that we could have done without has a local reverend connected with money for the trail – the main character is not the tormented father, albeit he clearly plays one of the leading roles, but the lawyer, who asks for ten thousand dollars for a case of capital murder – it had been premeditated, though the defense will clearly try to plead innocent and get an acquittal – but then the bank does not approve a loan, he has to accept only one thousand and then when things get tough, he gives one hundred out of that to the wife of the accused, when she has no more money for bills and expenses…however, organizations like the NAACP, church committees gather money, about twenty thousand, on condition that their lawyers are used in court, and then there is a conflict with the local clergy, the reverend that seems to be determined to keep the five thousand collected for...himself
Though very long (this reader would say too long and it could have done with about two hundred, maybe three less) the crime novel is indeed captivating, with setbacks that seem to point the plot one way, only to be taken back in the opposite direction – the defense has no choice but to plea insanity and hope for a hung jury, they want initially to have the premises moved, hoping for a county with a higher proportion of African Americans and the issue of the prejudiced jurors is raised, and dismissed.
The expert who is brought in does not have the most impressive credentials, but then the budget they operate on is modest to very poor, and he has some strange boots (one juror likes them however) when the prosecutor attacks the doctor, his credibility is almost destroyed, for the he had been convicted for statutory rape…we learn that the girl was seventeen, he would marry her and the father in law, a judge, would strike out the felony and later, the mother and child would be killed in an accident, thereafter the doctor would start drinking heavily and now he nearly takes the case to the prosecution…
Again, the six hundred and more pages might have been easier read if reduced to two hundred and fifty, which is about the size that the under signed prefers these days, not benefiting from the same patience of antan [ou sont les neiges d’antan] and worried that giving too much time to say A Time to Kill, would prevent him from getting to read a Magnum opus like The Moviegoer [read twice] http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/01/t...
July 27, 2020
There have been many John Grisham books that have interested me, but it wasn’t until I got my names on The Testament and A Time to Kill omnibus that I finally jumped into his work. After doing so, I’ll certainly be reading more.
The Testament was an interesting read, albeit a bit slow in places. It’s one that had me turning the pages to see how the pieces came together, desperate for answers as to how everything would play out. I worked out some details, but I still enjoyed watching things develop. A Time to Kill is considered Grisham’s best work by many, and I wasn’t disappointed. It was also a bit slow in places, but the plot kept me more than interested. I was gripped on all the elements and was invested in how things played out. I would have like a wee bit more emotion from it, the story was impossible to put down.
Both were solid four-star ratings, ensuring I’ll be back for more.
The Testament was an interesting read, albeit a bit slow in places. It’s one that had me turning the pages to see how the pieces came together, desperate for answers as to how everything would play out. I worked out some details, but I still enjoyed watching things develop. A Time to Kill is considered Grisham’s best work by many, and I wasn’t disappointed. It was also a bit slow in places, but the plot kept me more than interested. I was gripped on all the elements and was invested in how things played out. I would have like a wee bit more emotion from it, the story was impossible to put down.
Both were solid four-star ratings, ensuring I’ll be back for more.
February 3, 2009
Loved this book, it's the one that got me started reading many of John Grisham books.
March 20, 2016
John Grisham is the best......he will never let you down.
July 8, 2024
Good book...but not for everyone. seriously violent scene in the first chapter and more use of the N-word than I've ever seen.
May 26, 2025
Read this in 7th grade for English it was very eye opening, to me at that young age I remember reading it in like a week, having many of conversations with my mother about the themes in this book.
February 2, 2024
Excellent Read!!
March 27, 2023
I was introduced to John Grisham back in 2015 undertaking the legal english paper at the first year of law school. Naivity had prominence so neither did I read this book for assignment nor did I appreciate the confluence of law and literature. However, over last few years, thankfully, sense of sainity has prevailed probably due to my growing interest in writing and i began finding law everywhere, especially literature.
This book wasn't easy even then for me to read. I remember starting to read this in October 2021 but somehow lost hold of it. In February this year i resolved to complete reading all of my old books and picked this one.
A time to kill is an emotionally draining courtroom drama revolving around henious rape and consequential homicide in Clanton, Southern part of the USA with distrubing history of racial voilence. It takes us to several moral & legal dilemma such as, The young lawyer's quest to save Carl Lee hailey, a father's duty, The Jury's decision surrounding racial politics all deciding the fate of crime. A great courtroom drama read. A book i should have read way back. 3/5
This book wasn't easy even then for me to read. I remember starting to read this in October 2021 but somehow lost hold of it. In February this year i resolved to complete reading all of my old books and picked this one.
A time to kill is an emotionally draining courtroom drama revolving around henious rape and consequential homicide in Clanton, Southern part of the USA with distrubing history of racial voilence. It takes us to several moral & legal dilemma such as, The young lawyer's quest to save Carl Lee hailey, a father's duty, The Jury's decision surrounding racial politics all deciding the fate of crime. A great courtroom drama read. A book i should have read way back. 3/5
May 30, 2021
Without a doubt, the greatest John Grisham book I have ever read. It is a tale of redemption for alcoholic Nate O'Reilly, one of great love by missionary Rachel Lane Porter for the native people of Bolivia, and of greed by ungrateful grown children and lawyers after the death of a very wealthy man. The last chapter literally brought me to tears. Kudos to you Mr. Grisham for an excellent book.
September 4, 2012
This is the best John Grisham book I have read. It is about a millionaire, who is in a wheelchair. Wants to see his Wille written down in law testament, and that he is sane while doing so.
?. Make sure you know who you want to have your money, should you be a millionaire!
?. Make sure you know who you want to have your money, should you be a millionaire!
June 20, 2009
I haven't read A Time To Kill yet but i have read The Testament and it is a wonderful book. It is full of twists and turn that leave you on the edge of your seat and you can't stop till you have finished it.
November 3, 2016
Started reading this book. it was different from what i usually read, maybe that why i didn't enjoy it.
Has a lot to do with racism and if theres anything i hate is reading about racism.
too depressing and boring for my taste.
Has a lot to do with racism and if theres anything i hate is reading about racism.
too depressing and boring for my taste.
July 7, 2018
I liked the character Harry Rex played in this novel. I won't rate it 5 stars because I had read better novels by Grisham. Descriptions were vivid and dialogues were well put forth in courthouse. Closing argument by Jake wasn't that good as it should be. Anyways, reading is rich with vocabulary.
September 15, 2019
Audiobook Review.
There are good authors, very good authors, exceptional authors and then above them all there is Grisham. When supported by a narrator with the abilities that Michael Beck brings, the finished product is as close to perfect as you can get.
There are good authors, very good authors, exceptional authors and then above them all there is Grisham. When supported by a narrator with the abilities that Michael Beck brings, the finished product is as close to perfect as you can get.
November 16, 2020
The novel moves in a relatively streamlined manner throughout the story. It makes the reader picture a certain story at the beginning of the novel, post which the novel exactly traces the imagined road map.
March 13, 2008
My favorite Grisham book yet!
May 21, 2008
I really liked this book. I can not wait to read more from this author.
June 10, 2008
This is the second time around for me, Testament is a engaging story. One we can relate to as well as a story that makes us wonder, What would we do?
May 30, 2008
Of all books to read of John's I chose this one..why? Not that great and not a good ending...boring.
June 6, 2008
The Testament - my favorite John Grisham.
June 8, 2008
The Testament was the first John Grishman book I read. It was very different than the books I usually read, but it was a great story.
July 2, 2008
This is one of the best books John Grisham has written.
February 14, 2009
Only one of his books worth reading....read several so far.
April 10, 2009
I didn't read The Testament - but A Time to Kill is not listed individually - thought Time to Kill was fairly good
August 27, 2009
My first John Grisham book I read. Pretty amazing.
October 4, 2009
A time to kill is a great book.
June 30, 2010
The best he's written
July 23, 2010
just recently read this book and loved it
November 1, 2013
Page turner, edge of your seat mystery from John Grisham
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews