The Confession: A Novel
By John Grisham
You can view this book's Amazon detail page here.
Not the usual Grisham legal thriller. This is questionably fictional (it’s written to lead the reader into thinking it’s a slightly disguised version of a real-life story) condemning the death penalty and Texas’ implementation of it. The story is about a cop, prosecutor, judge, town and governor that sentence an innocent man to death – beyond all logic – and their refusal to acknowledge that a mistake is made even when the real killer comes forward.
Even though the reader knows what’s going down, it still can get a bit gut wrenching at times. Grisham, as always, writes well and spins a good story. This is less about entertainment, though, than preaching about how wrong the death penalty is and how screwed up Texas’ law and judicial system are.
If you are a staunch opponent of the death penalty, you’ll love this book. Lots of fodder for your argument. If you’re a true believer in the penalty, you’ll simply hate this book. I’m somewhere in the middle and, at times, I had to roll my eyes. For the most part, though, the story kept me interested and involved. The characters are excellent regardless of where you stand.
- Started reading:
- 26th March 2011
- Finished reading:
- 9th April 2011