The Penguin Podcast is back! Listen Now
The Last Juror

The Last Juror

A gripping crime thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author of mystery and suspense

Summary

_____
Never make an enemy of a murderer.

In 1970, the Ford County Times went bankrupt - and to the surprise and dismay of many, was bought by 23-year-old college dropout Willie Traynor. The paper's future was grim, until a young mother was brutally raped and murdered by a member of the notorious Padgitt family. Traynor reported all the gruesome details, and his newspaper prospered.

The murderer, Danny Padgitt, was tried before a packed courtroom in Clanton, Mississippi. The trial came to a dramatic end when the defendant threatened revenge against the jurors if they convicted him. Despite his threats, they found him guilty, and he was sentenced to life in prison.

But nine years later, his influential family get him paroled.

And then, one by one, the jurors who convicted him start to fall victim to terrible murders...
_____
‘A master at the art of deft characterisation and the skilful delivery of hair-raising crescendos' Irish Independent

'John Grisham is the master of legal fiction' – Jodi Picoult

'The best thriller writer alive' – Ken Follett

John Grisham has perfected the art of cooking up convincing, fast-paced thrillers’ Telegraph

‘Grisham is a superb, instinctive storyteller’ The Times

‘Grisham's storytelling genius reminds us that when it comes to legal drama, the master is in a league of his own.’Daily Record

‘Masterful – when Grisham gets in the courtroom he lets rip, drawing scenes so real they're not just alive, they're pulsating’ Mirror

‘A giant of the thriller genre’ TimeOut

About the author

John Grisham

John Grisham is the author of forty works of fiction and one of non-fiction. His works are translated into forty-two languages. He lives in Virginia.
Learn More

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more