Those are the questions that John Grisham seeks to answer in his most recent novel, The Appeal. With this book, released in February, Grisham returns to what he does best--courtroom drama--after a brief departure into non-fiction (The Innocent Man) and popular fiction (Playing for Pizza).
"CancerCounty"
The Appeal tells the story of Cary County, a fictional town located just outside of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. For years, Krane Chemical was the town's main employer...that is, until Cary County residents started developing cancer at a rate four times the national average. Eventually, the county's drinking water started to smell and became so contaminated that the residents had to use bottled water for everything, even bathing.
Baker vs. Krane Chemical
Jeanette Baker was particularly hard hit. Within the span of two years, she watched her son and then her husband grow ill and die painful deaths. The Hattiesburg husband and wife team of Mary Grace and Wes Patton saw in Ms. Baker the sympathetic defendant that just might be able to sway a jury to rule against Krane Chemical.
The Pattons risked everything to handle the case. They moved from their large suburban home to a two-bedroom apartment in town. They put other clients on hold, and they borrowed as much money as they could get their hands on. Expert witnesses and assistants to help track down former Krane employees didn't come cheaply.
The Appeal
As Ms. Baker and the Pattons wait for the appeal of the case's verdict, an appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court, they see circumstances spin out of their control as forces conspire to replace sympathetic justices with pro-corporate ones. If these forces are successful, the Baker case and ones like it will never stand a chance of being upheld.
A Conflict of Interest?
In The Appeal, Grisham shows his skill and insights as an attorney as well as a storyteller. The reader experiences the final days of the three-year lawsuit and the circumstances leading up the verdict's appeal. Although Krane Chemical and Cary County, Mississippi are fictional, there are real life parallels. The question Grisham poses is also a relevant one. Supreme Court justices are elected in a majority of US states and private money is allowed in all of those elections. Is it possible to obtain objective jurists with such a system?
About John Grisham
John Grisham is the author of 19 previous novels, beginning with the 1989 thriller, A Time to Kill. His breakthrough novel was The Firm, which became a movie with Tom Cruise. Grisham is married with two children and divides his time between homes in Mississippi and Virginia.
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- The Innocent Man Review
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