The Last Juror

I randomly picked up this book and started reading. The title is intriguing and I was in the mood for John Grisham, but I also wanted to read more about Ford County. When I started reading I didn't know the book was set in Ford County (although I did know there are other books than Jake Brigance series set there) so I had a very pleasant surprise.

The main character being a reporter instead of a lawyer was a nice change. I was ready to jump right in. I was not expecting to see familiar characters, Harry Rex Vonner and Lucien Willbanks both took me by surprise. Now... What the fuck, Lucien? I liked Lucien in the Jake Brigance series. We all know he's not a good guy, he made a name for himself for going against the current, he is loud, he takes risks, and he is (or was since he was disbarred) a damn good lawyer. But what, just what possessed him to represent Danny Padgitt? I agree that everyone deserves to be represented in court, but I feel like whoever the court would have appointed to him would have been more than enough. Since I liked Lucien I felt really disappointed first by his choice of representing Danny Padgitt, and then by straight out lying in court. Lucien fully deserved to be disbarred. Makes me wonder how did he win some of his cases and what kind of people did he help stay out of prison, continuing to torment others.

I first met Willie Traynor in Sycamore Row (I read that one first), when he sold the Hocutt House to Jake Brigance. The events in The Last Juror happen years before Jake even thought of stepping in Clanton, and I liked this flow of events, the continuation between the books. This book can be read as standalone, but it's part of the Ford County universe so you might feel like it doesn't make much sense or that something is missing if you don't have some kind of context.

I didn't particularly like Willie, he was okay, but I don't have any strong feelings towards him. It was, however, nice reading his thoughts and his 'adventures'. We follow Willie as he buys the Times, we learn along with him about the various people in Clanton, and through him we witness the trial of Danny Padgitt. It felt a little weird to not have the inside view of the trial in this John Grisham novel and it wasn't as exciting as his other legal thrillers, but we did get an interesting angle, one that I feel most readers can relate to better.

Being used to other, more court-focused books from John Grisham, I was surprised that the trial was done so quickly. As I finished reading the first part of the book I found myself wondering what could happen next, but the story was far from done. After all, there is plenty to happen in a small town. As I read, the book became more exciting. The trial was looming somewhere at all times because even if Danny Padgitt was locked up 'for life' we didn't get the sense that justice has indeed been served. The whole issue got its conclusion in the third part of the book so I won't dwell on it.

Besides the trial and everything surrounding it, there are a lot of other things happening. There's Willie's journey, his everyday, writing for the paper, investigating everything and everyone, actually building something in Clanton. The best part of him is that through Willie, Clanton takes shape, it is consolidated and its history is laid out for us in a very neat way. Almost like we are there and we are witnessing it changing and growing. This book is almost an intimate experience. We get to learn about the people, the surroundings, the issues. Nothing, apart from the trial, is put in the limelight, and yet everything is discussed, every topic is touched, from politics, celebrations, law, desegregation, to day to day events. I enjoyed reading this book very much.