A Time to Kill by Josh Grisham
"Make friends with fear, Lucien always said, because it will not go away, and it will destroy you if left uncontrolled." I'm a long time fan of the film, just reading the book for the first time. The story takes place in rural, 1980s Mississippi, where two men brutally assault a ten year old girl. Her father, Carl Lee Hailey, believes they'll get away with it because his daughter is black while the perpetrators are white... and he seeks revenge. Jake Brigance is a criminal lawyer who is called to represent Mr. Hailey and defend him from the ultimate punishment: death. I've never been to Mississippi so I can't say as to whether or not the public racial tensions depicted in this book are entertainingly cliche or disturbingly spot on. Segregation legally ended, but in the hearts of the citizens of Clanton, it ended too soon. White on Black on White crimes invite protests, Klansmen, excessive use of the N-word, more violence, and the National Guard... It also illu...