The suspense and thrill created by the pen of John Grisham grabs us once again in another masterpiece. The novel has everything from a murder mystery to a highly emotional drama in the court. The issue whether the murder case is for real or it is just all a big lie continuously raises questions and doubts in our mind in relation to the society and the acts of law.
Pete Banning is first of all described as man who is the best in everything or we can simply say that he the Mr. Perfect in the town, Pete was the kind of man who has achieved everything in life as he was a war hero and a loving caring father as well who devoted his life to the services of the church in his old age but then comes the murder case which brings him to the shadow of the rope.
The murder of Dexter Bell by Pete shocks the world as he was his pastor and there was no bad blood between them. The main thing that separates this story from the rest of Grisham’s work like Sycamore Row, The Rooster Bar is that the criminal is saying nothing in his defense, he throws himself on the mercy of the court by saying that “I have nothing to say”.
The statement surely gives us the clue that he wants to hide the truth, a truth that is perhaps so dark that he is ready to lie down his life for it. The narration by Michael Beck is done in high passion and the exaggerated court scenes are all well equipped with the rise and fall of the tone.
