Search - The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town

This book is a step out of Grisham's normal writing. Normally, of course, he writes fiction.
This book is every ounce the truth, and involves not one innocent man put on death row, but really three. All because of one small towns incompetent prosecutor and police.
The harrowing tale reads just like a work of fiction; you have to remind yourself every so often that someone truly suffered through this.

This book was a disappointment to me. It read more like one of those "true crime" books that appear in Walmart shortly after some horrible crime is committed. It did not keep my interest, so just skimmed through the last half. If I hadn't been stranded on a plane, I would have set it aside and picked up something else.

true crime AND written by a well-known author. I appreciate that Grisham has a reputation to uphold and therefore I know that I have a better chance of getting a well-rounded version of the story. This is not true with all true crime novels. It is an interesting read, makes me glad I live in the DNA test era.

pretty good

I liked this book very much. Most of Grisham's books are novels, but this is a true-life story. The central character is a young man with great potential in baseball -- but his pride and indiscipline ruin him. Through a series of law enforcement bungles, he is convicted of murder and ends up on death row.

As I read the book, part of me thought, "This guy wasn't much of a loss! -- no one to cry over!" -- but then I remembered that (1) there was still a killer on the loose and (2) this kind of injustice can happen to anyone.

I enjoyed learning how good counsel made a difference (finally) in this young man's life. It was also fun to read about the public embarrassment suffered by the law enforcement officials who so determinedly bungled the young man's arrest and trial in the first place.

Grisham's style seemed different while writing this story. A bit more disjointed, but still enjoyable.