The Appeal by John Grisham

Wes and Mary Grace Payton were successful attorneys in southern Mississippi. They hocked everything to represent a widow and her claim for the wrongful deaths of her husband and son against a big chemical company that polluted the town’s water. They won in the lower court, and it went on to the state Supreme Court.

Billionaire Carl Trudeau, the owner of the chemical company, is not about to pay any settlement, so he hires a guy to buy him a seat on the Mississippi Supreme Court. Ron Fisk is their man; they run his campaign, they mold him as anti-liberal. Yes, he wins, but also incurs a heavy personal loss which may or may not influence his decisions.

There’s a lot of filler in the book; the Payton’s are too goody-goody; not all loose ends are tied up. It’s an OK story, but won’t get your blood pumping wondering whodunit.

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