John Grisham

America’s Favorite Storyteller takes on America’s Favorite Pastime

jpitts — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:00:36 +0000

A surprising and moving novel of fathers and sons, forgiveness and redemption, set in the world of Major League Baseball…

Whatever happened to Calico Joe?

It began quietly enough with a pulled hamstring. The first baseman for the Cubs AAA affiliate in Wichita went down as he rounded third and headed for home. The next day, Jim Hickman, the first baseman for the Cubs, injured his back. The team suddenly needed someone to play first, so they reached down to their AA club in Midland, Texas, and called up a twenty-one-year-old named Joe Castle. He was the hottest player in AA and creating a buzz.

In the summer of 1973 Joe Castle was the boy wonder of baseball, the greatest rookie anyone had ever seen. The kid from Calico Rock, Arkansas dazzled Cub fans as he hit home run after home run, politely tipping his hat to the crowd as he shattered all rookie records.

Calico Joe quickly became the idol of every baseball fan in America, including Paul Tracey, the young son of a hard-partying and hard-throwing Mets pitcher. On the day that Warren Tracey finally faced Calico Joe, Paul was in the stands, rooting for his idol but also for his Dad. Then Warren threw a fastball that would change their lives forever…

In John Grisham’s new novel the baseball is thrilling, but it’s what happens off the field that makes CALICO JOE a classic.

On sale April 10.

Pre-order Now: Amazon | Apple | B&N | IndieBound

Finley & Figg: We’ll Fight For You!

jpitts — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:15:01 +0000

To highlight the “laugh out loud hilarious” nature of THE LITIGATORS, we’ve created a TV commercial for the hapless law firm, Finley & Figg, at the heart of this surprising novel. Give them a call, they’ll fight for you whatever ails you.

THE LITIGATORS collects great reviews!

jpitts — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:09:01 +0000

The Huffington Post calls THE LITIGATORS “laugh out loud hilarious” and “fascinating” and “proof positive [Grisham] is not getting older, he is getting better.”

And, The Chicago Tribune, in a review of THE LITIGATORS, delivers the “delightful news” that Grisham is “getting better and better.”

Meanwhile, in the UK, The Guardian hails the “magnificently unsavoury, wonderfully charismatic Finley & Figg” at the heart of THE LITIGATORS.

The Huffington Post calls THE LITIGATORS “laugh out loud hilarious” and “fascinating” and “proof positive [Grisham] is not getting older, he is getting better.”

And, The Chicago Tribune, in a review of THE LITIGATORS, delivers the “delightful news” that Grisham is “getting better and better.”

Meanwhile, in the UK, The Guardian hails the “magnificently unsavoury, wonderfully charismatic Finley & Figg” at the heart of THE LITIGATORS.

Buy the book: Amazon | B&N | iBookstore | IndieBound

The Litigators

jyamaguchi — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:35:22 +0000

The partners at Finley & Figg—all two of them—often refer to themselves as “a boutique law firm.” Boutique, as in chic, selective, and prosperous. They are, of course, none of these things. What they are is a two-bit operation always in search of their big break, ambulance chasers who’ve been in the trenches much too long making way too little. Their specialties, so to speak, are quickie divorces and DUIs, with the occasional jackpot of an actual car wreck thrown in. After twenty plus years together, Oscar Finley and Wally Figg bicker like an old married couple but somehow continue to scratch out a half-decent living from their seedy bungalow offices in southwest Chicago.

And then change comes their way. More accurately, it stumbles in. David Zinc, a young but already burned-out attorney, walks away from his fast-track career at a fancy downtown firm, goes on a serious bender, and finds himself literally at the doorstep of our boutique firm. Once David sobers up and comes to grips with the fact that he’s suddenly unemployed, any job—even one with Finley & Figg—looks okay to him.

With their new associate on board, F&F is ready to tackle a really big case, a case that could make the partners rich without requiring them to actually practice much law. An extremely popular drug, Krayoxx, the number one cholesterol reducer for the dangerously overweight, produced by Varrick Labs, a giant pharmaceutical company with annual sales of $25 billion, has recently come under fire after several patients taking it have suffered heart attacks. Wally smells money.

A little online research confirms Wally’s suspicions—a huge plaintiffs’ firm in Florida is putting together a class action suit against Varrick. All Finley & Figg has to do is find a handful of people who have had heart attacks while taking Krayoxx, convince them to become clients, join the class action, and ride along to fame and fortune. With any luck, they won’t even have to enter a courtroom!

It almost seems too good to be true.

And it is.

The Litigators is a tremendously entertaining romp, filled with the kind of courtroom strategies, theatrics, and suspense that have made John Grisham America’s favorite storyteller.

Chapters 1 & 2 from THE LITIGATORS

jpitts — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:06:31 +0000

CHAPTER 1 The law ﬁrm of Finley & Figg referred to itself as a “boutique ﬁrm.” This misnomer was inserted as often as possible into routine conversations, and it even appeared in print in some of the various schemes hatched by the partners to solicit business. When used properly, it implied that Finley & Figg was something above your average two-bit operation. Boutique, as in small, gifted, and expert in one specialized area. Boutique, as in pretty cool and chic, right down to the Frenchness of the word itself. Boutique, as in thoroughly happy to be small, selective, and prosperous. Except for its size, it was none of these things. Finley & Figg’s scam was hustling injury cases, a daily grind that required little skill or creativity and would never be considered cool or sexy. Proﬁts were as elusive as status. The ﬁrm was small because it couldn’t afford to grow. It was selective only because no one wanted to work there, including the two men who owned it. Even its location suggested a monotonous life out in the bush leagues. With a Vietnamese massage parlor to its left and a lawn mower repair shop to its right, it was clear at a casual glance that Finley & Figg was not prospering. There was another boutique ﬁrm directly across the street—hated rivals—and more lawyers around the corner. In fact, the neighborhood was teeming with lawyers, some working alone, others in small ﬁrms, others still in versions of their own little boutiques. F&F’s address was on Preston Avenue, a busy street ﬁlled with old bungalows now converted and used for all manner of commercial activity. There was retail (liquor, cleaners, massages) and professional (legal, dental, lawn mower repair) and culinary (enchiladas, baklava, and pizza to go). Oscar Finley had won the building in a lawsuit twenty years earlier. What the address lacked in prestige it sort of made up for in location. Two doors away was the intersection of Preston, Beech, and Thirty- eighth, a chaotic convergence of asphalt and trafﬁc that guaranteed at least one good car wreck a week, and often more. F&F’s annual overhead was covered by collisions that happened less than one hundred yards away. Other law ﬁrms, boutique and otherwise, were often prowling the area in hopes of ﬁnding an available, cheap bungalow from which their hungry lawyers could hear the actual squeal of tires and crunching of metal.

John Grisham wins Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction.

jpitts — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:34:38 +0000

John Grisham’s THE CONFESSION wins the 2011 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, co-sponsored by The University of Alabama School of Law and the ABA Journal | http://bit.ly/JGprz

THE LITIGATORS: Plot elements revealed!

jpitts — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 16:22:29 +0000

Here is the just finalized “flap copy” for THE LITIGATORS.

It almost seems too good to be true.

And it is.

The Litigators is a tremendously entertaining romp, filled with the kind of courtroom strategies, theatrics, and suspense that have made John Grisham America’s favorite storyteller.

THE LITIGATORS is available October 25 in hardcover and as an eBook.

Pre-order Now! Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Borders | IndieBound

THE LITIGATORS cover revealed

jpitts — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:36:36 +0000

Here, at last, is the cover for John Grisham’s new legal thriller, THE LITIGATORS.

THE LITIGATORS is available in hardcover and as an eBook on October 25, 2011.

Pre-order Now! Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Borders | IndieBound

John Grisham on Facebook

jpitts — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 14:12:23 +0000

John Grisham’s Facebook Page is back! ”Like” the Page for up-to-the-minute news, exclusive content, and great offers!

John Grisham’s Facebook Page

THE LITIGATORS

jpitts — Thu, 19 May 2011 19:30:32 +0000

John Grisham’s new legal thriller, THE LITIGATORS, will be published in North America by Doubleday, in hardcover and as an eBook, on October 25 of this year. More to come soon!

Pre-order Now! Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Borders | IndieBound