• Sycamore Row

  • Jake Brigance, Book 2
  • By: John Grisham
  • Narrated by: Michael Beck
  • Length: 20 hrs and 45 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (275 ratings)

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Sycamore Row  By  cover art

Sycamore Row

By: John Grisham
Narrated by: Michael Beck
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Publisher's summary

Fight them, Mr Brigance. To the bitter end. We must prevail.

In the long-awaited successor to the novel that launched his phenomenal career, John Grisham brings us the powerful sequel to A Time to Kill. As filled with twists as it is with legal mastery, Sycamore Row proves beyond doubt that John Grisham is in a league of his own.

Jake Brigance has never met Seth Hubbard, or even heard of him, until the old man's suicide note names him attorney for his estate. The will is dynamite. Seth has left 90 per cent of his vast, secret fortune to his housemaid.

The vultures are circling even before the body is cold: the only subject more incendiary than money in Ford County is race, and this case has both.

As the relatives contest the will, and unscrupulous lawyers hasten to benefit, Jake searches for answers to the many questions left by Seth Hubbard's death.

What made him write that last-minute will leaving everything to a poor black woman named Lettie Lang?

Why did he choose to kill himself on the desolate piece of land known as Sycamore Row?

And what was it that Seth and his brother witnessed as children that, in his words, 'no human should ever see'?

©2013 John Grisham (P)2013 Random House Audio

What listeners say about Sycamore Row

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Grisham is all about the craft

People often dismiss Grisham as lightweight airplane novel material, but after years of listening to some pretty dismal storytelling, my return to Grisham reminded me of what an incredibly skilled writer he is. Admittedly, Jake's wife is a bit of a prop to show he's a family man, but on the whole, his characters are meaty and challenging. The plot is solid and well-constructed and gripping and his pacing is absolutely immaculate.

At no point did I do what I usually do these days, which is groan and wish the writing had been better edited. There's no fat on this story. It's all lean, page-turning (pod-listening?) goodness.

In an era of a lot of self-published, unedited, badly finished fiction, John Grisham is a long, tall drink of cool water.

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9 people found this helpful

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The Grisham you fell in love with

Sycamore Row is more like Grisham's earlier novels than the later ones. The courtroom drama, the inevitable battle and of course ..... the twist!

LOVE IT!

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4 people found this helpful

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Good Book A Bit Too Long

n Sycamore Row, Grisham returns to the setting and brings back several of the memorable characters first introduced in A Time To Kill that helped establish him as one of the most popular storytellers writing today.

Be aware, however, If you pick up Sycamore Row because you anticipate it to be as entralling and exciting as A Time To Kill, you are liable to be a bit disappointed. The plot of Sycamore Row is built around a handwritten will prepared shortly before a very ill, very wealthy man from small town Clanton, Mississippi kills himself and leaves the vast majority of his large estate to his African-American maid and nothing to his children and grandchildren. Lawyer Jake Brigance, the hero from A Time To Kill, is hired as the lawyer for the estate to make sure that the dead man's directions are carried out exactly as instructed. This is definitely a challenging case for Brigance as, expected, each of the children and grandchildren hire their own lawyers to contest the will. While this plot is interesting and Grisham does a good job in making the reader feel a sense of "being there'' throughout the book, Sycamore Row does not have the thrills often evident in a Grisham legal thriller, and certainly not like in A Time To Kill.

Further, while never boring to me, I felt that the pace of the book slowed down more times than I would have liked during a good portion of the middle of the book. I felt that if the book was 50-75 pages or so shorter, my attention span would have always stayed at a high level, rather than fluctuating as often as it did. Nevertheless, Sycamore Row is an entertaining read worthy of your consideration -- as long as you don't expect a book filled with non-stop thrills and surprises.

Michael Beck was excellent with the delivery of the story

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Hot Damn! Welcome Back Mr Grisham!

Any additional comments?

Years ago I used to love reading Grisham books then I fell out with him as they began to appear more 'churned out'. With some reticence I chose this one from Audible. Hot damn! What a great legal thriller! Beautifully paced, great characterization, plot, scene depiction etc. - simply hard to put down! And all perfectly narrated by Michael Beck who gave a simply wonderful performance! And people wonder why I love audiobooks!

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Thrilling courtroom drama

A well written and interesting court drama, with transparent narration. Themes include racism, testamentary legalities, humility, justice, compensation and forgiveness.

I love the way the story comes full circle, the end meets the beginning, and the loose ends are all neatly tied up. Very satisfactory, especially after staying awake through the night, unable to turn it off!

This is my first Grisham book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I cant seem to find the (unabridged) prequel, "A Time to Kill", on Audible but maybe that's only due to where I live. I would've liked to have listened to that as well.

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Alonzo

John Grtsham has returned at his best. Sycamor Row is certainly of a similar genre to Time to Kill and every bit as entertaining. The naration is excellent, as is the plot. Grisham has bought the South alive again; the location is entirely believable, painting as it does the post intergration (race) issues, some of which appear to live on

The courtroom scenes are engrosing, and include the reader, the twists and turns of the issues involved maintain an interest. In short well done

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Another masterful piece by a remarkable writer!!!

Michael Beck has got be my favourite narrator. Thank you, sir, and we'll done! Looking forward to hearing you soon....

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An entertaining listen

I’ve enjoyed reading quite a few of Grisham a books, always found them entertains and for the most part light reading. Listening to this book was enjoyable and an easy listen especially having previously read the book.

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Heartbeat Raising

"Sycamore Row" - another addition by John Grisham to a collectable libray of novels sure to uplift any collection of historical drama, suspence and thrillers. Sure to make great rereading or listening. Raises the heartbeat. Michael Becks' narration brings the book to life, and the drama a notch higher.

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the best story ever

I enjoyed reading this novel, and it mind-blowing story ever also the reader did a great job🔥🔥🙏🏿 thank you Grisham for this amazing work may God continue to bless your pen.

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