I sauntered through the fiction section of our public library, looking (sort of) for something new to read. I stopped at the Gs. I've read a few of John Grisham's books over the years, but never any of his most notable legal dramas. I haven't watched the resulting movies, either. Was it time? Could I handle them? I opened up one of his newer titles and gasped at the LONG list of his publication credentials. How could I ignore the work of such a prolific and successful writer? How could I resist the prospect of combing through his entire catalog from beginning to end? And so my journey begins with his first book, A Time to Kill.

The setting is the fictional town of Clanton, the county seat of Ford County, in the northern part of Mississippi. Clanton's population is a mix of both black and white residents. We assume that this story takes place in the present day at the time of this writing, in the late 1980s. In hindsight, however, it wouldn't surprise us to believe that these events could still happen today.

Tonya Hailey, a 10-year-old African American girl, is kidnapped by two white rednecks. They take turns in raping and assaulting her, and then leave her for dead. She survives the attack, although she is both physically and mentally battered. It doesn't take long for Billy Ray Cobb and Pete Willard to be picked up and to be charged for the crime. The community is outraged, and emotions run high, across the racial divide. A crowd begins to assemble at the town square, near the courthouse.

Tonya's father, Carl Lee Hailey, is both an aggrieved father and an impatient man. He can't wait for justice to follow its own course. When he takes care of Cobb and Willard in his own way, he is immediately arrested. A black man has killed two white men because they raped his young daughter. Questions arise. Can Carl Lee get a fair trial in Ford County? Although his crime is morally justified, can he somehow be found not guilty? Will he ever be able to return to his home and to his loving family?

Enter white lawyer Jake Brigance, who has agreed to represent Carl Lee Hailey in this case. He expects to win.

Enter also all kinds of special interest groups, once this story hits the national news outlets. What began as a localized racial tinderbox becomes a dangerous firestorm. The courthouse crowd increases. Black Baptist congregations face off against members of the Ku Klux Klan. Reps from the NAACP and the ACLU show up. The media and curious bystanders get in the way. Threats turn into violence. And this is just what happens OUTSIDE the courtroom. Inside, the legal machinations become ever more complex. Eventually Jake has to wonder whether or not he can at least keep himself, his family, his associates and Carl Lee ALIVE by the time of the jury's verdict. Never mind, finding Carl Lee innocent of the crime. We have to wonder, too.

John Grisham practiced law for about a decade. At the same time, he served as a state representative in Mississippi. He knows both law and local politics. He has said that he once sat in a courtroom and witnessed the testimony of a young girl who faced similar circumstances to that of fictional Tonya Hailey, and that scene prompted him to write this book. Since then, he has written dozens of legal thrillers that became bestsellers. The man knows how to craft a story, and he knows the territory where his stories are placed.

At its core, A Time to Kill follows two crimes and the fallout from each one. But by clocking in at nearly 500 pages, this first novel offers much more. Be prepared to learn details of local laws and local politics. You'll meet lots of unique characters, some stereotypical and some not to type. You'll also be exposed to lots of racism, to the name-calling that goes with it, and to more violent acts, some of them particularly gruesome and disturbing. This isn't a cozy mystery. Yet it IS a compelling story that commands the reader to stay with it to the end. Whew!