A Time to Kill is a 1989 novel by John Grisham. The life of a ten-year-old girl is shattered by two drunken and remorseless young men. The mostly white town of Clanton in Ford County, Mississippi, reacts with shock and horror at the inhuman crime — until the girl’s black father acquires an assault rifle and takes justice into his own outrage hands. For ten days, as burning crosses and the crack of sniper fire spread through the streets of Clanton, the nation sits spellbound as young defense attorney Jake Brigance struggles to save his client’s life — and then his own.
The fact that this book is over 30-years-old but is still relevant today is shocking and sickening to me. One of the main points of this book was that Carl Lee Hailey, the father, was put on trial because he was black. It is reiterated that if the father had been white he would not have even had a trial. Just last year we faced a similar scenario in regard to race. When George Floyd was murdered by a white police officer the point was made several times that if the two men’s races had been reversed there would be no question as to whether a black police officer would be found guilty of murder a white civilian and that the events following the murder would not have lasted as long as they did for George Floyd.
I rated this book five stars on Goodreads. This book was slow at some points. Grisham repeated a lot of details and there was a lot of filler or fluff throughout the book. Yet, there was information that I felt was important to the story was left out. John Grisham is an excellent writer and about halfway thorough the book I forgot that I was reading a fiction novel, I became invested in the characters and I did become sick to my stomach the closer I got to the end of the novel in anticipation of the verdict. If the legal system is something that interests you or if you’re in the search for a good book, I highly recommend this book.
In 1996, A Time to Kill was adapted into a movie. The movie stars Matthew McConaughey and Samuel L. Jackson. I personally preferred the book, however, the movie did fill in some of the questions that the book failed to answer. The movie felt rushed at some points and dragged on in others. I think I would have enjoyed the movie more if I had not read the book and had just watched it alone.
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