The price goes up and down, doesn’t it? When the price is high there’s not enough cotton and when it’s low there’s too much of it. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.” On an unremarkable morning in October 1946, Pete Banning, decorated war veteran and one of the town of Clanton, Mississippi’s favorite sons, left his farm and drove to the Methodist church and, without fanfare, shot and killed the minister, Dexter Bell. He returned home, offering no explanation for his action. The Reverend Dexter Bell had been preaching at the Clanton Methodist Church since three months before Pearl Harbor. It was the third church of his ministry, and he would have been rotated onward like all Methodist preachers but for the war. Shortages in the ranks had caused a shifting of duties, an upsetting of schedules. Normally, in the Methodist denomination, a minister lasted only two years in one church, sometimes three, before being reassigned. Reverend Bell had been in Clanton for five years and knew it was only a matter of time before he was called to move on. Unfortunately, the call did not arrive in time. John Ray Grisham Jr., popularly known as John Grisham, is an American attorney and award-winning author of legal thrillers, young adult and non-fiction books.

I suppose.” He had toyed with the idea of warning his sister of what was to come, but she would react badly, beg him not to do it, become hysterical, and they would fight, something they had not done in years. The killing would change her life dramatically, and on the one hand he pitied her and felt an obligation to explain. But on the other, he knew that it could not be explained, and attempting to do so would serve no useful purpose. Note on the content: the story takes place during and post WWII with narrative taking place in both the American South and the Pacific Theater. Grisham wrote it to keep true to the attitudes and the dialogue of the time period. This means that some words and opinions are controversial and could be upsetting. If you are okay with prose content being raw for the sake of realism, you should be fine. But, if you think this might make you uncomfortable, approach with caution. The quest for justice is only the beginning in this Southern-family saga… Grisham does so much more this time around.”

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En la tercera, "Traición", vamos a conocer los motivos que Pete Banning tenía para cometer el crimen, así como las consecuencias para su familia. The mystery of why Pete shot Dexter Bell is the central focus of this story as every aspect of his life is examined. He had only returned the year before after having served in the Philippines and been captured by the Japanese and spent time as a POW and was missing, presumed dead before his miraculous rescue. The story gets the dynamics and tone of the era right, especially this Southern community and its residents. There’s family drama, courtroom action and small town politics that mix to make this a familiar Grisham brew. But the real heart of the book is the chronicling of Pete’s action in the Philippines, the part of World War II that rarely gets the level of attention given to the European and Japanese counterparts. It was brutally honest, graphic and enlightening. Keith Rudy and Hugh Malco grew up in Biloxi in the sixties and were childhood friends, as well as Little League all-stars. But as teenagers, their lives took them in different directions. Keith’s father became a legendary prosecutor, determined to “clean up the Coast.” Hugh’s father became the “Boss” of Biloxi’s criminal underground. The Banning home, a splendid Colonial Revival built by Pete’s parents before the crash in 1929, sat on Highway 18, south of Clanton. The county road had been paved the year before with postwar federal money. The locals believed that Pete had used his clout to secure the funding, but it wasn’t true. Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival.

Whew! This was like 3 separate stories rolled into one. It was the story of Pete shooting Dexter and then his murder trial. The second section was in hindsight - Pete's stint in WWII and his time in the Philippines as a guerilla. Then thirdly the last section which was mainly about Pete's kids - Joel and Stella - and the heartache and confusion after Pete's trial.It takes a while, but Grisham devotes a big chunk of the novel (a section at timesmore reportorial than riveting) to recounting Lt. Banning’s years in the Philippines.He is MIA, presumed dead, before he comes home, wounded. The hurricane is devastating: Homes and condos are leveled, hotels and storefronts ruined, streets flooded—and a dozen people lose their lives. One of the apparent victims is Nelson Kerr, a friend of Bruce’s and an author of thrillers. But the nature of Nelson’s injuries suggests that the storm wasn’t the cause of his death: He has suffered several suspicious blows to the head. Las partes primera y tercera, sin estar a la misma altura, no desmerecen para nada a la segunda, que conforman en su totalidad una lectura APASIONANTE. Y no diré más, que ya es mucho.

Pete Banning, in his early 40s, is a man of few words. When he deliberately guns down Dexter Bell in his church office, he refuses to explain why. “I have nothing to say” is his refrain to the end. Pete’s guilt is never in doubt. A Southern Gothic tragedy about the decline and disgrace of a prominent and respected family who own a valuable plantation in rural Mississippi. Until now. Today would be the last day of his life as he knew it, and he had accepted this. He had no choice. After a tragedy, those with even the slightest connections to it often exaggerate their involvement and importance.”He dressed slowly, as always, his war‑wounded legs stiff and painful from the night, and made his way through the dark house to the kitchen, where he turned on a dim light and brewed his coffee. As it percolated, he stood ramrod straight beside the breakfast table, clasped his hands behind his head, and gently bent both knees. He grimaced as pain radiated from his hips to his ankles, but he held the squat for ten seconds. He relaxed, did it again and again, each time sinking lower. There were metal rods in his left leg and shrapnel in his right.

Lacy Stoltz is an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct. It is her job to respond to complaints dealing with judicial misconduct. After nine years with the Board, she knows that most problems are caused by incompetence, not corruption. He won’t listen.” Pete took a bite of his omelet. “I just want him to hurry up and graduate. I’m tired of paying tuition.” The story contains a perfect cast of characters and all were masterfully created, from Pete and his beautiful wife Liza, to his brave sister Florry and his two children Joel and Stella. I listened to this book on Audible and found the performance mesmerizing, although the story was somewhat long at 17 hour and 36 minutes. Me ha gustado mucho la ambientación en ese Mississippi rural de los años cuarenta del pasado siglo. Refleja a la perfección el tema de los prejuicios raciales. Clanton es una localidad en la que casi nunca se ha cometido un crimen. En palabras de sus policías, alguna pelea y el linchamiento de un chico negro, pero claro eso no cuenta, no era ilegal colgar a un chico de color en esa época. Por muy sabido que lo tengamos leerlo así de crudo te deja helada. Born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, Grisham holds a J.D. degree from the University of Mississippi, School of Law, one which he acquired in 1981.

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I've read many Grisham novels and have enjoyed the first several. And I've have even read one recently....last week to be more accurate. In that review, I couldn't quite name the thing that kept me from liking it like I've liked his older stuff. But now after reading this one, I think I know what that "thing" is. Why would a ­World War II hero, a prominent citizen inthe small town of Clanton, Mississippi, walk into his church in 1946 and coldly pump three bullets into the popular Methodist minister, a family friend?