Sycamore Row

The edge-of-your-seat courtroom drama from the number 1 Sunday Times bestselling author

By: John Grisham

Narrated by: Michael Beck

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 page-turning 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 ninety 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'?

(P)2013 Random House Audio©2013 Belfry Holdings, Inc

Critic reviews

The best thriller writer alive (Ken Follett)

No one does it better than Grisham

Sycamore Row bristles with all the old authority....It's good to see the troubled attorney back

A gripping read

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.

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.

Excellent read

I have listened to this book twice now and I am sure I will do so again in the future.

John Grisham's yarn has always been my favourite

Where does Sycamore Row rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

top 10

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jake. Cool headed Lawyer..

Have you listened to any of Michael Beck’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

love Beck's narratives and looking for books that were narrated by him.

A towering epic. Grisham at the top of his game.

Wow! This story and the fabulous characters provide some insights we can only hope are purely fictious - yet the gnawing knot in our gut tells us that this is how the law can be used or abused - to dispense or deny justice. Absolute edge-of-the-seat stuff! Magnificently narrated (I'm tempted to say 'acted').