Na pequena cidade de Clanton, no condado fictício de Ford, Mississippi em 1989, uma rapariga afro-americana de dez anos, tem a sua vida violentamente destruída por dois supremacistas brancos.
O pai destroçado e ultrajado, consulta o seu amigo Jake Brigance, um advogado branco que tinha anteriormente representado o seu irmão, sobre a possibilidade de ser absolvido caso aconteça algo aos dois homens.
Os dois criminosos são rapidamente presos e acusados de vários crimes relacionados com o ataque. O pai da menina, veterano decorado do Vietname, aplica nessa situação a lei com as suas próprias mãos.

Mas isto é Mississippi em 1989 e o caso é complicado pelo facto de a vítima e o seu pai serem negros enquanto os dois bandidos são brancos.
A população da cidade está uniformemente dividida entre negros e brancos e, embora a maioria das pessoas, independentemente da raça, condene as ações dos dois bandidos, a divisão deve-se à questão de saber se a justiça aplicada pelas próprias mãos do pai ser condenada ou alvo de receber uma medalha.

“ᴀɴᴅ ᴜɴᴛɪʟ ᴡᴇ ᴄᴀɴ ꜱᴇᴇ ᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴀꜱ ᴇQᴜᴀʟꜱ, ᴊᴜꜱᴛɪᴄᴇ ɪꜱ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴇᴠᴇɴ-ʜᴀɴᴅᴇᴅ. ɪᴛ ᴡɪʟʟ ʀᴇᴍᴀɪɴ ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴀɴ ᴀ ʀᴇꜰʟᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ᴏᴜʀ ᴏᴡɴ ᴘʀᴇᴊᴜᴅɪᴄᴇꜱ.”

O que se segue é um thriller de tribunal com violência alimentada por ambos os lados da divisão racial.

Culpado? Inocente?

Jake Brigance, jovem advogado que está desesperado pelo grande momento, aceita o caso apesar da sua natureza intimidante. Jake representa muitas qualidades éticas e profissionais que os advogados veneram.

Grisham é justo com ambos os lados, e é claro que conhece muito bem o cenário, as pessoas e a dinâmica da situação.
Estamos dentro da história e sentimo-nos ali mesmo em Clanton, Mississippi, a tentar esquivarmo-nos ao KKK e a marchar com todos os outros.
Há uma série de excelentes personagens neste romance e muito poucos são puros de alma.

Embora esta história se situe numa era passada, ainda é relevante para os dias de hoje, pois os preconceitos baseados na cor da pele, género e religião ainda estão presentes. Assim, perante isto, é uma história intemporal.
Envolvente e de ritmo rápido. Provocadora de opiniões. ( )

A Time to Kill is not for those with weak stomachs. In his first novel, John Grisham holds nothing back in describing man's inhumanity to man. If you like reading about violence that would make those with weak stomachs miss a meal, this is your book.

The premise of the book is a thought-provoking one: How would a Southern small town treat a crime by an African-American perpetrated with malice aforethought that it would have permitted a white southerner to get away with?

The book's best qualities are exploring the roots of racial prejudice. that being said I could have done with a little less of the "N" word but I have to keep in mind this was written in 1989.

For those who like legal thrillers where there's some action, this is far more than your usual courtroom drama. It comes closer to the kind of taut threat that permeated To Kill a Mockingbird. The only difference is that Grisham conjures up an intersection in time between the old and new South that never happened.

I found that the book was predictable in its over-the-top treatment of what would have made for good drama. But the extreme situations weakened the plot by making it seem unlikely. I suspect it was a writing method used to be sure that those who didn't know about the old South would appreciate the delicate nature of the emotions involved. ( )

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A Time to Kill by John Grisham is the first legal thriller featuring Jake Brigance. This is the first book Mr. Grisham wrote, that started him on his path to legal thriller stardom.

Carl Lee Hailey’s young daughter, Tonya, was raped and almost murdered by two career criminals in the small town of Clanton, Mississippi. When the two criminals were taken to court, Carl Lee ambushed and killed them.

Being that the two criminals were white, and Carl Lee is black, the case took on its own life. The KKK who had no representation in Clanton suddenly showed up, and so did thousands of African-Americans to show support and provide pushback to the Klan.

Lawyer Jake Brigance has been hired to defend Hailey. Jake knows this is a big case that can make or break his career. But Jake never thought of all the lives, including his, that could be lost or damaged.

I enjoyed this book very much. When I picked it up I didn’t realize it was Grisham’s first book until I read the preface. It was an interesting process, where working lawyer Grisham wrote chapter by chapter to give his wife to read.

A Time to Kill by John Grisham is very enjoyable and engaging. The story is interesting, the legal theories are fascinating, and the character are most believable.

I did think the book was too long, there were many sections which are unnecessary, or didn’t add anything to the story. I’m not talking about expanding the story with a few branches here and there, but sections which could have easily been deleted without being missed.

After reading about one quarter of the book I wasn’t sure how I felt about Jake Brigance. I don’t know if that’s how good guys talked and acted in mid-1980s Mississippi but, to me, it seemed unprofessional, almost as if the author plopped a lawyer out of the 1950 into the book’s time frame. Not to mention that Jake acts like a jerk to everyone in his life and keeps the company of other jerks.

It might be realistic to 1980s Mississippi; I have no idea. But why not make the main character somewhat relatable with shades of gray instead of hard-to-believe character flaws.

This is still an excellent book regardless of my pettiness. I can’t believe it’s his first book, as I’ve read later novels which I did not think were as good. ( )

Only my second Grisham book, but not my last. I really enjoyed it and the character, Jake Brigance. I can’t wait to watch the movie. This “very autobiographical” book (Grisham’s words) was inspired by lawyer Grisham’s witnessing the testamony of a 12-year-old rape victim in 1984 in Hernando, Mississippi. He spent three years writing the book and finished it in 1987. Not until the success of his second book, “The Firm,” did “A Time to Kill” fly off the bookshelves too. I was a little intimidated by the length (500 pages), but, like all of Grisham’s books, I was finished with it before I knew it. Great author, great book. ( )

Bellissimo.
Grisham non si smentisce e non mi delude mai!
Rileggerlo dopo anni non ne diminuisce in alcun modo il piacere della lettura. ( )