|
|
John Grisham
The Summons
Published February 2002 by Century at £17.99
ISBN: 0712684263
The new bestseller from the world's most popular author.
John Grisham's twelve novels A Painted House, The Brethren, The Testament, The Street Lawyer, A Time to Kill, The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Chamber, The Rainmaker, The Runaway Jury and The Partner have all been number one bestsellers, and over 90 million copies have been sold worldwide. Five have been made into blockbusting movies and Grisham is widely believed to be the most popular author writing in the world today.
John Grisham graduated from Law School in 1981 and for nine years ran his own law firm. Following the extraordinary success of The Firm, John Grisham gave up his practice to write full time. He lives with his wife and two children in Mississippi and Virginia.
Praise for John Grisham's previous novels:
A Painted House:
'Characters no reader will forget ... and a drop-dead
evocation of a time and a place that mark this novel as a
classic' Publishers Weekly
The Brethren:
'Grisham spins out a compelling and beautifully written
thriller ... it's
all absolutely brilliant' Independent on Sunday
The Testament:
'A compulsory page-turner with a subterranean plot as old and
potent as myth' Malcolm Jones, Newsweek
|
|
Don Hale
Town Without Pity
Published March 2002 by Century at £14.99
ISBN: 071261530X
Don Hale with Hamish and Marika McGreggor
In 1973 in the picturesque market town of Bakewell, in a
graveyard
Wendy Sewell was brutally and bloodily murdered.
Stephen Downing was then seventeen - but, with learning
difficulties he had the reading age of eleven - and was
working as a gardener in the graveyard. He was taken to
the police station, interrogated for 9 hours without access
to a solicitor and signed a confession he could not
understand. Forever afterwards and during his 27 years
in jail he maintained his innocence, even though he was
offered his freedom if only he would say he was guilty.
Here was a picture of innocent suffering. While in prison
he educated himself, and wrote an account of the day of
the murder and what had followed.
Six years ago the editor of the local newspaper, a former
professional footballer called Don Hale, was approached
by Stephen Downing's parents. He began to learn of all
the evidence, including witness statements, which
seemed to show a version of the events of the day of the
murder, which contradicted the official version evidence
which the police had seemed to discount. Who was the
blond man seen running away from the murder scene
covered in blood? Which married local bigwigs had been
having affairs with Wendy Sewell? Had someone been
getting drunk in the pub and boasting he'd been the one to
finish her off? Everyone in the town seemed to have a
theory as to who the real culprits were. As Don Hale
continued his private investigation he was followed,
threatened and attempts were made on his life. The
police and authorities were hostile too.
This is the story of how one man, operating on his own,
fought tirelessly and courageously against some of the
most powerful men in this small community and within
the British Government in order to piece together the
evidence - and how his heroism eventually secured the
release of Stephen Downing.
|
|
Stephen Hunter
Pale Horse Coming
Published March 2002 by Century at £17.99
ISBN: 0712620141
Earl Swagger is back in a searing follow-up to the bestselling Hot Springs.
The Year is 1951. A smooth-talking Chicago lawyer has
come to chat with Sam Vincent, a former prosecutor,
about a dangerous unknown - a prison for violent black
convicts in Thebes, Mississippi, a place of many
questions but no answers. Would Sam, a white man and
a Southerner, be willing to investigate?
When Sam vanishes in the mists and swamps, his old
friend Earl Swagger packs his gun and heads to Thebes
where he discovers sinister secrets that go far beyond the
prison walls. The whole town guards itself from nosy
strangers with a private army of brutal, gun toting, Klan-
type thugs and rednecks. After barely escaping, Earl
vows to right things and reclaim Thebes from the throes
of a sinister conspiracy. But first, he enlists just a little
help from his friends.
Featuring the same fast-paced action and page-turning thrills that made Hot Springs a bestseller, Pale Horse Coming is a triumphant successor.
Stephen Hunter is the author of eleven novels, including Hot Springs, Time to Hunt, Black Light and Dirty White Boys. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.
Praise for Hot Springs:
'Hunter has written a powerful, sweeping story. His prose has that
rare visual quality that takes the action off the page and into the
mind.' Publishers Weekly
'Stories of passion, guilt and redemption that jump right
off the
page and smack the reader clean between the eyes.'
Independent on Sunday