The Innocent Man
  • Published: 1 June 2010
  • ISBN: 9781407059099
  • Imprint: Cornerstone Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 528

The Innocent Man

A gripping crime thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author of mystery and suspense

Formats & editions
Paperback
20 Dec 2018
Paperback
15 Aug 2017
EBook
1 Jun 2010
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Murder and injustice in a Small Town

***NOW A MAJOR NETFLIX SERIES***
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A gripping true-crime story of a shocking miscarriage of justice, from international bestselling thriller author John Grisham, author of A Time to Kill, The Firm and The Whistler.

In the baseball draft of 1971, Ron Williamson was the first player chosen from Oklahoma. Signing with Oakland, he said goodbye to his small home town and left for California to pursue his dreams of glory.

Six years later he was back, his dreams broken by a bad arm and bad habits - drinking, drugs and women. He began to show signs of mental illness. Unable to keep a job, he moved in with his mother and slept 20 hours a day on her sofa.

In 1982, a 21 year-old cocktail waitress, Debra Sue Carter, was raped and murdered, and for five years the crime went unsolved. Finally, desperate for someone to blame, police came to suspect Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz. The two were finally arrested in 1987 and charged with murder.

With no physical evidence, the prosecution's case was built on junk science and the testimony of jailhouse snitches and convicts. Dennis Fritz was found guilty and given a life sentence.

Ron Williamson was sent to Death Row.

But as Grisham methodically lays out, there was no case against him. Ron Williamson was wrongly condemned to die.

If you believe that in America you are innocent until proven guilty, this book will shock you. If you believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb you. If you believe the criminal justice system is fair, this book will infuriate you.
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In 2018, The Innocent Man was adapted by Netflix into a gripping six-part true crime series.
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'A master at the art of deft characterisation and the skilful delivery of hair-raising crescendos' - Irish Independent

'John Grisham is the master of legal fiction' - Jodi Picoult

'The best thriller writer alive!!' - Ken Follett

'John Grisham has perfected the art of cooking up convincing, fast-paced thrillers' - Telegraph

'Grisham is a superb, instinctive storyteller' - The Times

'Grisham's storytelling genius reminds us that when it comes to legal drama, the master is in a league of his own...' - Daily Record

'Masterful - when Grisham gets in the courtroom he lets rip, drawing scenes so real they are not just alive, they are pulsating' - Mirror

'A giant of the thriller genre' - TimeOut
  • Published: 1 June 2010
  • ISBN: 9781407059099
  • Imprint: Cornerstone Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 528
Categories:

Also by John Grisham

The Street Lawyer
A Time To Kill
The Pelican Brief
Skipping Christmas
The Associate
The Confession
The Appeal
See all

Praise for The Innocent Man

A true story, very well told – a true Grisham classic

London Evening Standard

A true story, very well told

i

horrifying, but gripping

EVENT magazine, The Mail on Sunday

Such strong emotions are, for me at least, the sign that a True Crime book has done a complete and comprehensive job of telling the story. I think the book will have wide appeal. Fans of John Grisham's fiction will not be disappointed and should definitely be enticed to make the move to his non-fiction. For those readers interested in the American justice system and the question of Death Row then I believe this book offers a close look into the inner machinations of that system. And for lovers of True Crime - like me, then this book is most certainly up there with some of the better ones I have read." 4 ½ star review

TheBookbag.co.uk

carefully plotted, absorbing

Real Crime

A blistering attack on corrupt politicians, the death penalty and the failures of the judicial system

The Daily Telegraph

A sincere, readable, lively book that raises important questions

The Times

A work of art...this is a terrible and beautiful book. The terror is in the casual ease with which men, for the meanest of motives, can carelessly condemn another human being to rot from the inside out. The beauty not only lies with Ron Williamson...but also the burning care and respect for his fellow man shown by Grisham, which permeates and warms every page

Sunday Express

At times it is harrowing, but above all, it is a testament to self-belief and the enduring love of his family

Daily Express

Grisham's own indignation and sorrow come through strongly, and there is a sense that this is a book he very much wanted to write.

Evening Standard

His prose is lean and fast-paced and his skilful sketches capture all you need to know about the characters. Grisham lets this gripping story tell itself.

Sunday Telegraph

Like Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, The Innocent Man brings a novelist's eye to re-creating a complex chain of events and human reaction surrounding a crime and its aftermath. There are plenty of twists and turns in this tale, but the dominant note is one of compassion for the innocent man.

Sunday Times

Spectacular

Mirror

Truth really is much more complex and interesting than fiction

The Mail on Sunday