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Gray Mountain
Gray Mountain: John Grisham | John Grisham
One week ago, Samantha Kofer was a third-year associate at New York City's largest law firm. Now she is an unpaid intern in a legal aid clinic deep in small-town Appalachia. When Lehman Brothers collapsed, she lost her job, her security, her future. As she confronts real clients with real problems, she finds herself a world away from her past life of corporate fat cats and fatter bonuses. This is coal country. Meth country. The law is different here. And standing up for the truth means putting your life on the line. America's greatest storyteller brings us a new masterpiece of legal courage and gripping suspense - and his finest heroine since The Pelican Brief.
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Blueberry
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Eggs I liked this one-love Grisham! 6mo
38 likes1 comment
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EngrMoks
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Mehso-so

Well, it is Grisham, and I adore his style and plots, and as his Serbian translator and editor for years, I must be honnest and say this is not his usual masterpiece... But he is only human after all.

But worth reading for sure!

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DcSunshine
Pickpick

I‘m a sucker for a Grisham book, but this one was more unique in its setting and focus. Enjoyable beach reads as always.

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fictionaddictbooks
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 📚👍🏻⛰ 3y
12 likes1 comment
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RenePenn
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Pickpick

I hadn‘t read a Grisham novel in years, but this audio version was available while I was waiting on another so I decided to check it out. Legal thrillers aren‘t really my thing (working in law office for 28 years taints them a little) but it was entertaining and had its emotional moments, and the characters felt real. I‘ll give this one a thumbs up.

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NatalieR
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Pickpick

Different from Grisham‘s previous legal thrillers. Samantha, a lawyer is laid off from a NYC firm and moves to Virginia coal country to intern for a legal aide clinic until the recession passes. Grisham does well bringing to light the irresponsible, destructive mountain top removal coal mining. I‘m not so sure he did well creating a strong female character, as advertised. I think he could‘ve used some help better representing Appalachia. #MountTBR

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Eggs
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Pickpick

Day 2
Lawyer protagonist gets downsized by corporate firm in NY, ends up in Virginia in the Appalachians as an intern for regional legal aid office. She‘s forced to change her outlook in an area where coal mining is big and so is addiction and lung disease. Fascinating story, with intense courtroom drama and rich characterization 👏🏻👏🏻 audio
#bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks
#marvellousmarchreadathon @Andrew65

TheAromaofBooks Great review!!! 4y
Eggs Thanks 😊 @TheAromaofBooks 4y
marleed Oh, I saw the pic and thought - I read this, now what was it about!? Your review brought it all back! I have a large stack of thrifted JG hardbacks that I‘m making my way through. It‘s really hard for me to recall by title alone what each one is about! 4y
See All 7 Comments
Andrew65 Coming along nicely. I need to read this. 4y
Eggs @marleed @Andrew65 Love JG❣️ (edited) 4y
marleed @Eggs I realized a reason I enjoy working though my JG stack.... most of my reading is by female authors for female readers. That‘s not deliberate, it just works out that way. When I read his books, it‘s interesting to realize he‘s not writing to a specific gender. Does that make any sense to you? (edited) 4y
Eggs It makes perfect sense. I think that‘s the beauty of it-he‘s just telling a great story and letting you see and know his characters regardless of gender. Justice that is so satisfying. Besides Gray Mtn, other examples: The Guardians, Camino, Time for a kill, time for mercy etc @marleed 4y
60 likes7 comments
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Buchbeeg
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Pickpick

John Grisham is just so easy to pick up and read. I began reading him at 11 and all these years later he still does not dissapoint.
A young New York lawyer's life gets turned upside down when she is let go at "Big Law" job. It lands her into the world of coal mining and legal aide.
Exciting, sad, and extremely well written.

marleed I like reading him too. I have a tall stack of thrifted hardbacks that I pick up from my library bookstore, and I seem to add more than I read! I realize I tend to read fiction written for women - and I‘m keenly aware while reading his books that his audience is both male and female. 4y
Buchbeeg @marleed Oh I do that same thing! My to be read lost is ridiculous, but I am always buying more! I don't think I've ever thought about it, but you are totally right about his audience. 4y
22 likes2 comments
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ZCP91
Mehso-so

Kinda boring.

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Jerdencon
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Needed something easy to read and found this at home. Haven‘t read John Grisham in ages and I forgot how good his books are.

Prairiegirl_reading I usually read one in the summer but it‘s been a few years. I will get to one this year for sure!! 5y
48 likes1 comment
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marleed
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Pickpick

This plot was predictable- young female NYC corporate lawyer loses job during fallout of 2008 and moves to rural coal-mining Virginia for a year of unpaid legal assistance. Then can she make a difference, and will she stay or will she go. I enjoyed it, and it was an easier piece of mining fiction while I work through my mining non-fiction.

#ReadTheUSA2020 Virginia

58 likes1 stack add
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Lynnsoprano
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Pickpick

I‘m not a big Grisham fan, but I really enjoyed this. There is a lot about strip mining, black lung, and how despicable the coal companies are. Hubby grew up in coal country, so this was sad, but not surprising. The story meanders a bit and, typically, Grisham has problems with the ending. But it‘s definitely worth reading.

69 likes2 stack adds
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Lynnsoprano
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The horror was in the waiting—the unknown, the insomnia, the ulcers.

Really enjoying this book.
#firstlneFridays

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Lynnsoprano
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This was a Christmas gift from hubby, who was attracted by the coal mining town setting since he grew up in one. A bit of a change of pace for me, but here goes!

62 likes2 stack adds
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LatrelWhite
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7 likes1 stack add
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Texreader
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monalyisha The cutest! 5y
batsy Looks exactly like my mum's handwriting ❤️ 5y
76 likes2 comments
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paulareadsallthetime
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Pickpick

Good book!! Enjoyed listening to it at work.

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emilycoc
Pickpick

It's another case of leave-the-big-firm-for-the-little-guy, but the protagonist was a female and there was more to it than just courtroom drama. A+!

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emilycoc
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This is a re-read (of course) but it has a special place in my heart because it's the last book my grandmother gave me. She was in the hospital at that time and we swapped paperbacks (I don't remember what I was reading). Shortly thereafter, she got her bed in a nursing home. Thanksgiving weekend last year is when we buried her, so I'm going to read it and remember her.

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Librarybelle
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@Cinfhen is kindly hosting a #shelfspacegiveaway . Thank you!

If a winner, I would be interested in shelf 1. ❤️

Cinfhen Best of luck ☘️💕 6y
54 likes1 comment
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Booksniffer
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Mehso-so

Samantha Kofer, the protagonist, is required to intern for a year with a nonprofit to keep her seniority and health benefits at the prestigious law firm that has just laid her off. After ten rejections due to the recession, she is welcomed in coal country in Brady, Virginia. This shows the reader strip mining, black lung disease and other ugly coal mining realities. It was easy to read but i kept wanting something to happen.

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mskbp
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Panpan

This was an audio book and the reader was great. But I just didn‘t like this book. It came off as preachy instead of relying on the story to carry a message. We got to know the main character, but the other characters weren‘t very developed. The people in the town weren‘t painted in a very good light and they needed rescuing from the big city lawyer. Not my favorite Grisham novel.

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Skeeterisme
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Pickpick

Tame but interesting.

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Leeback
Panpan

We get it -- strip mining is bad.

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readingallthetime
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It's been a while since I have read a Grisham book. It's time to tackle my backlog of Kindle books so I decided on this book. I started yesterday afternoon.

4 likes1 stack add
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cathysaid
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Panpan

So much potential, yet completely disappointing. I stopped reading Grisham several years ago because it seemed he peaked with his first four books; however, since this one is set in Appalachia, I gave him another chance. Sadly, his prose is formulaic, plot is predictable, and ploys to appeal to the reader's emotions are transparent. Giving up Grisham for good. 👎👎 #audiobooks #fiction

Cinfhen Nice review, I'm not ready to bail on Grisham entirely- I just stopped shelling out $ for his books! He still deserves a library request ( sometimes) I have not read this novel & I think I'll skip it. 8y
Reagan Skip it! It had promise but failed to deliver on all counts. I loved his early stuff so much that I keep buying. I have hope he will stun us again🙌🏻 8y
cathysaid @Cinfhen It could have been such a good book about coal mining and Appalachia. But I can't help comparing his work to the Pelican Brief and A Time To Kill...nothing new ever measures up! 8y
cathysaid @Reagan-reads Agreed! 8y
34 likes4 comments
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LisaJo
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#photoadaynov16 #threwitacrosstheroom I always enjoy a Grisham book. But, when he killed off a character unexpectedly, at the end of the chapter, in a paragraph with a single sentence, I was not pleased. And, it was a character he had written for us to love. I know books manipulate our feelings, but this was just too much for me.

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Yenya1954
Mehso-so

This story from John Grisham is an author whose stories bring court room drama. Gray Mountain is not my favorite novel of his. I did find all the information about coal industry interesting. This book had some difficulty keeping my attention so it took me weeks to finish reading it. Nevertheless, I really like John Grisham and I will continue to read his novels.

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Lexeegee
Mehso-so

just an "okay" book rather slow and more than a little anticlimactic

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Reagan
Mehso-so

Not my favourite Grisham. I would have liked more time in the courtroom, and I think it's ripe for a sequel. Fingers crossed there is at least one more book that wraps things up.

LisaJo I agree. I was very upset when he killed off one of the characters, in my opinion, right out of the blue. I character really was getting to enjoy. I also thought he might be trying to make it the first of the series. But, now I think he may do that with Rouge Lawyer too. 8y
Reagan @LisaJo Ooh, I liked Rogue Lawyer. That would be good. I would look more fondly on this book of it was the start of a series. And I agree with you, that came completely out of left field. 8y
25 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Reagan
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I've been having some trouble getting invested in a new book this week. Thankfully, I got this new(ish) Grisham that I somehow had not read yet and am settled in for the night. I love a good legal thriller!

Demanda This book is scary accurate about what it's like to work for a Legal Aid office in a rural area. 8y
Reagan @Demanda that would not surprise me at all. I really liked the premise, and I'd like to read more about it. 8y
33 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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KKimber
Panpan

Unfortunately, this was not a winner. I actually stopped reading to look at the cover and verify that John Grisham was the author. The writing felt rushed, and told instead of showed, glossing over entire scenes. The main character didn't seem to give much of a rip about anything.