John Grisham, author of 50 consecutive best sellers, mostly in the genre of legal thrillers, has changed the game with his soon-to-be-released novel “The Widow.”
Grisham, who will be the opening speaker at the Book Festival of the MJCCA on Oct. 22, said while his novel “The Widow” is the first effort in the mystery novel genre, all of his books “have an element of mystery.”
“The Widow” is inspired by the 1987 book “Presumed Innocent” by Scott Turow, coincidentally the novel that inspired Grisham to finish his first novel, “A Time to Kill,” which was published in 1989.
“This is the first time I’ve worked on an old-fashioned ‘whodunit’ with a lawyer on trial with the question, ‘Did he do it?'” Grisham told Rough Draft Atlanta.
Writing the book, however, didn’t actually go to plan, like Grisham’s other novels normally do.
‘One of my rules is to never write the first scene without knowing the end,” he said. “When I finished ‘The Widow,’ both my wife and my editor hated the ending.”
After the pushback, Grisham wrote 25,000 more words “to get there” with an alternative ending.
Did his wife like it? “She came around in the end because she hated the first [version] so much,” he said.
The main character in “The Widow,” Simon Latch, is a rural Virginia lawyer, making just enough money to survive while his marriage slowly falls apart. Enter Eleanor Barnett, an elderly widow in need of a new will. Her husband secretly left her a small fortune, and Latch works quietly to keep her wealth a secret.
However, the secret starts to come out after Barnett is hospitalized after a car accident, and suddenly Latch finds himself on trial for murder – a crime he didn’t commit. His only recourse to prove his innocence is to find the real killer.
Grisham said while he might continue in the “whodunit” genre, even possibly bringing Simon Latch back for another book, he won’t stray too far from the law.
“I’m still fascinated by the law – that’s where I hang out,” he said. “Most of the things I read and watch have to do with the law, and the crazy things that lawyers do and experience provides all sorts of great inspiration.”
That tracks when looking at Grisham’s long-time involvement with the Innocence Project and Centurion Ministries, two national organizations dedicated to exonerating those who have been wrongfully convicted.
The Innocence Project, since its inception, has helped free or exonerate more than 200 individuals, “most of whom are from communities of color that tend to be more heavily policed, face persistent discrimination, experience poverty at higher rates, and are confronted with many more challenges in the criminal legal system,” according to its website. “Altogether, these people have spent more than 3,600 years behind bars.”
Centurion Ministries is another organization dedicated to the vindication of the wrongly convicted. Since 1983, according to its website, it has helped secure releases for 70 men and women who were serving life or death sentences for crimes they did not commit.
“The ideas are endless when it comes to wrongful convictions,” Grisham said. “It’s fertile ground, but it’s also what keeps me up at night.”
While his work as a board member means he’s not in the trenches with lawyers trying to reverse wrongful convictions, he said there’s “nothing so exciting as walking someone out” after the person is released from prison.
“But it’s also bittersweet to think about the waste of a young life,” Grisham said. “These are people who have survived and persevered.”
See Grisham in Atlanta
John Grisham, author of “The Widow,” will be in conversation with New York Times best-selling author Karin Slaughter on Oct. 22 at 7:30 p.m.
Slaughter is the author of more than 20 New York Times best-selling novels, including the Edgar-nominated “Cop Town” and stand-alone novels “The Good Daughter” and “Pretty Girls.”
An internationally bestselling author, Atlanta-based Slaughter is published in 120 countries with more than 40 million copies sold across the globe. “Pieces of Her” is now a #1 Netflix original series, “Will Trent” is now on ABC and streaming on Hulu, and “The Good Daughter” will soon be a limited series starring Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy.
Grisham’s “The Widow” will be on sale at the event and are pre-signed. There will not be a live book-signing session. Tickets can be purchased from the MJCCA website.