John Grisham

I could not remember the first time I read a Grisham novel. I probably must have been in Class VIII when I read "The Partner" the first Grisham novel that I read. I enjoyed reading the novel so much that I started reading every Grisham novel that I could lay my hands upon.

His style of writing is impeccable and his name today has become synonymous with the modern legal thriller. He is the one who kindles my interest in legal cases and introduces me to the exciting world of courtroom dramas. The Partner and the Firm are his best novels to date in my view.

Graham, born on February 8,1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, as a child dreamed of being a professional baseball player. But life has other plans for him. He majored in accounting at Mississippi State University. After graduating from law school at Ole Miss in 1981, he went on to practice law for nearly a decade in Southaven, specializing in criminal defense and personal injury litigation. In 1983, he was elected to the state House of Representatives and served until 1990.

He is now in the process of writing his first nonfiction book which is as yet untitled. It is the story of Ronald Keith Williamson who was convicted, sent to death row, and came within five days of being executed by lethal injection fora murder he did not commit. After twelve years in prison , he was freed in 1999 but continued to struggle with psychiatric disorders.He died at the age of 51 on December 4, 2004.

Mr Grisham read his obituary in The New York Times , and found it impossible to forget. As he says, "Not in my most creative hour could I imagine a story as compelling as Ron Williamson's." With the full cooperation of the Williamson family, Mr Grisham will recount the murder, its aftermath, the trial, the imprisonment, and the exoneration.

The novel will be published by Doubleday in the US and Canada in 2006 and as a Dell paperback the following year.