Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: John Grisham read-alikes

Looking for books like John Grisham's The Confession, or his many other legal thrillers? Try:

Grudge Match by Jay Brandon - Questioning the legal system when DNA evidence clears a police officer of a crime for which he was imprisoned eight years earlier, San Antonio district attorney Chris Sinclair wonders who is telling the truth after two additional murders occur. Also try Running with the Dead by the same author.
Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly - Representing some unsavory characters in his work as a defense lawyer, Mickey Haller takes on his first high-paying and possibly innocent client in years, but finds the case complicated by events that suggest a particularly evil perpetrator. This book has a film adaptation, available on DVD and on blu-ray at your Community Library.
Bodily Harm by Robert Dugoni - Attorney David Sloane is back seeking vengeance for the death of a young boy, in a thriller by the best-selling author of Wrongful Death.
Letter of the Law by Tim Green - After defense attorney Casey Jordan gets her client, a brilliant but arrogant professor, acquitted of the murder of a law student, she discovers that her client is guilty and is forced to make a choice between justice and the law.
Moment of Truth by Lisa Scottoline - Mary is a lawyer with an unusual problem. Her new client, Jack Newlin, is an innocent man claiming to be guilty. Now she finds herself risking her own life to discover why a man would frame himself for his wife's murder.
Reversible Errors by Scott Turow - Corporate lawyer Arthur Raven defends the reopened case of a death-row inmate who may be innocent, while prosecuting attorneys Muriel Wynn and Larry Starczek fight for a conviction they still believe is deserved.

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Genre: Adult Non-Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

"Being Mortal is about the limitations of what modern medicine can provide for people as their lives draw to a close. Gawande argues that the objective of medicine should not merely be treatment and survival; medical care should also ensure dignity in death and having control over one's final moments. He argues that instead of aggressively fighting the inescapable realities of aging, we should ask the hard questions of ourselves and our loved ones -- What makes life worth living? When should we try to extend our lives, and when should we choose a better quality of our remaining days over extending their quantity?

This book is difficult to read. Not because of the way Gawande writes -- his style is highly engaging, and he never lapses into excessively scientific jargon or overly simplistic explanations -- but because of the tough subject matter. Gawande draws on his own experiences as a doctor and peppers his book with honest and humane stories of his patients, friends, and family; the stories he tells make the book more accessible, and also more heartbreaking. (And that's not a bad thing.)

No one likes to think about their loved ones', or their own, impending mortality. But it's important to have these hard conversations, because as Gawande says, "endings matter." - Amanda

John Grisham read-alikes

1 comment: