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Welcome to the final discussion of The Runaway Jury.

Did the book end like you thought it would? How surprised were you by everything that happened in the final chapters? Did you think the book had a satisfying ending? 

I was glad that Fitch and his team ended up losing the trial. I thought that Marlee and Nicholas were probably running a scam on him, but I wasn’t totally sure. I thought that it seemed like Nicholas had been leaning towards the prosecution throughout, so I was glad that he didn’t waver from that. I was disappointed that he stooped so low as to get two jurors kicked off the jury. And, I couldn’t believe that he was willing to poison Herman to get him off the jury. I know the poison wasn’t going to kill him, but still–that’s a pretty big line to cross!

What did you think when Marlee met with Fitch at the end to return the money? I wasn’t completely able to understand the section where Marlee is selling and buying stocks with the money, but I’m guessing she was just trying to disrupt the stock market with the tobacco industry to cause more harm? I assumed she was doing that to make even more money, but it doesn’t seem like that was what was happening. Do you think Marlee was justified in manipulating the jury due to her background and parents’ deaths? I could understand why watching her parents waste away would be really hard on her. I don’t think infiltrating a jury was the best way to deal with her grief, but I understand why she thought it was. 

I couldn’t believe that the jury awarded the plaintiff 400 million dollars. That is a crazy amount of money. Do you think it really did a lot of harm to the tobacco companies? I just always feel like big corporations like that always seem to land back on their feet, even after doing big pay outs. I know the end of the book hypothesizes that the problems in the stock market will bring about the end of the tobacco companies, but we know they still exist now, 30 years after this book was published. 

Were you surprised that Marlee and Nicholas were able to get the jury to agree to a verdict, even though there were so many different moving parts happening in this last section? So many people were working for themselves and had ulterior motives. And, so many characters had to leave the jury or think in just the right way to make the verdict happen. I think it was surprising that it all ended up coming together in the end! 

How would you rate the book? Did you enjoy it? Would you recommend it to a friend? If you liked this book and would like to read and watch similar titles, check out this list I created! Make sure to let me know if you check out anything on the list. 

Before you go, check out the video below to hear John Grisham talk about the inspiration behind his writing. 

I hope you enjoyed the book this month! Make sure to leave a comment to let me know what you thought. I hope you’ll join us again next month as we read A Gentleman in Moscow. I hope to hear from you in the comments!

Welcome to Week 3 of the Online Book Club discussion of The Runaway Jury.

Did you enjoy reading this section? I was glad that I got more information about Marlee and Nicholas. I feel like I understand a bit better when they are hoping will happen at the end of the trial. 

What do you think of Marlee? She definitely has a plan and is not intimidated by anyone. I thought she was so brave to stand up to Fitch, even after he started digging in her past life. She didn’t show him that she was scared. Were you surprised when she finally laid out her plan? She told Fitch that she and Nicholas could get the jury to agree to vote against the prosecution, as long as Fitch paid her enough. I was a little surprised. I knew that she and Nicholas had some sort of plan, but I really didn’t expect that they would be willing to manipulate a jury for money. I thought Nicholas had more morals than that. I wonder if there is more to the story. Do you really think Marlee has the same deal set up with the prosecution? I find it hard to imagine that Rohr and his team would be willing to work with someone like Marlee, but maybe they would. 

I really couldn’t believe how shady Fitch and his men were throughout this section. I couldn’t believe how they leaned on family members to ensure votes. The whole thing with Hoppy Dupree was especially sad because he seemed like a nice man that really wanted to do the right things. I don’t think he ever would have wanted to manipulate a jury had he not thought that he was caught in an FBI sting. I know he agreed to the manipulation, but it was under extreme duress. 

Did you expect that Fitch would send his goons back to Nicholas’s apartment? I was surprised that they were bold enough to go back there. And, I was surprised that Nicholas had left his computer and discs behind. I would think he would have wanted to keep those more safe. I really wasn’t expecting the men to set a huge fire as they left. They really could have hurt a lot of people. 

Do you think it sounds exciting or boring to be a part of a jury? I think it sounds kind of interesting, but it also sounds boring. I couldn’t believe how long some of the people talked while giving their testimony. I think it would be hard to listen and focus for that long. And, I think, for this trial, the scientific information could get a little tedious. I also think it would be hard to keep an open mind throughout the different testimonies. I think it would be really easy to make up your mind at the beginning and decide to not listen anymore. It would be hard to truly be impartial. 

One of the most surprising things to me was that the jury convinced the lawyers to pay for them to have an adventure around New Orleans. I wonder if that is something that actually happens! I couldn’t believe all of the perks the jury got throughout this section. 

What do you think is going to happen in the last section? Do you feel like you know how the book will end? Do you think you have all of the jurors figured out? Are you anxious to read the last section and finally figure out everything? 

Before you go, check out this interview in which John Grisham discusses other writers that inspire him. Have you read anything from one of the authors he mentions? 

Thanks for following along again this week. Don’t forget to leave a comment to let me know what you thought of the section! I’m excited to hear what you think of the ending of the book next week!

Welcome to Week 2 of the Online Book Club discussion of The Runaway Jury.

Did you enjoy the beginning of the book? I felt like I had so many questions about what was going on, so I felt impatient to read and find out more! I wish that the story had unfolded a little quicker, so I could have felt like I understood the story a bit quicker! I was just so confused about Nicholas Easter and what he was up to. I could tell he was important, obviously, but I wasn’t really sure what his end game was. 

How do you feel about the defense? They seem very sleezy to me. I just can’t believe the lengths they go to to get the outcome they want for the trial. They follow people, they break into Nicholas’s apartment, and they threaten people. Were you surprised that they were bold enough to go into Nicholas’s apartment? I wasn’t really, but I was surprised that Nicholas seemed ready for them and had an undetectable security system. Why would he think that they would come after him? How would he know that was a tactic they employed? Do you think real trials have that much deliberation over each jury member? I guess I didn’t realize how much thought went into selecting a jury. 

What do you think about Marlee? Why is she telling Fitch about Nicholas and his outfits? Why does she tell him any information about the jury? I don’t feel like knowing what Nicholas is going to wear tells anything about the trial. Is she just trying to get Fitch to trust her, and eventually, she will do more? Do you think she is friends with Nicholas? Is she working with him? I was frustrated not to know more about her by the end of this first section. 

It’s really interesting to read about the tobacco industry from 30 years ago. I feel like a trial like this wouldn’t be going on in present day because we know so much more about the dangers of smoking. I do think all of the scientific evidence presented in the courtroom would be pretty boring to hear, but it all seems pretty cut and dry. I wonder how the defense is going to combat all of the information the prosecution is presenting. 

At the end of this section, the jury has been sequestered. Why do you think Nicholas is excited about that? He seems to be the only one who thinks it’s a good idea. Do you think the jurors are going to get impatient to finish the trial so they can go home? Do you think they will have a harder time throughout the trial if they are together all the time? 

Do you have any guesses as to what is going on? What do you think will happen in the next section? Are you excited to read more? 

Before you go, check out the clip below to hear John Grisham talk about his books being made into movies. Do you think it’s interesting that authors don’t really have any control over how their story appears on screen? 

I hope you enjoyed this section! Make sure to leave a comment to let me know what you thought. Don’t forget to read through chapter 28 before checking back next week!

Welcome to Week 1 of the Online Book Club discussion of The Runaway Jury.

The Online Book Club, if you’ve never joined us before, is a book discussion group that takes place entirely online. Each week, I write a new blog post that talks about different aspects of the book, and you can interact directly with me and other readers by leaving your comments. Check back each week and see what new topics we’re talking about.

The Runaway Jury follows a tobacco trial in Mississippi in which a widow is suing the tobacco companies for causing her husband’s death. Both the defense and the prosecution try to build the perfect jury, investigating each member to figure out if they are sympathetic to the tobacco companies or not. Throughout the book, readers find out that the defense has many manipulative tactics to influence the jury and control the outcome of the trial. Juror #2 is a bit of an enigma to the defense–will his presence on the jury help or hurt their case? 

If you want to follow along with us but you aren’t interested in reading the book, you can always watch the movie version starring Dustin Hoffman. Check out the trailer above if you want to get a feel for the how the story plays out on screen. Feel free to still leave comments on the blog posts, even if you’re only watching the movie and not reading the book. 

We’ll be reading the first 14 chapters for next week, so make sure to read those before checking out the next post. I look forward to hearing from you in the comments!