The Pelican Brief

by John Grisham

Book Overview

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER - In suburban Georgetown a killer's Reeboks whisper on the front floor of a posh home... In a seedy D.C. porno house a patron is swiftly garroted to death... The next day America learns that two of its Supreme Court justices have been assassinated. And in New Orleans, a young law student prepares a legal brief...

To Darby Shaw it was no more than a legal shot in the dark, a brilliant guess...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385421982
• ISBN13: 9780385421980
• Release Date: February 1992
• Publisher: Doubleday Books
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.17 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

The Pelican Brief

How would you like it if a paper you wrote was getting your loved ones killed left and right and someone was after you? You probably wouldn't like it, would you? Well, welcome to the world of Darby Shaw, a brilliant law student at Tulane law school. When two Supreme Court justices are murdered, Darby thinks she knows the answer. So she writes a brief about it... "The pelican brief". The FBI gets the brief and somehow it falls into the wrong hands. First Darby's professor and boyfriend, Thomas Callahan is blown to bits by a car bomb. Then one of Thomas' friends (and FBI lawyer) Gavin Veerheek is murdered trying to help Darby. Darby is forced to go on the run, dying her hair, paying with only cash, and doing everything she can to avoid capture. Will Darby survive? Read The Pelican Brief and find out! In this book, John Grisham does an amazing job of portraying the feelings of the main character, Darby. This book is a fast moving thriller as it takes Darby's across the U.S. in her struggles to stay alive. I loved this book! This is one mystery/thriller that I couldn't put down. You can tell Grisham is a lawyer because of his knowledge about the legal system. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a suspenseful, well-written book. Just like in another of his books, The Firm, Grisham has constructed a tantalizing plot that makes The Pelican Brief soar!

THE PELICAN BREIF

John Grisham's 1991 novel THE FIRM drew unprecedented praise from reviewers, booksellers and readers across America, and it quickly became the top bestseller of the year. Now Grisham is back with The Pelican Brief, an irresistible story that begins with the simultaneous assassinations of two Supreme Court Justices... Late one October night Justice Abe Rosenberg, at ninety - one the Supreme Court's liberal legend, is shot in the head while sleeping in his Georgetown home. Two hours later Glenn Jensen, the Court's youngest and most conservative justice, is strangled, possibly by the same assassin. The country is stunned and baffled; the FBI has no clues. But Darby Shaw, a brilliant law student at Tulane, thinks she has the answer. Days of digging in the law libray's computers have led her to an obscure connection between the two justices. She fleshes out her beliefs in a meticulous though wildly speculative brief that builds a strong case against a most unlikely suspect. Her suspect has powerful friends. one evening, outside a New Orleans restaurant, she narrowly escapes an assassin's car bomb. Someone has read her brief. Someone who wants her dead. Alone and frightened, Darby disappears into the anonymous shadows of the French Quarter. After reading an alarming story about the assassinations in the Washington Post, she contacts investigative reporter Gray Grantham and convinces him that Washington's position the killings amounts to the biggest cover - up since Watergate. Together they go underground, on the run, trying to stay alive long enough to expose the real truth in The Pelican Brief. Featuring the unique mix of legal intrigue and page - turning suspense that drove The Firm to the top of the bestseller lists, The Pelican Brief is sure to be one of the most popular and satisfying novels of the year.

The Pelican Brief

The pelican brief is a slow but exiting book which is the base of the book for the movie: The Pelican Brief. Most of my friends watch the hit series Law & Order and so do I. So when I asked my Librarian if there were any books like it, he told me books by John Grisham. I got hooked into the book really fast. Some people dont realize what happens in the complicated world of politics, internal affairs, and what hey do to get their job down. I suggest this book who is interested in the Law or what they do.]

The Brown Pelican by Emily

"The Pelican Brief" by John Grisham is an exciting novel with an amazing plot. It begins by introducing the character Khamel, a crazed killer who is paid to murder two Supreme Court Justices, named Rosenberg and Jensen, both who have received many death threats but refuse to let the FBI protect them. In New Orleans at Tulane University, Darby Shaw, an attractive second year law student, was trying to sove the mystery behing the killings. Darby had a thirteen page brief on who she thought killed the justices. The brief was passed on to many people and it finally came to the President, who after reading the report became very scared. The FBI wanted to pursue the lead, but after a phone call from the President that told them to back off it, they decided to look at other suspects. In the meantime, reporter Gray Grantham received a call in the middle of the night from "Garcia" who said that he might know something about the case. Darby was on a date with her lover/professor when he got a little too drunk to drive. Darby insisted that she drive or walk, and to her surprise, he told her to walk. When the professor got into his car and started the engine, the car exploded, killing him on the spot. Darby called a friend of the professor, Gavin, and told him what happened because he was the first to see the brief which was later named "The Pelican Brief". Through all of this chaos, Darby managed to stay alive and found time to meet Gray Grantham in Washington D.C. He learned her entire story and in order to confirm it all, they had to find "Garcia". They knew that he was a lwyer at a small firm in Washington D.C., so they asked the many interns there if they recognized a picture of him. One out of seven did, so they go to meet him. To their surprise, "Garcia" was mugged and killed on the streets. "The Pelican Brief" is a wonderful book that contains a variety of charaters and twists that I think everyone should read. This book has just about every element that makes up a good book; suspense, mystery, murder, law, and love all put together in a perfect mixture that will make your head spin. John Grisham is an awesome writer and I look forward to reading more of his fantastic novels.

A book that is one in a million!

This is the best book John Grisham has written yet and I am a BIG fan. The Brief, written by a law student got her into a whole lot of trouble. Yet the FBI didn't even take it seriosly when her lover was blown up. Like I said in the beginning, this is one book you just have to read!