Sycamore Row.

• Author: Rogers, C.D.

Sycamore Row

By John Grisham

Jake Brigance--still 35, though we followed his victory 25 years ago in John Grisham's first novel, A Time to Kill--promises his jurors in Clanton, MS, "This will be the shortest closing argument in the history of this courtroom." He then reviews the plot-narrative.

Seth Hubbard hangs himself from a sycamore tree. This loner, a timber man with two estranged and greedy adult children and two ex-wives unnamed ("since they got virtually everything in the divorces"), writes a new will leaving 5 percent to the church and 90 percent of his $20 million-plus to his black housekeeper Lettie Lang. Jake receives this handwritten will, which replaces the conventional will about 24 hours after Seth's death.

Jake later tells his jurors that "many of us have wondered why Seth did what he did. Now we know. Now it's clear." That assertion ends the 47th of 48 chapters in Grisham's novel. It's worth a read to know both why and what.

What do we know from reading this sequel, occurring about three years from the Carl Lee Hailey trial in Clanton in A Time to Kill? Jake's house has been burned by the KKK. The four clan members are receiving parole while a dozen more should have been convicted. Jake has armed himself, he needs money, and his wife and daughter share his anxiety. The jury, once again, looks predominantly white. But Jake remains the heroic lawyer. Seth's letter explains why he chose Jake to handle his estate: "[B]ecause you have the reputation of being honest and I admired your courage during the trial of ... Hailey. I...