At this point, is there anything left to be said or written about John Grisham? With over 250 million copies of his books sold worldwide, eight novels adapted into feature films and a Galaxy British Book Award under his belt, Grisham is one of the most widely celebrated thriller writers of his time. However, it hasn't always been like that. Back in 1989, a then-unknown Grisham had to send his first novel – aptly named A Time to Kill – to 28 publishers before finally finding success with New York-based Wynwood Press, which published it in a modest first printing of 5,000 copies. Wynwood Press kicked the bucket shortly thereafter, but the book itself eventually sold out and became popular for both its undeniable quality and introducing the genius of John Grisham to the world.…show more content… The story begins with a brutal rape of a 10-year old black girl Tonya Hailey by two racist rednecks; while the perpetrators are quickly caught, the girls distraught father Carl Lee Hailey decides to take justice into his own hands. After murdering both assailants in cold blood, Carl Lee is charged with first-degree murder and imprisoned to await a trial. He quickly decides to put his fate into the hands of his old friend, Jake Brigance, a young white attorney modeled largely after Grisham himself. However, with a resurgence of the local Ku Klux Klan unit hellbent on seeking revenge against Carl Lee, it's anybody's guess whether the case will even get to the