John Grisham Books in Order

John Grisham is a masterful storyteller whose name has become synonymous with the modern legal thriller. Born on February 8, 1955, in Jonesboro, Arkansas, Grisham was raised by a construction worker and a homemaker. As a child, he dreamed of a career in professional baseball, but he shifted gears to major in accounting at Mississippi State University. After graduating from law school at Ole Miss in 1981, Grisham practiced law for nearly a decade in Southaven, specializing in criminal defense and personal injury litigation. His tenure in the state House of Representatives from 1983 to 1990 further honed his writing skills, which he nurtured during courtroom recesses and early morning hours. Grisham's breakout novel, A Time to Kill, was inspired by a harrowing courtroom testimony and took three years to complete, eventually published by Wynwood Press in June 1988.