the CONFESSION

An innocent man is about to be executed.  Only a guilty man can save him.  Will the real killer step forward before it's too late?

Weeks ago, I entered a giveaway at my dear real-life friend Karen's blog.  The prize?  A hardcover copy of John Grisham's latest novel The Confession.  Like all blog giveaways, Karen provided her readers tons and ways to enter; however, I just entered once by posting the title of my favorite John Grisham book:  The Client.

After that, I didn't think too much of it.  I knew winning would be a long shot given I only entered once.

One evening, Karen sent me a text that said:  "Be sure to read my blog tomorrow."

The suspense was killing me. 

The next morning, I went to her blog and found out I was one of her giveaway winners.  Awesome.  My first giveaway win EVER!

When I got the book, I'll admit, I wasn't way excited to read it.  I had sort of lost interest in John Grisham  awhile ago when his novels stopped keeping my interest.  His early novels like A Time to Kill, Pelican Brief and The Client were exceptional.  But, as time went on his work began to bore me.  While they were well written, the plots didn't grab me.

With that in mind, when I started reading The Confession the bar was set pretty low.  I began reading, then read some more.  When I wasn't reading it, I wanted to be reading.  I couldn't wait for my daughter's nap time and bedtime because that meant I could read.  In a nutshell, I was hooked.  What a page turner!

I finished the novel in 3 days.  That may seem like a normal amount of time for some people, but I am a slow reader.  I always have been.  So finishing the book in just 3 days is a great indicator of how much I loved it.

There are three reasons why I loved this book so much:

First, the plot.  Nothing too complicated.  An innocent man is in jail.  Only a guilty man can save him.  Will the real killer step forward before it is too late.  Clean.  Cut.  Simple.

Second, the writing.  It was easy reading, but definitely not something written for "young readers."  Through the writing, I was able to connect with the characters.  I was able to picture them in my mind as I flipped from page to page.  They were described so well that (and this is totally true) when I wasn't reading I thought about the characters and wondered how they were doing.  And then I had to remind myself that they were not real people.

Another example of how alive this book was to me was when I was talking to my dad one day.  We were going over the latest headlines and whatnot.  Suddenly, I remembered this case I had heard about that was really interesting.  Just as I started to open my mouth, I caught myself and realized "the case" I was going to tell  him was all from the book.  I kept thinking all of this was real.  It was so weird to have to remind myself over and over again that it was only a book.

So, I told him about the book instead and told him he had to read it.  :)

Last, the language.  I'm not a huge fan of tons of language in books.  I don't like reading the "F" word over and over again like in The Devil Wears Prada.  I don't like novels that are too graphic like I heard The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is.  It ruins it for me.  Call me crazy.  The language was perfect and details about the crime are tame.  Definitely PG-13 material.

If any of you are interested in a good read, pick up The Confession and give it a try.  You won't be disappointed!