By: John Grisham

 Grisham was a lawyer for 10 years. Specialized in criminal defense and personal injury claims.  Many of John Grisham’s novels are considered ‘courtroom thrillers’ because they have a legal background.  Thriller genre: a novel, play, or movie with an exciting plot, usually involving crime or spying.

 Someone who gets services or advice from a professional person, company, or organization  Also can be considered a customer.

 What do you see on the front cover?  What is the tone that is expressed by the characters on the front cover?  How do you think the boy is feeling? Why do you think this?  What do you think the story will be about?

 Stands for the Federal Bureau of Investigation  The police department in the US that is controlled by the central government  Deals with crimes that break national laws rather than state laws 

 A large organized group of criminals who control many illegal activities, especially in Italy and the US

 The American Mafia is an Italian-American organized-crime network with operations in cities across the United States, particularly New York and Chicago.  Came to power through its success in the illegal liquor trade during the 1920s Prohibition era.  After Prohibition, the Mafia moved into other criminal ventures, from drug trafficking to illegal gambling,  The Mafia’s violent crimes, secret rituals and notorious characters such as Al Capone and John Gotti have fascinated the public and become a part of popular culture.  The government tried to convict high-ranking mobsters and weaken the Mafia.  However, it remains in business today.

 1. Trailer: a vehicle that can be pulled behind a car and used as someone’s home  2. Tail pipe: a pipe on a vehicle or machine through which gas or steam passes  3. Urgently: doing something or dealing with something immediately (right away) because it is very important  4. Restless: unwilling to keep still or stay where you are, especially because you are nervous or bored

 5. innocent: not having much experience of the bad things in the world, so that you are easily deceived…*when talking about age  6. “full of holes”: an argument or plan that cannot stand up to challenge because it has many problems or missing pieces  7. “go mad”: go crazy  8. Prison: a building where people are kept as a punishment for a crime, or while they are waiting to go to court for their trial  9.Trial: a legal process in which a judge and often a jury in a court of law examine information to decide whether someone is guilty of a crime

 10. shiny: smooth and bright  11.senator: a member of the Senate (the smaller and more important of the two parts of the government with the power to make laws)  12. fingerprints: a mark made by the pattern of lines at the end of a person's finger, which is used by the police to find out who has committed a crime  13. thief: someone who steals things from another person or place  14. “The lift”: an elevator

 Mark: Protagonist Witnessed Jerome Clifford’s death Knows where the senator’s dead body is hidden  Ricky: Mark’s younger brother Also witnessed Jerome Clifford’s death Is in shock after witnessing Jerome’s death In the hospital from the shock

 Jerome Clifford: Barry the Blade’s lawyer Killed himself out of fear of Barry  Barry Muldanno Member of the New Orleans Mafia Killed a US Senator and hid the body in Jerome’s garage  Roy Foltrigg: U.S. government lawyer Job= prove that Barry killed the senator Traveling to Memphis to investigate

 Slick Moeller (Alfred) Crime reporter for the Memphis Press Wants to know more about Jerome Clifford’s death Crime is his life  Jay McThume: FBI Memphis detective working on the case  Larry Trumann: FBI New Orleans detective working on the case  Gill Teal: Lawyer that Mark sees in the hospital café Mark took his business card from the table.