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Order of John Grisham Books
Born on February 8, 1955, in Jonesboro, Arkansas, John Ray Grisham Jr. wasn’t exactly the kid you’d peg to become one of the most bankable authors in the world. He grew up bouncing between blue-collar towns in the American South — the son of a construction worker and a homemaker — absorbing the rhythms of rural life, which would later saturate his fictional courtrooms with authenticity and grit.
Grisham earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Mississippi State University in 1977 — a field far removed from dramatic last-minute verdicts and backroom legal maneuverings. But something about the law pulled him in. He went on to get his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981, where he reportedly dreamed of one day arguing a case before the Supreme Court. Spoiler alert: he never did. But he did do something else — something most lawyers only fantasize about between tedious depositions and clogged dockets.
By the early 1980s, Grisham was a practicing attorney and part-time legislator in Mississippi, quietly toiling in a field that would soon become his literary playground. And then, in the unlikeliest of career plot twists, he began waking up at 5 a.m. every day to write a novel longhand. That manuscript, a courtroom drama based on a true case, would eventually become A Time to Kill (1989).
Did it launch his career? Not exactly. The book was rejected by 28 publishers. (Yes, you read that right — 28!) But Grisham, true to his Southern tenacity, persisted. His second book, The Firm (1991), changed everything. When it exploded onto the bestseller list, Hollywood came knocking — and Tom Cruise answered. The rest? Legal thriller history.
From The Pelican Brief to The Rainmaker, from The Client to The Runaway Jury, Grisham became the architect of suspenseful courtroom dramas that didn’t just entertain — they exposed. Corruption. Greed. Injustice. And occasionally, redemption. Over the decades, he’s penned over 40 novels, selling more than 300 million copies worldwide. His books have been translated into 40+ languages, adapted into blockbuster films, and studied in both law schools and literature classes — though for very different reasons.
Despite his literary fame, Grisham remains grounded. He’s a staunch advocate for wrongful convictions, contributing to the Innocence Project, and his own novel The Innocent Man (2006) marked his foray into nonfiction — a chilling true-crime saga that reads like, well, a Grisham novel. Only this time, the stakes were real.
Now here’s the kicker: For someone who spent decades exposing the dark underbelly of the legal system, Grisham himself has quietly stepped away from practicing law. He doesn’t chase verdicts anymore — he delivers them, one blockbuster at a time.
And just when you think you've figured out his formula — southern charm, legal drama, moral gray areas — he throws in a curveball. A baseball novel. A young adult series. A heartland mystery. Who is John Grisham, really?
A lawyer-turned-legislator-turned-author?
A Southern moralist in legal thriller’s clothing?
Or just the man who keeps you awake at 2 a.m., whispering, just one more chapter…
One thing’s for sure: if you haven’t read Grisham, the jury is still out on your bookshelf.
Publication Order of Series Books
Publication Order of Camino Island
| Title | Year | Amazon Links |
|---|---|---|
| Camino Island | 2017 | Amazon |
| Camino Winds | 2020 | Amazon |
| Camino Ghosts | 2024 | Amazon |
Publication Order of The Firm
| Title | Year | Amazon Links |
|---|---|---|
| The Firm | 1991 | Amazon |
| The Exchange | 2023 | Amazon |
Publication Order of The Jake Brigance
| Title | Year | Amazon Links |
|---|---|---|
| A Time to Kill | 1989 | Amazon |
| Sycamore Row | 2013 | Amazon |
| A Time for Mercy | 2020 | Amazon |
| Sparring Partners | 2022 | Amazon |
Publication Order of The Whistler
| Title | Year | Amazon Links |
|---|---|---|
| Witness to a Trial | 2016 | Amazon |
| The Whistler | 2016 | Amazon |
| The Judge's List | 2021 | Amazon |
Publication Order of Theodore Boone
| Title | Year | Amazon Links |
|---|---|---|
| Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer | 2010 | Amazon |
| Theodore Boone: The Abduction | 2010 | Amazon |
| Theodore Boone: The Accused | 2012 | Amazon |
| Theodore Boone: The Activist | 2013 | Amazon |
| Theodore Boone: The Fugitive | 2015 | Amazon |
| Theodore Boone: The Scandal | 2016 | Amazon |
| Theodore Boone: The Accomplice | 2019 | Amazon |
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
| Title | Year | Amazon Links |
|---|---|---|
| The Widow | 2025 | Amazon |
| The Boys from Biloxi | 2022 | Amazon |
| Sooley | 2021 | Amazon |
| The Guardians | 2019 | Amazon |
| The Reckoning | 2018 | Amazon |
| The Rooster Bar | 2017 | Amazon |
| Partners (Short Story) | 2016 | Amazon |
| Rogue Lawyer | 2015 | Amazon |
| Gray Mountain | 2014 | Amazon |
| The Racketeer | 2012 | Amazon |
| Calico Joe | 2012 | Amazon |
| The Litigators | 2011 | Amazon |
| The Confession | 2010 | Amazon |
| The Associate | 2009 | Amazon |
| The Appeal | 2008 | Amazon |
| Playing for Pizza | 2007 | Amazon |
| The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town | 2006 | Amazon |
| The Broker | 2005 | Amazon |
| The Last Juror | 2004 | Amazon |
| Bleachers | 2003 | Amazon |
| The King of Torts | 2003 | Amazon |
| The Summons | 2002 | Amazon |
| Skipping Christmas | 2001 | Amazon |
| A Painted House | 2001 | Amazon |
| The Brethren | 2000 | Amazon |
| The Testament | 1999 | Amazon |
| The Street Lawyer | 1998 | Amazon |
| The Partner | 1997 | Amazon |
| The Runaway Jury | 1996 | Amazon |
| The Rainmaker | 1995 | Amazon |
| The Chamber | 1994 | Amazon |
| The Client | 1993 | Amazon |
| The Pelican Brief | 1992 | Amazon |