Review: The Innocent Man

Greenspan's book has stalled in my hands. I loved the first half where he discussed his career, but I'm getting a bit tired on the second half where he gives his opinion on the economy now and in the future. I've got about 150 pages left.

As usual though, I have more than one book going. Last weekend I just finished Grisham's The Innocent Man. It's around 400 pages and 100,000 - 110,000 words. Like most all of John's books, this was a pleasurable read.

The Innocent Man is John's first non-fiction work. And given the amount of time he spent writing it, it might be his last.

The story is about Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz's supposed murder of Debbie Carter in Oklahoma. I won't give away all the details, but on the surface both men "look" guilty. Especially Ron who was pretty much a rotten person. He had drug and alcohol problems and wasn't the most pleasant to be around. Fritz seemed to have his head on a bit straighter, but then again he was hanging around with Ron so he probably had a rough side of him as well.

What we find out is, just because Ron and Dennis might have not been outstanding civilians, they didn’t commit murder. The country prosecutor was under pressure to convict someone, and being Ron and Dennis had a history of borderline criminal behavior, they went after both. And as it turns out, convicted them.

I'll leave the story here so I don't wreck it for you. My suggestion is this; if you like Grisham, check this book out. It won't consume more than a week or so to read (unlike Greenspan's book) so even if you don't like it, your time commitment is small.

If you do end up reading it, let me know what you think.