王牌犯罪小說作家John Grisham作品。這是一部關於公司犯罪的小說,兩名律師剛剛贏得一場指控某化學製品公司向城市水源傾倒有毒廢物、導致當地居民接連死於癌症的案子。但化學品公司向密西西比州最高法院提起了上訴,案件面臨重審,財大氣粗的化學品公司老闆花錢買通各路關係,製造一系列陰謀詭計,以期逃脫罪責。最後的生殺大權掌握在負責重新裁決該案的陪審團手中。情結緊張刺激,一出版便登上紐約時報暢銷排行榜。
Politics has always been a dirty game.
Now justice is, too.
In a crowded courtroom in Mississipi, a jury returns a shocking verdict against a chemical company accused of dumping toxic waste into a small town's water supply, causing the worst "cancer cluster" in history. The company appeals to the Mississippi Supreme Court, whose nine justices will one day either approve the verdict or reverse it.
Who are the nine? How will they vote? Can one be replaced before the case is ultimately decided?
The chemical company is owned by a Wall Street predator named Carl Trudeau, and Mr. Trudeau is convinced the Court is not friendly enough. With judicial elections looming, he decides to try to purchase himself a seat on the Court. The cost is a few million dollars, a drop in the bucket for a billionaire like Mr. Trudeau. Through an intricate web of conspiracy and deceit, his political operatives recruit a young, unsuspecting candidate. They finance him, manipulate him, market him, and mold him into a potential Supreme Court justice.
Their Supreme Court justice.
The Appeal is a powerful, timely, and shocking story of political and legal intrigue, a story that will leave readers unable to think about our electoral process or judicial system in quite the same way ever again.