Award-winning and bestselling author John Grisham published A Time for Mercy, the third book in the landmark Jake Brigance series, in 2020. It follows A Time to Kill (1989) and Sycamore Row (2013), both of which use an unpopular defendant and divided juries, as does A Time for Mercy. This novel takes place in 1990 in northern Mississippi. Jake Brigance fights to keep a 16-year-old boy off death row for murdering a police officer. Because of the religious culture of this rural area, Jake has an uphill battle defending Drew in a case where no one wins. This bestselling legal thriller explores themes of truth, justice, and loyalty.

Content Warning: This novel contains depictions of child abuse, rape, and domestic violence. This study guide also quotes and obscures the author’s use of the n-word.

Plot Summary

Early on Sunday, March 25, 1990, in Clanton, Mississippi, Ford County deputy Stuart Kofer and Josie Gamble get into an argument after Stuart returns home drunk and accuses Josie of infidelity. Stuart hits Josie, knocking her unconscious. Josie’s children, Drew and Kiera, hide in a bedroom. Stuart tries to get to them but gives up and passes out on his bed. Drew believes his mother is dead, so he shoots Stuart to protect himself and his sister from further harm.

Sheriff Ozzie Walls arrives on scene and takes Drew and Kiera to the county jail. Reverend Charles McGarry arrives at the jail to pick up Kiera, and Ozzie goes to the hospital to visit Josie. He then visits the Kofers at home and offers his support and condolences to Earl, Stuart’s father.

Judge Omar Noose calls Jake Brigance, a local lawyer, and asks him to do the preliminary work on Drew’s case but promises to find another lawyer for the trial. Jake doesn’t want to take this case because he’s already working on a civil suit between a family and a railroad company. Jake also defended Carl Lee Hailey—the defendant in A Time to Kill—in a controversial trial five years ago and doesn’t want to put his family at risk now that his life is returning to normal. However, when he talks to Ozzie later that day, Jake feels he will get stuck defending Drew.

Josie and Kiera move into the Good Shepherd Bible Church. McGarry and the congregation work to make the women safe and comfortable. McGarry also drives Josie and Kiera to visit Drew after Noose orders his transfer to the state mental hospital. In the process, McGarry discovers that Kiera is pregnant because Stuart raped her. He tells Jake, and Jake tells him, Josie, and Kiera to keep the pregnancy secret. Josie insists that Kiera get an abortion to prevent her from having a difficult life like Josie, who got pregnant with Drew at 15. McGarry says the church will no longer help them if Kiera has an abortion.

On May 8, Drew appears in court and Noose indicts him on capital murder of a police officer. Drew enters a not-guilty plea. When school ends for the summer, Carla begins tutoring Drew, who is already two grades behind. Josie and Kiera decide to keep the baby and put it up for adoption when it’s born, and Jake and Carla decide to adopt it. Over the summer, Jake helps Josie and Kiera move to Oxford, where they can start over where no one knows them.

One day, two men attack Jake as he leaves a grocery store, putting him in the hospital for several days. The attack convinces Noose to move the trial to another county where they can find a more objective jury. Jake knows Cecil Kofer, Stuart’s brother, was one of the attackers, but he doesn’t press charges in the hopes the Kofers will back off, knowing he can press charges at any time.

In July, Noose faxes Jake a list of potential jurors, so Jake and his associates begin researching each person. The trial begins on August 6th at the Van Buren County Courthouse. Noose, Jake, and prosecuting attorney Lowell Dyer spend the first day selecting a jury. On the second day, Lowell gives his opening statement and calls Earl, Deputy Tatum, Ozzie, and the pathologist who conducted Stuart’s autopsy as his witnesses. The next day, Jake calls Josie as his first witness. He then calls Kiera, who is seven months pregnant. The courtroom erupts, pausing the trial temporarily. When the trial resumes, Jake calls Drew as his final witness and rests his case, which surprises the court. On August 9, Noose reads the jury’s instructions and dismisses them to deliberate. The jury spokesperson tells Noose that they’ve voted 6-6. Noose reminds the jury of their obligation to find a unanimous verdict and releases them to continue deliberating. The jury remains split, so Jake motions for a mistrial, and Noose agrees.

With the trial over, Jake and Portia draft a lawsuit to get Drew out of jail on bond. Noose grants the motion, releasing Drew, who moves to Oxford with his mom and sister. On the third Sunday in September, Josie calls Jake to reveal Kiera is in labor. Jake and Carla drive to Oxford the next day and pick up their new baby.