The Last Juror

the obvious turns out to be wrong

This is the story of Willie Traynor, a 23 year old college dropout who buys the bankrupt weekly newspaper he is working for with $50,000 he borrows from his wealthy grandmother. The story is entertwined with the rape and murder of a local young widow by a young man by the name of Danny Padgitt, and with a black family by the name of Ruffin who saw all eight of their children become professional men and women and move away from Mississippi where this story takes place. The time is the 1970's. Danny Paggitt comes from a large family of thugs who own an island, and use it like a fortress. They are into all kinds of illegal activities. Danny is convicted of the crimes, but not sentenced to death. He gets life in prison instead--a big controversy. When he is convicted, he threatens to kill all the jurors upon his release from prison. In 1970, in Mississippi, life inprisonment means at least 8 years in prison. This is a great story about how all these people live together during those 8 years and the year after Danny gets out of prison, when the jurors begin to be murdered, and above all, its the story of a young man making good as an editor and owner of the only paper in town.

A very gripping book set in a small town in Mississippi. There are stories within stories and you can't help liking the characters as you learn more about them. I highly recommend this book for people who like a good mystery.