John Ray Grisham Jr. is an American author, political activist, and lawyer, renowned for his legal thrillers. According to the American Academy of Achievement, Grisham has 28 straight number-one best-selling books.
His debut novel, A Time to Kill, was released in June 1989. However, Grisham’s literary career took off only after his second book, The Firm, became a bestseller in 1991.
To help you explore his rich body of work, here is a list of John Grisham books in order of release dates and genres.
Theodore Boone Series
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Grisham’s only children’s series centers around Theodore Boone, a 13-year-old boy from Pennsylvania. Wishing to follow in his parents’ footsteps, both successful lawyers, young Theo spends most of his time inside the courtroom.
Confident in his knowledge of the law and connections with law enforcers, Theodore rarely refrains from giving legal advice to his friends, which often leads you to follow him on exciting new adventures.
- Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer (2010)
- Theodore Boone: The Abduction (2011)
- Theodore Boone: The Accused (2012)
- Theodore Boone: The Activist (2013)
- Theodore Boone: The Fugitive (2015)
- Theodore Boone: The Scandal (2016)
- Theodore Boone: The Accomplice (2019)
Jake Brigance Series
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This trilogy recounts the tales of Jake Brigance, a young lawyer who gets involved in some challenging and questionable court cases. If you are a fan of Harper Lee’s award-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird, you are in for a treat. In addition, Grisham claims the stories were modeled after his own experiences as a young attorney.
- A Time to Kill (1989)
- Sycamore Row (2013)
- A Time for Mercy (2020)
Camino Island Series
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The Camino series’ plot revolves around a fictional island resort in Florida. The caper stories filled with rare valuables and hot pursuits stray away from Grisham’s well-known legal thrillers and offer a fresh perspective.
Additionally, Camino Winds can entertain you as a standalone novel in case you did not have the chance to peek inside the world of the first book.
- Camino Island (2017)
- Camino Winds (2020)
The Rogue Lawyer Series
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The Rogue Lawyer legal thriller follows the life and work of an unconventional street lawyer by the name of Sebastian Rudd. Critics argue that Rudd is Grisham’s most brilliantly portrayed, colorful, and extravagant character to date.
The second book, Partners, can be read as an autonomous story or as a prequel since it narrates the life of Sebastian Rudd’s most trusted bodyguard, Partner.
- Rogue Lawyer (2015)
- Partners: A Rogue Lawyer Short Story (2016) — Available as an ebook or audiobook.
The Lacy Stoltz Series
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This series depicts the life of Lacy Stoltz, an aspiring female investigator who works for the Florida Board of Judicial Conduct. Interestingly, she is a lawyer, not a detective, and it is her job to deal with judicial misconduct charges.
For an interesting introduction into Lacy’s world of suspense, you could take a look at Witness to a Trial. It is a short story that acts as a prequel to the series and talks about a shocking courtroom trial.
- Witness to a Trial (2016) — Available as an ebook or audiobook.
- The Whistler (2016)
- The Judge’s List (2021)
Legal Standalone Thrillers
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After graduating from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981, Grisham spent a decade practicing law as a criminal defense attorney. Throughout his career, he dealt with many criminal cases and participated in numerous trials that would later serve as an inspiration for his famous legal thrillers.
A few of his distinguished novels, such as The Firm, The Innocent Man, and The Guardians, are based on true stories and events. If you are looking for attention-holding narratives with plenty of plot twists within the field of law, these are the books for you. To give you a concise overview, here is a list of John Grisham books in order of publication dates.
- The Firm (1991)
- The Pelican Brief (1992)
- The Client (1993)
- The Chamber (1994)
- The Rainmaker (1995)
- The Runaway Jury (1996)
- The Partner (1997)
- The Street Lawyer (1998)
- The Testament (1999)
- The Brethren (2000)
- The Summons (2002)
- The King of Torts (2003)
- The Last Juror (2004)
- The Broker (2005)
- The Innocent Man (2006) — A nonfiction true crime story.
- The Appeal (2008)
- The Associate (2009)
- The Confession (2010)
- The Litigators (2011)
- The Racketeer (2012)
- Gray Mountain (2014)
- The Rooster Bar (2017)
- The Reckoning (2018)
- The Guardians (2019)
Non-Legal Books
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Are you an admirer of Grisham’s novels but want a break from all the excitement crime fiction brings? Look no further. Influenced by his own life experiences, Grisham wrote two fascinating literary works which explore the freedoms and limitations life has to offer.
- A Painted House (2001)
- Skipping Christmas (2001)
Sports Books
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Among his many interests, John Grisham is an avid sports enthusiast. At one point in his life, he even dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player. Unfortunately, this dream did not come to pass, but his love for the sport remained.
Inspired by this passion, Grisham created literary heaven not only for thriller lovers but also for baseball, basketball, and football fans as well.
- Bleachers (2003)
- Playing for Pizza (2007)
- Calico Joe (2012)
- Sooley (2021)
Short Stories
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In addition to his already rich legacy, Grisham offers yet another literary genre to you, his devoted readers. In the collection of short stories titled Ford County, you can enjoy reading about vivid characters as they live out their lives in the familiar setting of Grisham’s first novel, A Time to Kill.
On the other hand, The Tumor stands to be his most important piece of work, as the author himself points out. It’s a brief narrative meant to promote awareness of potential new medical treatments.
- Ford County (2009) — A collection of short stories.
- The Tumor: A Non-Legal Thriller (2016) — Available as an ebook.
The Full List of John Grisham Books in Chronological Order
1. A Time to Kill (1989)
2. The Firm (1991)
3. The Pelican Brief (1992)
4. The Client (1993)
5. The Chamber (1994)
6. The Rainmaker (1995)
7. The Runaway Jury (1996)
8. The Partner (1997)
9. The Street Lawyer (1998)
10. The Testament (1999)
11. The Brethren (2000)
12. A Painted House (2001)
13. Skipping Christmas (2001)
14. The Summons (2002)
15. The King of Torts (2003)
16. Bleachers (2003)
17. The Last Juror (2004)
18. The Broker (2005)
19. The Innocent Man (2006)
20. Playing for Pizza (2007)
21. The Appeal (2008)
22. Ford County (2009)
23. The Associate (2009)
24. Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer (2010)
25. The Confession (2010)
26. Theodore Boone: The Abduction (2011)
27. The Litigators (2011)
28. Calico Joe (2012)
29. Theodore Boone: The Accused (2012)
30. The Racketeer (2012)
31. Theodore Boone: The Activist (2013)
32. Sycamore Row (2013)
33. Gray Mountain (2014)
34. Theodore Boone: The Fugitive (2015)
35. Rogue Lawyer (2015)
36. The Tumor: A Non-Legal Thriller (2016)
37. Theodore Boone: The Scandal (2016)
38. Partners: A Rogue Lawyer Short Story (2016)
39. Witness to a Trial (2016)
40. The Whistler (2016)
41. Camino Island (2017)
42. The Rooster Bar (2017)
43. The Reckoning (2018)
44. Theodore Boone: The Accomplice (2019)
45. The Guardians (2019)
46. Camino Winds (2020)
47. A Time for Mercy (2020)
48. Sooley (2021)
49. The Judge’s List (2021)