Tag Archive - John Grisham

First Pages of Best-Selling Novels: Rogue Lawyer

In our weekly look at first pages of best sellers, we’re examining what works and what doesn’t. We’ve covered numerous genres, and seen some pretty unique first pages. Some seem to break a lot of the rules authors are warned not to break: using a lot of narrative, lacking dialogue, slow getting into action, starting with the weather.

But that just goes to show the rules are made to be broken. However, what really matters on these opening pages transcends the do’s and don’ts about opening scenes, and that’s engaging the reader. And that can be done in any number of ways.

This week we’re taking a stab at mega-famous author John Grisham, whose many legal thrillers have dominated the tops of best-seller lists for months. His novel Rogue Lawyer fits right in with his twenty-six (?) other legal thrillers in presenting engaging characters and high tension. Continue Reading…