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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
A lot
Moderate-to-strong violence — a wartime backstory; an execution; the original shooting
Language
Some
Moderate profanity
Sexual Content
Barely any
Mild — some adult situations in the wartime flashback
Substance Use
None
No meaningful substance use
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The reason — what Pete refuses to say; what he experienced in the Philippine war camps; the mystery that can only be solved after his death
What this book is about
Pete Banning is the most decorated war hero in Ford County, Mississippi. In 1946, he walks into town and shoots his pastor to death in front of witnesses. He refuses to explain, say nothing, and accepts his execution. The Reckoning is Grisham's most literary novel — a multigenerational mystery about what Pete saw and did in the war.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
A decorated war hero who shoots his pastor and refuses to explain
WWII — the Philippines campaign and its horrors
Multigenerational structure — the mystery unfolds across decades
John Grisham — Ford County setting
Reader Verification
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