Ford County (novel)
First edition cover
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| Author | John Grisham |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | novel |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
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Publication date
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November 3, 2009 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 272 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 317926293 |
| 813/.54 22 | |
| LC Class | PS3557.R5355 F67 2009 |
| Preceded by | The Associate |
Ford County is a collection of novellas by John Grisham. His first collection of stories, it was published by Doubleday in the United States on November 3, 2009.
The book contains 7 short stories: Blood Drive ; Fetching Raymond ; Fish Files ; Casino ; Michael's Room ; Quiet Haven ; Funny Boy.
A young man named Bailey is injured in a construction accident, and rampant flurries of rumors quickly entice three young men to drive to Memphis to donate blood for the injured Bailey. Aggie, Calvin and Roger set off in a pickup truck toward Memphis when Roger, an alcoholic, insists they stop at a gas station so he can purchase beer. He also tells Aggie and Calvin several stories about Memphis strip clubs, stimulating their curiosity. After a close call with a Sheriff's deputy and a shotgun-toting homeowner, the trio arrive in Memphis and decide to hit up one of Roger's favorite strip clubs.
Imbibing too much alcohol and realizing that none of them can navigate Memphis with any success, the men eventually sell their blood at a nearby blood bank, being unable to remember which hospital contains Bailey. Roger, after passing out and being left in the pickup, awakens during a nearby gang gun battle and flees with a pistol he found under the pickup's seat. Pursued haphazardly by the gang, Roger encounters a man and woman fighting next to a car and rescues the woman, who takes his gun and holds him hostage as he drives the car away. Aggie and Calvin return to find the pickup riddled with bullet holes and, against better judgment, return to the previously-visited strip club to spend the fifty dollars apiece they received from the blood bank.
At the strip club a Memphis Police Department vice squad springs a raid, provoking a panicked riot, during which both Calvin and Aggie are injured. Back home, the families who had gathered together in support of the injured Bailey must send additional people to Memphis to bail the young men out of jail and see to their own medical care.
Raymond is on death-row for murder and is hopeful of a last-minute reprieve. His two brothers borrow a van so they can take his mother, who uses a wheelchair, to visit him on the day of his impending execution.
Raymond is a prolific writer who has delusions of grandeur, as well as delusions of success in his numerous legal appeals. He claims to have scores of lawyers ready to exonerate him and who are filing motions and briefs in all directions.
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