The Confession

John Grisham delivers his most extraordinary legal thriller yet. Filled with the intriguing twists and turns that have become Grishamƒ??s trademark, this newest novel will prove once again that no one keeps readers in suspense like Americaƒ??s favorite storyteller. An innocent man is days from execution. Only a guilty man can save him.

For every innocent man sent to prison, there is a guilty one left on the outside. He doesnƒ??t understand how the police and prosecutors got the wrong man, and he certainly doesnƒ??t care. He just canƒ??t believe his good luck. Time passes and he realizes that the mistake will not be corrected: the authorities believe in their case and are determined to get a conviction. He may even watch the trial of the person wrongly accused of his crime. He is relieved when the verdict is guilty. He laughs when the police and prosecutors congratulate themselves. He is content to allow an innocent person to go to prison, to serve hard time, even to be executed.

Travis Boyette is such a man. In 1998, in the small East Texas city of Sloan, he abducted, raped, and strangled a popular high school cheerleader. He buried her body so that it would never be found, then watched in amazement as police and prosecutors arrested and convicted Dont?? Drumm, a local football star, and marched him off to death row.

Now nine years have passed. Travis has just been paroled in Kansas for a different crime; Dont?? is four days away from his execution. Travis suffers from an inoperable brain tumor. For the first time in his miserable life, he decides to do whatƒ??s right and confess.

But how can a guilty man convince lawyers, judges, and politicians that theyƒ??re about to execute an innocent man?