The secret of Gray Mountain

After losing her job at a prestigious law firm, a young woman becomes involved in defending an at-risk landscape in a lawless territory.

Grisham's new heroine is full of surprises.

A week ago, Samantha Kofer was working at a prestigious law firm in New York. Now she works for free at a legal aid clinic for low-income clients in a small town in Virginia. The fall of Lehman Brothers meant she lost her job, her security, and her future. Her world has nothing to do with her past life of fat cats and exorbitant bonuses.

She now faces real clients with real problems in coal country, where the law is different and defending the truth means putting her life in danger. Her new boss is dedicated to suing mining companies for the environmental damage that is devastating the region, and many people hate him for it. Samantha's life has taken a 180-degree turn.

Critics have said...
"The best living thriller writer."
Ken Follet

"This is not a story about a triumph or a judicial failure. It is the surprising and complex story of an intelligent man, whom five years of experience as a lawyer for noble causes turns into a cunning advocate capable of devising an ingenious plan of revenge. Grisham perfects the story."
The New York Times

"Thrilling. It takes the reader down one path, that of the innocent man seeking exoneration, only to switch with exquisite ease to another, that of playing cat and mouse."
The Guardian

"A great addition to Grisham's library, always a source of guaranteed entertainment, which evolves into something more serious, more powerful, a testament to his exceptional talent."
The Washington Post

"An excellent and classic legal thriller with a good guy and a bad guy."
The Christian Science Monitor

"Grisham has written one of his best legal thrillers with this dive into small-town politics."
Associated Press