---

THE PELICAN BRIEF

---

by John Grisham (1992)

---

When two Supreme Court Justices are executed in quick succession, law student Darby Shaw searches for a link between the two murders. Working furiously between classes, Darby compiles her brief, which relies upon a connection between a near extinct pelican species, the land on which they live, the oil and gas that lies underneath the same earth, and an obscure individual, a wealthy and powerful figure who just might benefit from a change in the makeup of the Supreme Court. The pelican brief soon finds its way to the FBI, the CIA, and the Office of the President. All three institutions remain uncertain about the hypothesis. However, the brief also falls into the hands of Victor Mattiece, a rich and reclusive man who has spent many years buying up land to drill for fossil fuels. And now, a hired killer, the notorious Khamel, commences a search for Darby in order to silence her. Darby goes on the run, but how long can she last out on the streets? Fiction. 421 pages.

---

---

DETAILS:

Title: The pelican brief

Year: 1992

Author: John Grisham

Pages: 421

---

---

Book review by Keith Salter