• The Pelican Brief

  • By: John Grisham
  • Narrated by: Anthony Heald
  • Length: 5 hrs and 36 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (1,158 ratings)

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The Pelican Brief  By  cover art

The Pelican Brief

By: John Grisham
Narrated by: Anthony Heald
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Publisher's summary

In suburban Georgetown a killer's Reeboks whisper on the front floor of a posh home... In a seedy D.C. porno house a patron is swiftly garroted to death... The next day America learns that two of its Supreme Court justices have been assassinated. And in New Orleans, a young law student prepares a legal brief...

To Darby Shaw it was no more than a legal shot in the dark, a brilliant guess. To the Washington establishment it was political dynamite. Suddenly, Darby is witness to a murder - a murder intended for her. Going underground, she finds there is only one person she can trust - an ambitious reporter after a news break hotter than Watergate - to help her piece together the deadly puzzle.

Somewhere between the bayous of Louisiana and the White House's inner sanctums, a violent cover-up is being engineered. For someone has read Darby's brief. Someone who will stop at nothing to destroy the evidence of an unthinkable crime.

©1992 John Grisham (P)1992 Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, A Division of Random House Inc.

Featured Article: Christmas with the Kranks—Book vs. Movie


John Grisham may be best known for his legal thrillers, but he's also been known to deviate from form every now and then and write something completely different. Skipping Christmas is one such book. It was adapted into a 2004 film called Christmas with the Kranks, starring Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis, which gained the story an even wider audience. If you're familiar with the film but don’t know much about its literary inspiration, read on.

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What listeners say about The Pelican Brief

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    695
  • 4 Stars
    271
  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
    49
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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
    87
  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
    16

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Poorly Abridged

After listening to Grisham's unabridged titles on Audible, this one is a little disappointing. The book is comparatively hard to follow, with characters easily confused or not developed - presumably due to the abridged nature of the text. I'd recommend this only for Grisham fans who've run through everything else.
Capably narrated, though by a different narrator than any of the other Grisham books.

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39 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story with annoying breaks

I love this book. But the musical breaks kill momentum faster than thinking about Grandma during sex.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Darby Shaw Is a great Investigator...

I have been listening to the same book for years, The Pelican Brief. I just enjoy hearing the story lines, over, and over again. Right now my tapes are worn out. So I'm replacing them with Audible. oh my god the audio goes on forever. I fell asleep, and when I woke up we were In Chapter 6. So I just picked up there. Thank you!!!

AKIBA Moorjah

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Books are better than movies

I really enjoyed this book. They movie was great too. But while remodeling a home this is something that you can get lost in.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

I didn't realize it was abridged... disappointed

The story itself is great, and I would love to listen to the full, unabridged story. However, I should have checked before I bought this. I felt like I never could keep up with what was going on in the story. I really wish audible had the unabridged version!! Now I understand why I couldn't grasp the key points of the story.

The narrator is good, however, I prefer the classic Michael Beck narrations.

Overall it's fine for what it is -- an abridged version of the novel. If that's what you're looking for, great!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Perfect for the big screen

Following the storyline was challenging with the ever changing scenes and characters. Sets the audience up for an enjoyable movie experience.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Grisham never seems to strike out

I read this story years ago and I'd say the GRISHAM novels hold there own.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Political intrigue

Good fare from Grisham, probably not his best but he met all my expectations and whilst maybe not a page turner, a good read well narrated.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Why abridged?

I decided to go back through all the Grisham books since I have a long commute now. I was dismayed to see abridged recordings but thought ok I’ll try it. Disappointing! Why hack up a great book?

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good story

The music inserted at the beginning and end of chapters is odd. I hope this is not a trend for future Audible selections.

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