Gray Mountain: A Novel

About this book

John Grisham has a new hero . . . and shes full of surprises The year is 2008 and Samantha Kofers career at a huge Wall Street law firm is on the fast trackuntil the recession hits and she gets downsized furloughed escorted out of the building. Samantha though is one of the lucky associates. Shes offered an opportunity to work at a legal aid clinic for one year without pay after which there would be a slim chance that shed get her old job back. In a matter of days Samantha moves from Manhattan to Brady Virginia population 2 200 in the heart of Appalachia a part of the world she has only read about. Mattie Wyatt lifelong Brady resident and head of the towns legal aid clinic is there to teach her how to help real people with real problems. For the first time in her career Samantha prepares a lawsuit sees the inside of an actual courtroom gets scolded by a judge and receives threats from locals who arent so thrilled to have a big-city lawyer in town. And she learns that Brady like most small towns harbors some big secrets. Her new job takes Samantha into the murky and dangerous world of coal mining where laws are often broken rules are ignored regulations are flouted communities are divided and the land itself is under attack from Big Coal. Violence is always just around the corner and within weeks Samantha finds herself engulfed in litigation that turns deadly.