As I mentioned two weeks ago, I am looking for some new authors to read.  Thanks to those of you who gave me suggestions.  My e-book shelf is full with books I checked out from the library.  But, while I was waiting for new suggestions, I read “The Guardians” by John Grisham.

I have enjoyed many John Grisham novels.  He has published 40 novels.  My favorites are his early legal thrillers.  Eight of his novels has been made into a movie, so he is a very popular author.

His most recent book, “The Guardians,” returns to his legal thriller roots.  In this book, Guardian Ministries reviews cases of people who might have been wrongfully convicted.  If the Guardian team believes they are innocent, they work on getting them released from prison.  Most of the cases they are undertake are death penalty cases, because the people serving the sentence have a limited time to live.

This book follows investigator Cullen Post, a lawyer and Episcopal priest who found his calling in freeing the innocent.  I loved this character, who feels God’s leading and follows God’s direction without being overtly religious.  It is in no way a religious novel, but I appreciated the way Grisham wound Post’s calling into his job.

“The Guardians” follows two cases where Post is working to prove the innocence of two men.  Both have been unjustly convicted.  One was set up by the sheriff of the county and convicted with evidence that went missing before the trial.  Cullen Post investigates and works the legal angles.  His two partner lawyers write the briefs and do online research.  And a shadow investigator who was freed from jail by The Guardians works invisibly behind the scenes.

I found the characters believable and compelling and read the book so quickly I was sorry when it ended.  Hopefully there is a sequel (or a series) with Guardian Ministries.  I like to think there are people out there working to free the small percentage of the prison population who have been wrongfully convicted.  Reading “The Guardians” sent me to the Innocence Network to find out how I can help.