Theodore Boone: The Accused

Book 186 - John Grisham - Theodore Boone : Book 3 The Accused

Boone is back and rather shockingly he is the accused in the title. When Theo’s bicycle tires are slashed…not once…not twice but three times, he thinks it is rotten luck…then he has some personal items stolen from his locker…small potatoes…and a rock is thrown threw the window of his parents’ law firm…Boone & Boone…and then…it gets really serious Theo is accused of breaking into a local shop and stealing a number of expensive electronic items.

A real change of pace and a wonderfully written whodunnit sees Theo slowly being cornered…by heresay…by circumstantial evidence and then by actual evidence. Theo seems lost…who would want to frame a 13 year old show more boy ? Who would go to these lengths ? Just how serious can it get ? Charges of theft ? Imprisonment?

The web that is weaved by Grisham would be worthy of Conan Doyle or Christie. A brilliant follow up…can’t wait for the next one. show less

This is the third in the Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer,series. In this one, except for a brief appearance in Animal Court on behalf of Lucy the Llama, Theo doesn't get to "practice" much law. He himself is accused of stealing electronics from a local store, although naturally we all know it's a frame. I was pretty uncomfortable with many elements of this story; the detectives investigating were real jerks, Theo was much too slow to involve adults when he knew there was a serious problem developing, and there's an awkward, totally unsatisfactory to me, treatment of the issue of honesty and ethics. I would not recommend this one to young readers, and I think Grisham could have done a lot better. I like Theo. But even though he's a 13 year show more old boy, who naturally isn't going to trust the grown-ups right off the bat, I had a hard time buying some of his behavior here. The first two books were better, and I am probably through with Theo now. show less

While this book is definitely much more interesting than the last one and Theo was less annoying, there were a few things that bothered me, which is why I didn't give the book three stars.

The plot is ok and the mystery is much better than the one in book two. Also, Theo's behaviour is much more appropriate for his age and his investigation is much more believable. It also has the advantage that the crime in this book is smaller compared to The Abduction. I found it quite funny to see how he's all "innocent until proven guilty" at the beginning of the book and then, when he's the one in trouble being accused of a crime that he didn't commit, he's very sure of who is guilty, before he has any proof.

What bothered me was how Theo and his show more family make the list of suspects. First of all, Theo's parents lack a lot of imagination if they can't imagine a girl throwing a stone at a window or stabbing bike tires. Not all girls are innocent angels. Sure, the culprit turns out to be a boy, but other than a comment from Theo, where he says that there are a few girls in his school who would be capable of that, nobody even entertains the possibility of the guilty person being a girl.

Then there's Theo and his profiling of his boy scouts mates. I can see why he takes his friends and people who have always been nice to everybody off the suspect list, but he makes a huge mistake that is never addressed. He assumes that a boy is innocent, just because his parents are a doctor and a dentist, and thinks that another boy is a suspect, just because he is quiet, has a bad family background, has long hair and listens to heavy metal. show less

This book was on the library sale shelf and I'd read at least one previous book in the series, so I brought it home.

Through a series of events, Theo ends up accused of stealing electronics from a computer store. As a result, there's less "lawyering" (especially by Theo) in this entry to the series--though the llama story was somewhat amusing.

There really weren't many clues in the story to point to who the perpetrators turned out to be, though in retrospect, I'm surprised that the idea of where to look wasn't thought of sooner.

Theo’s world is flipped when he finds himself wrongfully accused of a serious crime. With his reputation and future on the line, he dives into a mystery full of twists, courtroom insight, and plenty of suspense.

I'm enjoying John Grisham's Theodore Boone series pretty well thus far, a kid's lit storyline about a 13-year old son of two lawyers who aspires to become one himself. In this one, Theo has the worst week of his life when somebody slashes his bike tire (3 times), breaks into his locker, sends a rock through his window, and frames him for a computer store burglary. There is a sort of continuity with the previous two books, which is good because the books seem to end abruptly, with resolutions not quite finished satisfactorily. That said, this is a fun quick read for kid and grownup alike.

The third book in the Theodore Boone series finds the clever and legally-aware year eight student attending the re-trial of a man accused of killing his wife. Theodore feels very lucky to get the last seat at the media-filled event. Theo might only be thirteen, but he was the one who uncovered the key evidence in the original murder trial and he is very keen to see what will happen this time. Almost immediately something seems wrong and eventually those in the courtroom learn that the suspect has skipped bail and is on the run. Theo wonders how anyone could spend his life on the run.
Theo's life however takes a turn for the worse. In the day of the trial Theo discovers that his school locker has been broken into and some of his show more belongings have been stolen. However he is in too much of a hurry to report it. Next his bike tyres start being systematically slashed but worst of all he is then accused of breaking into a store and stealing computer products. After they receive an anonymous tip the police arrive at school but knowing he is innocent Theo lets them check his locker. To his horror they find some of the stolen goods in there. Theo and his friends suspect it must be another student but Theo cannot think of anyone who could hate him that much.
Theo is desperate to prove his innocence so he and his friends start working to prove to the authorities that they are wrong but evidence starts mounting up. The suspense builds as Theo works to find the real culprit before he is charged and is put into the system and ends up in court, on the wrong side of the table. show less