Rating: 
Summary: Not the best Grisham novel...
Review: I like John Grisham novels, but I have a hard time saying good things about this book or the movie... The Pelican Brief just didn't resonate with me like the Firm or the Client did. It is not as gripping and sometimes it trails off.
Rating: 
Summary: Another sensational Grisham Novel!
Review: Another Great Grisham Novel! I personally loved this novel. Even if you're a person who doesn't like to read much, once you start reading this, you'll be at the edge of your seat, reading for hours. The novel had a great plot line and good characters too. Whenever you suspect someone in the novel, you suddenly find out you were wrong the whole time. Grisham used a lot of creativity and suspense to make the novel an enjoyable one. The reason I liked the novel is because I enjoy reading suspense-building novels and even law-firm stories. Although it didn't have as much to do with lawyers as most of his other books, it's still enjoyable. I also liked it because of the characters. Another thing that made it great is the story. (Textual evidence- pg. 291)
"...She left and Gray turned to Darby. He pointed to a set of doors that appeared to lead to the only hallway. She took a deep breath, and walked quickly through them. They opened into a large junction from which three sterile corridors branched out. A brass plate pointed to rooms 18 through 30. It was the center wing of the hospital, and the hall was dark and quiet..." Great novel, descriptive details, creativity, and suspense-building characters are all things that Grisham included to make the novel great, which is why I loved it! ------------------------AHMED MASHHOOD---------------------------
Rating:
Summary: Not as Good as the Movie.
Review: I feel bad about letting a movie affect my judgement of a book, but what can I say, the movie showed how good the book could have been. The book (and movie) follow the story of Darby Shaw, a law-student, who writes a brief on her theory of who murdered two Supreme Court Justices. When her stab in the dark turns out to be right, the people behind the conspiracy stop at nothing to try to stop the brief from hitting daylight. With the help of Gray Granthum, a reporter, Darby searches for the evidence she needs to prove the brief is true. Let me just say, the book was good. It had suspenseful moments, the characters were believeable, and the story-plot itself ingenious...but the movie did better. The movie took the book and added more suspense, while staying true to the book. The movie also had two great actors, Julia Roberts as Darby and Denzel Washington as Gray, they brought the characters alive even more then the book, excellent acting. I would encourage reading this book, especially if you like Grisham. But I would say to not see the movie until after the book. Both are good, but the movie is just better.
Rating:
Summary: Better then some other books I've read
Review: This book wasn't bad,and it wasn't that great. The book was streched way too long. But the plot was good. These two supreme judges were killed by the same person, and this woman wrote a brief on who she thought did it. She gives it to her lab professor, who hands it over to a FBI lawyer. When the professor later is killed by a car bomb, the woman, whose name is Darby, flees. When the same FBI Lawyer chases after her to protect her, he is killed also. Then Darby calls a reporter, and they team up to unmask the killer. This was a pretty decent book, better than some of John's other books. I recommend you read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: The all-action novel
Review: Pelican Brief isn't one of Grisham's strongest novels but it's certainly a page-turner, it moves with amazing speed, and it's a heck of a lot better than some of his later stuff, like The Street Lawyer or A Painted House. Many of Grisham's novels rely upon courtroom drama - on one lawyer versus another, with some clever legal or psychological trick thrown in for good measure. Pelican Brief relies almost totally on action. Two Supreme Court justices die on the same day. Darby Shaw, a law student comes up with an ingenious theory - they were shot and strangled by an international terrorist so that the conservative president would appoint new, conservative justices who will help out a case involving an industrialist who's no friend of the tree-huggers. Darby's boyfriend, Thomas, gets dissected by a car bomb meant for Darby. She uses her 'get out of hospital free' card and hooks up with a Washington Post reporter, Gray Grantham. But bad guy terrorist is after her and everyone starts dying... Pelican Brief's a fun story - not to be taken too seriously - and will provide an entertaining few hours while the dinner's cooking. But don't expect too much else.
Rating: 
Summary: Just see the movie and get it over with
Review: John Grisham has written some good novels that fall into the "bestseller potboiler" category of fiction, but this is not one of his stronger works. The premise of a high-level coverup on behalf of a nitwit Reagan-esque chief executive is promising, and oil speculators are (now, more than ever) people that we love to hate, but Grisham's execution of his story line is simply overly cliched, contrived, and plodding. Once the basic dynamic of "see Darby run, see Darby outwit her pursuers" is established early on, the story bogs down for (literally!) a couple of hundred pages. We are beaten over the head with just how clever Darby is (especially for such a Babe), and with how nasty and Machiavellian the President's henchmen are. We go from one locale to another and another, always just one step ahead of the hapless bad guys. And--not to provide too much of a spoiler here-- it turns out that the *really* bad guy bears an eerie resemblance to the late Howard Hughes! Enough, already. Oh, one more thing: just how many references to we need to Darby's "long legs?" It actually might have been more refreshing and bold for Grisham to portray Darby as a plain, dumpy, but brilliant law student, but then, Julia Roberts sells more tickets at the box office, right? And there's the crux of the matter: I think Grisham wrote this story fully intending from the beginning that this would be turned into a movie, so in terms of characters, plot, pacing, and ending, the whole affair is unabashedly Hollywood-esque. In fact, the book was made into a pitiably bad 1993 movie starring Roberts and Sam Shepard. While I can't really recommend the flick, at least you'll be done with it in a couple of hours, tops.
Rating:
Summary: You'll never catch me
Review: This is the best Grisham book i have ever read. The story is great the characters are great and after you read it watch the movie because it is great too. Pretty much Supreme Justices are murdered amatuer law student Darby Shaw know who did it and writes up a brief about them. They find out now she is on the run trying not to get killed. This is a definate book that you will want to read not once not twice but prob 3 or 4 times.
Rating:
Summary: Personal Favorite
Review: This is my favorite Grisham novel, and I can not say enough good things about it. He is devious and clever in his writing, capturing our attention as well as our imagination. Grisham has created a story about the biggest government cover-up since Watergate. It is sensational, realistic, and immensly frightening. It is beautiful. It is destructive. And should definantly be read.
Rating:
Summary: More Than Briefly Satisfying
Review: The novel, The Pelican Brief, by John Grisham, proved to be extremely enjoyable. The Pelican Brief is an extremely suspenseful novel. Grisham provides this suspense and mystery by withholding the outcomes of important events and by keeping secret identities. Because of these tactics, the reader becomes more anxious to discover the outcome of the novel, making this a book that is impossible to put down. The plot of the novel is also complex. Many different stories are occurring simultaneously. These subplots are then connected to form the greater overall plot. Because of the many events occurring, it is necessary that the reader pay attention at all times. The final positive aspect of this novel is the detail with which Grisham describes his characters. Grisham goes to great lengths to describe both the protagonist and the antagonist, giving the reader a sense that he or she is in the story. Some aspects of the book, however, could turn away some potential readers. One such aspect is the sometimes gratuitous violence and gore that is used in the novel. People in the story are strangled to death and run over with cars. More squeamish people would not find this book appealing. Another negative point of the novel is the sexual references that appear throughout the book. There is much talk of pornographic theaters and some references to sexual acts. The final aspect of the book that could be offensive to some people is the constant reference to homosexuals and the homosexual community. Much of the conflict starts over a closet homosexual who is killed when visiting a gay pornography theater. As a result, many events throughout the story focus on the aforementioned subject, which could prove to be uncomfortable to some people. Overall, the novel, The Pelican Brief, was enjoyable to read. It was extremely fast-paced and hard to put down, although the references to sex and pornography do grow tiresome. As with several other Grisham novels, this book would be best recommended to people with an interest in law. People who feel at least moderately comfortable with sexual references and violence would probably also enjoy this book.
Rating: 
Summary: not so good
Review: I never really got taken in by this story. It took 2/3 of the book to really get down to what the pelican brief was. Then the last 1/3 was like watching a car chase. The ending was fluffy, I was expecting an exciting twist that might make the whole book worth reading, but didn't get one. Left disappointed.
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