Rating: 
Summary: A flawed conclusion
Review: An interesting concept but a weak conclusion forces me to give no more than a three-star review for John Grisham's 'The Brethren'. The story is simple - three disgraced judges prey on closet homosexuals, demanding money for their silence. One of their intended victims is just about to hit the political world big time. Meanwhile, in the background, the Director of the CIA is monitoring (and changing) events to suit himself.While the story rolls along at a good rate, and while we're treated again to Grisham's short, declarative sentences, the outcome is one that left me wondering why I'd read the book. In any novel that is predicated on plot, the plot must be watertight and must follow through logically. This one does not. There are loopholes that an author as good as Grisham should have foreseen and plugged. How, for example, does a half-drunk lawyer who is being watched day and night by the CIA, just walk out of his house without being seen? Why would the CIA permit the scam to continue, threatening their preferred candidate, when they could have closed it down in moments? And why, at the end, were the bad guys just allowed to walk free? I enjoy Grisham, but 'The Brethren' left me feeling empty.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining and a Quick Read
Review: I liked this book. Grisham has done again what he does consistently well. Unfold an interesting tale of criminality or nefarious doings that moves at a quick pace and never gets boring. Yes, it is not his best book, as many others point out, but still ranks as a good effort from one of the most popular authors in America today. This story hinges on a wonderfully simple criminal extortion scheme hatched by three judges doing time in a federal penitentiary. Their scheme (I don't want to give it away) plays upon people exercising a fantasy in a way they think is discrete, only to find themselves subject to paying to keep their identity and fetish secret from their families, friends and community. The difficult task for the schemers is doing this from inside the pen, but they overcome that problem with the help of a few well placed twenties and a corrupt local attorney. This story manages to intertwine the swindle with presidential politics, CIA intrigues and a counter-plan to silence the Brethern (as the judges refer to themselves) before they interfere with a chillingly brazen plan to capture the White House. I didn't think Grisham spent as much time developing most of his characters as he has in past books -- many make convenient appearances in order to advance the plot and then disappear again. But the pacing is quick, the story intriguing and clever, and all in all a fun read.
Rating:
Summary: Actually fun, if you don't take it seriously...
Review: This was a fun John Grisham novel. Sure, the characters are sleazy, people are killed, etc, but behind the whole thing the author was clearly enjoying himself. I enjoyed it more than most Grishman novels. In fact, one could argue that the entire book is a meditation, a condemnation, a spoof of national politics--but I doubt that the intention...maybe it was. Anyway, it is a fun ride that is not typical Grisham--which is a good thing. One thing that is very spooky, is that book was written in 2000...Grisham had the threat of terrorism to the United States nailed perfectly. I wonder if he thought of this book on 9/11. Oh well. Good read.
Rating:
Summary: Big Buildup ... Big Letdown
Review: Patrick O'Kelley states in his review that, "In the end, The Brethren marks a transition in Grisham's career toward a more thoughtful narrative style with less interest in the big-payoff blockbuster ending." That's an understatement that masks the basic flaw in Grisham's otherwise fine book: the ending stinks. The entire premise--three imprisoned judges conspiring to blackmail rich, closeted gays and ensnaring the leading Presidential candidate who's a puppet of the CIA trying to forestall Russian neo-militarism--is a bit far-fetched ... until you remember the Clinton era. But Grisham weaves the unconnected story threads together in a growing mystery that is both interesting and well written. The setup is for a surprise ending, a bit of action, or at least an extra twist or two. But we get nothing. The story just peters out. I had a growing appreciation for Grisham's creativity and plotting ability as the book progressed, but closed it disappointed. Rabid Grisham fans may appreciate it, but first-timers may enjoy one of his earlier books better. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of Wake Up Dead.
Rating:
Summary: The world is a big plot of the CIA
Review: John Grisham leads us into some political fiction about a presidential election in the US that is entirely rigged by the CIA. This is a very banal idea that many authors have worked upon over several decades now. Everything that happens in the US and in the world comes from the CIA. The CIA is the real and only ruler of the world. Note the boss of this plotting organization is an old man in a wheel chair. Physically impotent, yet he is the brain of all plots, events, and violence in the world. The first idea here is that finally that clandestine king that rules the CIA wants to have a President that would be their real toy, a man that they would have done, made, produced, crowned, through popular vote manipulated by some guided violence in the world. The second idea is that the only winning motto in the US is war, violence, security, the desire to be safe at home, and to control the world in order to be safe at home. The world is dangerous and the US, Americans are the prime target of all those in the world who want a share of power. Hence the only policy can be to double the budget of the Pentagon to have the best defense and weapons in the world. That is a little simple, even simple-minded. But that was acceptable in 2000 when the book came out. Today we would have our doubts because we have found out that the best weapons are nothing against the will of masses of people to counteract and to resist, if these people are ready not to count casualties on their side : they are numerous enough to cause damage, to create havoc, and yet to find more volunteers to go on with the sea of such a popular, massive guerrilla warfare. The last idea, and the thrilling plot of this novel is a scam against gay people organized by three judges (from all levels of justice) operating from a prison. It is easy. It is effective. It can bring in a lot of money, especially when they manage to trap the CIA-made candidate in their net. The whole book is about how they negociate the obstacle that becomes at once a great asset in their scam. And they do that very effectively. An entertaining book in a not so entertaining world. But also a frightening book in a very frightening world. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
Rating:
Summary: Mutiple plots come together(* * * 1/2)
Review: Suprisingly entertaining book. Book talks about terroism and presidential primaries, reflective of today's 2004. Multiple plots come together throughout the book. Good read!
Rating:
Summary: did not disappoint me until the ending
Review: After reading the reviews here, as I always do before I pick up a book, I was worried. The Brethren did not get many good reviews. I gave it a chance anyway and I'm glad I did. While this is not Grisham's best story, I thought this was an over-all good book. I enjoyed the story of the 3 judges in prison, running their scam. I also enjoyed the story of the man running for President and the crooked people involved. They came together in a predictable way, but still, I was enjoying the story. I enjoyed it up until the end, and that's what I did not enjoy. The ending. It did lack excitement or any type of climax. And other than seeing a few characters that could have been edited out, I liked this book. I guess I'd leave it up to the reader- I think this was worth the read. But maybe you won't if you're a big "ending person". I'll leave that decision up to you.
Rating:
Summary: Long Road to Nowhere
Review: I won't go into detail about the plot of the book. With nearly 1000 reviews at this time, there are far more summaries you can read. This is only the second book from Grisham that I have read (after the Firm). I'm a fan of caper/crime stories, and the idea of a con game being run from prison appealled to me. Grisham's style is easy and quick. His characters are drawn broadly, but with the exception of the non-entity of Aaron Lake (and maybe that was Grisham's point), they are entertaining. I had one major complaint against the book: The total lack of suspense. As others have noted, this story, which appears to be a thriller, has very few thrills in it. Once the major coflict is set up, the three judges versus the CIA, nothing is really resolved. And while a shadow of a threat hangs over the last quarter of the book, Grisham robs the reader of a sense of closure by not having any dramatic climax to speak of. Yes, as written the story has a logical resolution, but none of the characters ever really know what's going on, and the only character that comes close never acts on the information, he simply gives up. Things are hinted at, but never fully shown. One other small gripe is that there is no clear protagonist, no one for whom the reader can relate to or root for. Not the judges, who are not portrayed sympathetically at all, or the puppet-like Presidential candidate, or even the crooked attorney being stalked by the CIA. From what I understand, this, along with 'Testament' was one of Grisham's last novels before he started breaking out of the legal thriller genre with 'A Painted House.' Maybe he was losing interest in the genre and wanted to stretch himself, or maybe he was just losing steam, but it's obvious he was going in a different direction than when his career started, and this book shows it.
Rating:
Summary: Just good fun. Not to be taken seriously
Review: Grisham has to be one of the most cynical authors writing legal fiction today. Everyone is corrupt, thinking only of himself, and money rules. The "Brethren" are three ex-judges who have been incarcerated in a minimum security federal prison for a variety of avaricious crimes. While in prison, they procure the services of Trevor, a greedy little lawyer who agrees to act as the go-between in a dirty scheme to extort money from gay men who are fearful of being outed. Trevor bribes the prison guards to look the other way while he "smuggles" in forbidden documents and deposits their ill-begotten proceeds in an off-shore bank account. It's all very sordid. A subplot, that becomes mixed with the affairs of the Brethren concerns Teddy Maynard, director of the CIA, who, appalled by the fall of communism and the concomitant reduction in military spending, conspires to find a candidate of suitable malleability, whom he can groom to be the next president. Aaron Lake, handsome, widowed, a light drinker, with no political baggage, seems the perfect choice. Just to be on the safe side, though, Maynard has Lake followed everywhere. By instigating terrorist actions at the appropriate time, and collecting huge amounts of money from weapons manufacturers who stand to reap huge profits from Lake's sole campaign promise: to double the defense budget; Maynard assures that Lake soon has a commanding lead over the vice-president, the previous front runner. Maynard will stop at nothing, including orchestrating a murder, to realize his dream of controlling the president. While following Lake, Maynard's agents discover he has a PO Box hidden away. They "borrow" the mail - notice the CIA has already been involved in several gross violations of the law, all in the name of national security - and discover to their horror that their "perfect" candidate is conducting a surreptitious correspondence with a young man looking for a wealthy male gigolo. We know that the young man, Ricky" is really the creation of the Brethren. The Brethren, always careful, learn who "AL" really is, and see a huge windfall in the making. What better extortion candidate than someone running for president. Soon they realize that there is a third party involved, a very powerful group of men, but they are determined to make the most of the situation. The ending, which I won't reveal, is less a blockbuster than a revelation of Grisham's sordid view of the world.
Rating:
Summary: You'll know where it's going
Review: While there's not much suspense here, it isn't the worst thing I've ever read. The story isn't very hard to figure out and before you are a quarter of the way through it, most of the twists are pretty easy to see coming. That being said, I kept turing pages to see where it would end up. I can't say this is a bad book, but it's not a great one either. It's not a bad way to kill a few hours but you certainly won't be thinking about it a week after reading it.
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