Rating: 
Summary: The Brethren
Review: Grossly dissapointing. This was a terrible book and Grisham should be embarassed. Grisham would be spinning in his grave if he were dead. The problem with the book is that there aren't any characters to like, they are either criminals or queers. I for one don't give a hoot about either. Boots.
Rating: 
Summary: Worst since Street Lawyer
Review: As a Grisham fan, I was disappointed in this book. There was no true protagonist to get behind and none of the characters were very likable or interesting. The plot was extremely limited and the ending was the most anticlimactic of his entire collection. Let's hope Grisham's venture outside the legal thriller with A Painted House can rejuvenate this great author.
Rating: 
Summary: The Brethen
Review: I have read all of Grisham's books minus 2. This book was one of the best I have read so far. I don't want to put it down! Excellent characters, excellent sequencing, excellent plot! It's a must read for all Grisham lovers!
Rating:
Summary: Different But Good
Review: This was the 4th book that I have read by John Grisham. The book before this I read was The Testament, which I though was excellent, although The Brethren I felt was not his best work. Sorry to say but I felt that the plot was lacking substance and carisma. Though this book was very different in nature I was confused on the rise of Arron Lake and the brief characters such as Buster and the Argrow brothers.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Fast Read
Review: This is my third Grisham book. This is my favorite of all the books of his I've read. The characters are fantastic and the plot is tight. Nearly impossible to put down. However, I felt a little empty after reading this book. It seemed to lose steam at the end. Nevertheless, the ending was appropriate. I just think perhaps it could have been a bit longer and more sophisticated.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing and predictable
Review: I've come to expect much more from Grisham. The plot was thin and predictable with none of the twists and turns in his prior works. The characters lacked development and depth and the story was all in all quite predictable. This was certainly an example of an author resting on his laurels and delivering little in the way of compexity.Entertainment for an afternoon, marginally better than TV.
Rating:
Summary: Inconsistent, uneven, not even worth the read.
Review: Grisham gets further and further away from his earlier brilliant books. I could barely follow the extremely implausible and uneven plot line. He is really inconsistent, often the characters contradict themselves within a few lines or paragraphs, i.e., extolling that they will only go so far to bend the rules of law, which they hold sacred, then in the next breath they go way over the line, almost in parody of what they just said. Grisham's had his time, wrote some of the best pageturners ever. This one was phoned in or ghost-written in a couple of days.
Rating:
Summary: Save your money
Review: I would hate to be the screen writer tasked with making this book into an interesting movie. Luckily I can't imagine that anyone will ever have to worry about that. John Grisham may not be the best at character development, or painting imaginative word pictures, but he has always been able to tell an interesting story. Until now. "The Brethren" contains not one likeable character and a story line that will leave you wondering if he spent more than 15 minutes trying to come up with a plot or if he just made it up as he went along. If this book were not written by John Grisham it would never have been published. Let's hope that Mr. Grisham takes a little more time in developing his next book and does not simply rely on his reputation to sell books.
Rating:
Summary: Picks up half-way through
Review: It starts of with two implausible conspiracy schemes. One is about a group of ex-judges in jail blackmailing closet homosexuals by threatening to out them. The other is yet another version of the tired old Manchurian candidate plot. Some of the dialog between the villainous CIA Director and his stooge presidential candidate consists of cliche-studded lectures about politics (the congressman is astounded to learn that Russian democracy is unstable). When the two schemes collide, about half-way through the thick book, the plot thickens, and we are in real Grisham country. After that I couldn't put it down, but if I hadn't known it was a Grisham I might not have read that far.
Rating: 
Summary: Know what you're buying
Review: Those reviewers that are trashing this book need to step back and ask themselves why they buy a John Grisham book. You should have already figured out from his previous works, especially his more recent ones, that you will not get compelling action or memorable characters. What you do get is a readable, entertaining story. The Bretheren delivers that. Face it, Grisham's recent books are not heavy reading. Unlike other reviewers, I enjoyed the ending. Does every ending have to have a surprising plot twist, a ferocious action sequence, or an "aw shucks" love union? Given the morality of the characters involved in the story, I find the ending ironic (although I won't say why for the sake of those who haven't read the book yet).
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