Rating: 
Summary: Nice detail and character development; predictable plot
Review: This unabridged audio version, read by the incomparable Frank Muller, is a delight to listen to. Muller is not called on to deliver foreign accents, but his mastery of regional American accents is wonderful.True to Grisham form, THE BRETHREN excels in character development and in recounting the minutiae of the action. The latter is always a nice educational experience for Grisham readers. What I must dock him two stars for is plot; it's completely linear and predictable. I kept listening for surprises and twists, but they never came. I'm not really sure what the author had in mind in doing it this way. Maybe the absence of surprises _is_ the surprise. This unabridged version runs about 11 hours on 7 cassettes. It does not require a player with a balance control or bookcassette adapter.
Rating: 
Summary: Poorley abridged book
Review: I have been told that the book was good. I wouldn't know. The abridged audio version chopped so much out of the story that I don't know much moor than I did from reading the dust jacket.
Rating:
Summary: Predictable Grisham
Review: I have read all of the Grisham books. I do enjoy his writing. With that said, I also must say that his style is becoming very predictable. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but I would like to see him "stretch" somewhat and give us something totally different.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely Disappointed
Review: This is definately not Grisham's best work. The story line dragged along slowly. The only other book by Grisham I have had trouble getting into was the The Chamber. The story line for this book was lacking. I kept expecting it to pick up and it never did. The ending only made me more disappointed. This is not a book that I would recommend with any enthusiasm.
Rating: 
Summary: The Brethren Review
Review: In his latest book, The Brethren, John Grisham continues to excite the reader starting with page one. Through the book the story gets more detailed and intices the reader more and more. The reason for four stars is that a couple of "loose ends" are merely discarded and left up to the imagination of the reader, or simply handled in a confusing way. However, this book is very good and definatly one you would want to have on your shelf.
Rating:
Summary: Very good, but not John's best!
Review: The Brethren is a book, like alot of Mr. Grisham's, that you just cant put down. It keeps the suspense up, and keeps you coming back for more. It may have been just me, but it seemed after i picked it up, and like a second later, i was done with the book. It was a real quick read, but good one at that. He's written better, but this one is pretty good as well. Just a little on the plot.. basically, 3 judges in jail have a mail scam going on, and eventually they catch the wrong fish :) Thats all im going to say.. do yourself a favor and pick it up if you want a good, quick read.
Rating:
Summary: No end in sight
Review: I enjoyed the plot but agree with most everyone else..there was no end. It is amazing to me that such a gifted storyteller can end a book in this manner and not realize that he has not completed the story. I did not understand the ending and I don't understand how he can just drop a period at the end of a sentence with no closure to the plot. Doesn't he realize what he has done and that readers would be critical of this apparent abrupt disregard for bringing his plot to an exciting and thought provoking ending? He, as an acclaimed author, must surely be aware of what he was doing. What was going through his mind when the decision was made to end the book?
Rating: 
Summary: do do is right
Review: John Grisham has done it again. He is such an excelent writer. I am not just saying that because he paid me either. He really really has a way with. uh how do you say? ah yes words.
Rating: 
Summary: a book you can skim and not miss anything
Review: I agree with the review above. The Firm was an excellent book. In The Brethren, none of the characters were developed and the plot was not believable. I skimmed the book. Luckily, I borrowed it from the library. I'm glad I didn't buy it because it is not a book I'd recommend or loan to a friend.
Rating:
Summary: "Brethrens'" good for a boring weekend
Review: The Brethren has the usual Grisham plot twisters interlaced the laws--a seedy deal, loopholes, ect. However, in this novel Grisham add another layer to it--politics. However his efforts fall short of expectations. The Bretherns' seedy schemes are amusing and Grisham's satire of the polical system is, at best, trite. With dialogues like, "With all the new artilerities being made, why would the Iraqis want to buy used ones. We assume it's fully operational." The character is supposedly the head of the CIA, one would expect the man to be more knowledgable. My advice to the author, "Stick to what you know best and leave the political satire to better able writers." Don't get me wrong, the book kills several hours out of your day and is entertaining to read if you have nothing else better to do. The plot is intriguing and, I hate to admit, captivating. Once you've sank your teeth into there's no putting the book down. You have to find out how it ends, trite as it is.
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