Rating: 
Summary: Grisham is losing his touch
Review: I was so disappointed in "The Brethren." The book was slowly paced and I did not find it interesting at all. Most Grisham books grabbed me right away, but not this one. I didn't care about any of the characters. The plot was predictable and monotonous. I hope his next book is better, because he can only go up from here
Rating: 
Summary: A BIG Disappointment
Review: This is the 7th Grisham book that I have read. I looked so forward to reading this and was gravely disappointed in it. Grisham's books are usually very easy to read and understand, but the plot in this book, was quite confusing, although it did straighten up towards the end. I found that I had to read at least 160 pages before I was somewhat interested in it. The idea of the book was good but it was confusing. It was also chopped off at the end and more information could have been given. I won't give up on Grisham. Maybe next time it will be better.
Rating:
Summary: Amazingly Bad
Review: Nowadays,I read each new Grisham novel with a sense of horror at how low the same man who gave us " The Firm", "The Client", "The Pelican Brief", and yes- even "The Rainmaker" and "The Chamber" can sink. Unfortunately, Mr. Grisham has joined a long line of authors ( Sidney Sheldon being one who comes first to mind) who are more worried about producing at least a book a year, and hang the quality. "The Brethren" is just the latest example of the substandard fare he has been dishing out for the last few years. Where does one start? Firstly, Mr.Grisham, sadly just like Mr. Tom Clancy is now using his novels as a platform to air his regressive political views. Which wouldn't be so bad if he at least delivered readable output which tried to go beyond being merely offensive- after all, authors down the ages have used fiction to air their politics; Rudyard Kipling did, and whether or not you agreed with his message, you had to admire the sheer power of his writing. But let's try and examine "The Brethren" more closely to see where it fails ( and fails so miserably). Plot- Loose; with gaping holes that any body who's read a halfway bad legal thriller will be able to recognise. Characterisation- Poor, and worse- unsubtle. Although you try and muster pity for some of the characters which plague the pages ( out of pity for the author who practically points out with neon markers:- "Here thou shalt feel pity" or "Here there lies humour", for the most part you just want to strangle them for the sheer idiocy and the total lack of purpose of their actions. Even worse are the fringe characters peppered throught the novel ( from the victims of the extortion scheme to surplus CIA agents, assorted politicians and mothers of dead lawyers) who uncertainly enter the novel, mumble their lines and exit, as if in some black parody. It has been said that the first sign of bad writing is when authors introduce characters without reason, or give lengthy descriptions of purposeless things done by their characters ( and no, it is NOT an attempt to build "atmosphere"). Read a few pages of " Mother visits dead lawyer" in this novel and you will realise that this is amply obvious in "The Brethren". Narrative- Disjointed and confused. The author has clearly not planned his narrative structure and while disjointed narrative is a valid literary tool, here it is plain boring. Pace- About the only redeeming feature of this novel ( and the only one which ensures that you continue to the end) is that in spite of all these shortcomings, the author maintains a fair pace which keeps you turning the pages and enables you to (thankfully) finish the novel quickly. The Ending- Tapers of into a bewildering non-ending. I am not one of those idiots who think that an ending isn't an ending until there's a twist in the tale, but please! give me a break with this one. The author does not seem to have any idea on what to do with his "brethren" himself, and thus takes the soft option, as you will find out if you stick with this novel to the end. All in all, Mr. Grisham would do well to emulate Scott Turrow who writes a novel only once every 2-4 years but never fails to turn out a finely crafted legal masterpiece. Unbridled prolificism ( if there is such a word) isn't a good thing. Just banking on one's trademark dry humour and fast pace can only carry one so far. Otherwise Mr. Grisham stands to lose much more than the millions he gets in royalties- he stands to lose his self-respect. PS- I have never written a book review before, much less such a long one. But this book was so bad that it inspired me to write this review.
Rating: 
Summary: NO ENDING!
Review: I have to agree with most reviewers here in that the book has NO ENDING whatsoever. What a disappointment. I happily sailed through the bulk of this novel content with the feeling that Mr. Grisham had once again worked his magic, keeping me spellbound and off-guard. I saved the final two chapters to savor on a particularly relaxing evening thinking that some clever solution was in the offing. Instead, I was met with a quick "sum-up" which made no sense at all and that was totally out of pace with the rest of the book! I don't lay blame on the skill of Mr. Grisham, only in that, as Nancy Martin said, it seemed as if he ran out of time. Worth reading, but don't expect that lovely satisfying feeling of "closure."
Rating: 
Summary: Like the John Grisham of days gone by.
Review: Having plodded thru the past couple of Mr. Grisham's novel, it was jusst wonderful to once again get a page turner that took less two days to read. No way could I put this one down It is hard to find what one would call the definitive all American good guy protagonist. It's a nice change of pace to cheer for the "good guys" who are in reality flawed neer-do-wells. While not quite noir characters, they have an occasional burst of a Damon Runyanesquelike charm. You cannot totally despise them as they attempt to beat the system. I found a high entertainment value throughout the book. It may have been short on the courtroom drama, but it was full of the type of action that grabbed me in "The Client." This one was a treat. KVD
Rating:
Summary: I'm missing a chapter
Review: As a Grisham fan,I have read all of his books and can never wait till the following March,except for 2001. At first I found it kind of slow then, suddenly all the pieces fell together, was I ever wondering what would happen? Needless to say, I'm positive that my book is missing the last few chapters.
Rating:
Summary: Up, up, up, up, up-DOWN
Review: This is the third Grisham book I have read or listened to via audio. His books are well thought out . . . meticulous to the last detail. However, what happened to "The End" of the Brethren? I absolutely hated the ending. He had me throughout the entire book, and then bam, the end. Very anticlimatic. Will think twice about reading another one.
Rating:
Summary: WAS able to put it down!
Review: As much as I love Grisham's books, this one was a bit of a disappointment. It did not have the "flow" of his other books, and I found that it took me longer to read this book then most of his other lengthier books. I thought with the mail scam the judges had going, some mention would be made of federal postal inspectors involvment, but he did not choose to go there. The ending was a bit of a surprise, but also a disappointment---would anyone who had received such a lucky break be that stupid? If you have never read any of Grisham's books, do not judge him on this one.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed, a little surprised
Review: I'm not sure why I buy Grisham's books every time a new one comes out, but I haven't missed one yet. And there not that great, but almost always entertaining. That is not the case with the Brethren. This book has almost no redeeming qualities and reads as if Grisham didn't even enjoy it. There is virtually no plot and the characters are as unlikeable asany I've ever read. His previous novel, the Testament, showed a promising new side of Grisham. Combined with presidential intrique I expected a good read. Sorry.
Rating:
Summary: what a letdown
Review: The Brethren started off well and then seemed to lose momentum. I found myself waiting for a climax than never came. Im not sure if it was a matter of a rushed ending or just a poorly developed plot. Whatever the case, I was quite disappointed with this one.
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