Rating: 
Summary: It just didn't seem like "him"...
Review: Don't get me wrong... I am a huge fan of Grisham, but I just really disliked this book. I think the very first sign that this book was going downhill was the fact that the title character was far from likeable. In all of his other books, the reader rooted for the lawyer/juror with enthusiasm, but in The Summons you really didn't care what happened to this guy. The anti-climactic ending upset and mystefied me. I guess I just expected a better "legal effort" after the surprising success of Skipping Christmas and A Painted House.
Rating: 
Summary: A big disappointment
Review: Ray Atlee is a professor of law at the University of Virginia. He's newly single, and about to find out a shocking family secret.Judge Atlee is a beloved and powerful judge, but he is sick, very sick, and it's a matter of time before he dies. Knowing his time is coming closer to an end, the judge summons his two sons, Ray, and Forrest, the black sheep who is trying desperately to stay sober. Wanting to settle the matter of his estate, Judge Atlee awaits the arrival of his sons, but unfortunately he dies before he sees them, leaving behind a deadly legacy. Ray, being the first to arrive, is shocked by the news of his father's death, but even more shocking is the discovery of a bag containing an obscene amount of money hidden in the house. Keeping the money a secret from Forrest is the first of Ray's obstacles, for as he begins tracing the origin of the money he finds he is not the only person aware of it... Desperate, and on the run, Ray must find his answers, or he will die trying. 'The Summons' is not a good book at all; not only is it boring, but it's confusing, and where the plot could have been suspenseful it's dry. The story opens quickly, but takes major turns with the introduction of various characters and sub plots. If the story stayed focused on the main plot it would have been interesting, instead it takes detours and becomes tiresome. John Grisham is a good storyteller, but where he was the king of the legal thriller he is now opting to spread his wings and lead his stories into straight fiction, and it's not working. After a series of major bestsellers, Grisham is losing steam, and the punch of his earlier novels is lacking in his newer titles. Fans of the novels 'The Firm', 'The Client', and 'The Partner' will highly disappointed with 'The Summons'. Nick Gonnella
Rating:
Summary: Worst in years
Review: Easily the worst Grisham I have ever read--weak story, few characters, no hint to who the antagonist is, gives no reasons for the protagonist's actions, no courtroom action, or legal action related to the plot. Save your money, or buy one of his older ones like "The Runaway Jury," The Partner," or "The Rainmaker."
Rating:
Summary: Big Grisham Fan - Worst of His Books
Review: Very little legal drama, very little drama at all.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Grisham page-turner!
Review: I bought this book Wednesday night and finished it before I went to bed that same night. I couldn't put it down. I don't know if I've ever done that before now. One of Grisham's most interesting and intriguing stories. Not a deep-philosophical-Pulitzer-Prize-winning kind of novel, but a fun, enjoyable read, which is what I prefer. Highly recommended!!
Rating:
Summary: Grisham is back!
Review: After a couple of years (or more) "treading water" with experimentations, John Grisham is back with "The Summons"! It's probably not his best work as our favorites are "The Firm" and "The Testament" but "The Summons" is once again a real (!) Grisham. Excellent character studies and it seems Grisham is good at that. The pacing is a little slow and the plot isn't sophisticated, but it's an enjoyable book to read and refreshing to see Grisham in action again. For a book that has all the elements of international corporate intrigue, excellent characters, exotic locales and fast pacing I highly recommend the high-powered mega thriller THE CONSULTANT by Alec Donzi.
Rating: 
Summary: Quick read & a ripping yarn!
Review: John Grisham is a bookseller's best friend and with good reason! His legion of fans know that they can expect to spend several hours with a likeable hero as he fights his way through an unlikely but not impossible legal situation. Readers reward Grisham (and the booksellers) by snatching up his latest novel the minute it hits the shelves, and Grisham rewards his readers by turning out tautly written suspense on a fairly regular basis. _The Summons_ is no exception. Though thinner than most Grisham novels, it grabs the reader on the first page and doesn't let go until the bitter end. It is an easy 6-8 hour read that leaves you satisfied and entertained if wishing for a little more. The protagonist, Ray Atlee, might have been better served by being written in the first person. Ray has issues with his distant father, his no-goodnik brother, his faithless ex-wife and women in general. This book, having been tighly edited for story pacing, forces the reader's inside knowledge of the hero to come stricly from his interactions with other characters and reactions to situations. That would be fine if there were more revealing scenes. Instead, the climax finds Ray revealing thoughts & feelings that seem inconsistent with what the reader know about him. The reader is suddenly pulled out of the story to ask himself, "Why is our basically honest hero saying this now? Is he lying? If so, why? If he's being truthful, why didn't I know this about him before now?" But, I nit-pick. _The Summons_ overall delivers exactly what you expect. A decent man's struggle with indecent events and a ripping good yarn. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: After 3 novels, Grisham has returned to legal thriller form.
Review: It has been a while since John Grisham delved into the area of legal thrillers, three books in fact (Yes I am not counting The Brethren as a legal thriller)However, through that absence he has improved his writing style greatly.
At 341 pages, I was a little disappointed. I wondered how good a Grisham legal thriller could be with only 341 pages. I soon found out.
The opening chapter, which I read a couple of weeks ago, did not really spark my attention too much. But, the day the book came out I read almost half of it. The first half was interesting enough. It set the stage, introduced the characters (extremely well, I might add), and opened up the mystery of the story.
The next day, I flew through the second half of the book. Finishing it, I just had to think about it for a while. Grisham wrote a perfectly believable story. He didn't waste time and pages by setting up an inordinate amount of suspects, common to a lot of mystery/suspense novels. His descriptions were not windy yet enough to fully immerse oneself into the plot and location. However, what I found most impressive was his charcter descriptions. All of the characters in the story were believable, especially the prtagonist, Ray Atlee. Grisham didn't delve too much into the psycologoical like Dean Koontz, but he did give an accurate and life-like description of a man with a huge problem on his hands.
All in all, John Grisham keeps you guessing until the very end. At 341 pages, The Summons is a lean, fit, and thoroughly enjoyable book. I think it is one of his best.
Rating:
Summary: He's back!
Review: Finally the John Grisham that gave us The Firm and The Client. No more preaching to his readers, just a good story that's hard to put down!
Rating:
Summary: AMAZING!
Review: All that I can say is, "WOW". This book is truly Grisham at his best. In "The Summons" we are brought back to Clanton, Mississippi, and even see the return of Harry Rex Vonner, from Grisham's first book, "A Time To Kill". I got "The Summons" the morning that it came out, and stayed up reading it until almost 1 in the morning . And just had to finish it the next day. I was addicted to this book. I hated puting it down. Grisham is back with the legal thrillers!! I can't wait till the next one next year! An amazing book by Grisham.
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