The Summons

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't pack a punch...
Review: Retired Judge Atlee lives in Clanton, Mississippi. He has been a widower for many years, reveres his Confederate ancestors and the Confederate cause, and lives in an antebellum mansion that hasn't seen paint or repairs in decades. Dying of cancer, the judge summons his sons home to Clanton to discuss his estate. Nathan "Ray" Atlee is a law professor at the University of Virginia. Forrest has struggled with a lifetime drug addiction and lives in Memphis. The judge was not a particularly good father, and both sons dread being summoned back home and go very reluctantly.

The story starts moving when Ray arrives home to find the judge already dead. Things seem neat and tidy (a will on the desk, $6000 in the bank, etc.). But they take a bizarre turn when Ray finds $3.1 million stacked in boxes in a cabinet behind the couch in the judge's study. His questions are endless: Where did the money come from? Is it dirty? Is it counterfit? Should he include it in the estate? Should he tell Forrest? Ray starts on a trek to discover the answers to his many questions. He quickly sees that his life is in danger because of it as someone else has knowledge of the money. He also comes to realize that the fact that this money will become his is very appealing to him.

Ray eventually finds the answers to most of his questions, but the ending is a little rushed and a bit open-ended. I figured out fairly quickly who the villain was (not something I usually do). The Summons just doesn't pack the punch of his earlier novels. I will continue to read Grisham, but will not purchase these novels in hardback.



Rating:
Summary: This is his best
Review: What characterization. John Grisham is at his best in this novel. His characters are so believable and fascinating. A wonderful tale. Right to the end. Good ending too.

Rating:
Summary: Kept me turning the pages...
Review: While this may not have been Grisham's most original or exciting novel, I happened to enjoy it.

The plot is simple: Two brothers are summoned to their father's house, to discuss his will and dying wishes. But when they get there he's dead, and there's over 3 million dollars hidden throughout the house in shoe boxes...Ray, the eldest finds the money, doesn't tell his brother & begins trying to figure out where it came from when he begins getting threats to hand it over. The question is who knows about it, and where did it come from.

I enjoyed the book, it was a quick read at just under 400 pages. The quiet suspense of where the money came from and what would happen to the brothers kept me turning the pages. I thought the characters were also likable and fun. I venture to say that most Grisham readers would like this book, but not as much as his "classics" like The Firm or Time to Kill.

Rating:
Summary: Argubly the worst ending ever commited to paper
Review: Deus ex machina...anti-climactic...a let-down...all of the above. Although I often critize Grisham for ending his novels too similarly (riding off into the sunset, never to practise law again...), anything would have been preferable to the way this book ends. To make matters worse, the story is actually halfway decent until the ending. Now you're probably thinking, "Why James, surely you jest! It is preferable to have a decent book with a cruddy ending than a cruddy book through and through." I would actually have preferred the book to have been lousy through and through, because as it was it generated just enough tension for me to actually care about the answer to the question the book revolves around. Instead, Grisham picks the worst possible character, the worst possible reason, and the worst possible motives. Look elsewhere...please. 3.5/10

Rating:
Summary: Sibling rivalry
Review: This book will make you think, and you may learn something also. It made me think about my relationship with my brother, the deep South (Mississippi mostly), and about what I would do if I found $3 million dollars.

I learned what some lawyers (a la Mr. French) will do for money, that is, what their life goals are. I learned there was or is a so-called "mafia" on the Gulf coast.

I was glad that Harry Rex Vonner was not involved in trying to obtain the $3 million, even though he was ready to retire. Harry eats too crazy for anyone to dislike.

Here's what I didn't think was too good about this book: the ending, as others have noted. It just sort of falls off the edge of the cliff, seeming to set up a sequel. Is there a sequel? What is Forrest going to do in a year when he leaves rehab?

But that's the author's business. He doesn't have to please all the people all the time, as the saying goes. Just some of the people all the time. I'm pleased. If you like books with lots of dialogue and somewhat simple plots, but books that still have substance, you'll be among those who like it. Otherwise, go back to Tom Clancy or Jack Higgins or........? Diximus.

Rating:
Summary: A Strained Ending to Strained Relationships
Review: While this is definitely not one of Grisham's best works it is still worth the read. I personally found the mysterious nature of the book somewhat alluring. I enjoyed learning about the characters and their individual strained relationships. The ending as many have commented seemed abrupt however in a story of a family that can't communicate it almost seemed fitting.