Rating: 
Summary: Slipping further
Review: Grisham's books are getting worse, not better. This book wasn't awful but it also wasn't that interesting, either. I remember how he used to weave an intricate plot [i.e. The Firm] and include interesting characters [i.e. The Chamber or The Client]. Neither of these can be found in this book. Characters are unidimensional. The plot is weak. I think in the future, I will wait for paperback versions of his books. Better yet, I will just borrow them from a friend and save my money!
Rating: 
Summary: Made me angry
Review: I used to look forward to Grisham's next book, but this is probably the last I will read. Recently I've felt less than satisfied, compared to his early works, but I still enjoyed them enough to come back the next time.When I finished this one, however, I had to sit and wonder at how a novel could make me resent that I had spent my time reading it. While the book was easy to read, and while the characters were somewhat engaging, I kept waiting and waiting for SOMETHING to happen. Guess what? It never did. The ending was incredibly weak, as if the book was "supposed" to be a certain number of pages, and that the author simply decided to be done at that point. In my opinion, the book was Grisham's worst, by far. It may even be the worst book I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Terribly predictable. Started slow, got a little better,
then a complete let-down as it went on. Had the ending figured out long before the book stopped. His first books were good to excellent. Now feel that he's churning them out just for the money because there isn't a lot of thought that goes into his later works (this being the worst, yet). I had hopes, but was simply disappointed again.
Rating: 
Summary: Page-turner with surprise ending
Review: The Summons is a page-turner; very suspenseful. It really held my interest. It was fun trying to figure out who else might know about the money that Ray found, and who it was that was trying to get it from Ray. I related to Ray's delimma when he found the money and to the actions he took while trying to figure out what to do with it. The ending was quite a surprise to me - never would have suspected it. Great book!
Rating:
Summary: Grisham Grows Up
Review: John Grisham has apparently grown up with this latest offering of legal intrigue. Idealism and ethics (or the occasional lack thereof?) are laced throughout this volume, but Grisham Justice has certainly evolved. I liked the cleanly concise book, with the big surprise at the end. The characters (or should I say caricatures?) were interesting if not totally lovable, and kept this reader guessing as to exactly who were the good guys/bad guys. The book was streamlined and uncluttered and perhaps there WAS an emptiness in Ray. The airplane lore and casino environment were fascinating as well as the insight into mass torts. Summoned home to a dying father (the Judge), law school professor Ray realizes he wasn't quite fast enough. And then he discovers a totally unexpected $3 million in cash - and a brand new will. The premise is certainly thought provoking.
Rating: 
Summary: John Grisham does it again!
Review: The Summons was a very well-constructed story-line that kept the interest of the reader until the very last page. Grisham is a great talent in the literary field that we need not take for granted. He constantly comes up with intelligent, tangled-web plots with easy-reading dialogue. His characters are believable and realistic, and it is a pleasure to sit down and dive into his fictitious creations. Grisham is truly a master of his craft.
Rating:
Summary: Things Are Not As They Appear
Review: People are never as simple as they appear. Ray Atlee is a UVA law professor in his mid-forties, recovering from a nasty divorce. His brother, Forrest, provides black sheep with a good name. Their father, a sickly, scrupulous judge living in Mississippi, issues a call for both of his sons to appear, but the audience never takes place. The judge dies before he can relate what is on his mind. Rummaging through his papers, Ray discovers the old man had a secret. Its unwinding makes for a great tale.
Rating:
Summary: Grisham again and again, the same old!
Review: no more for me! I have read them all. Very slow. Maybe just the fact that I have read too many, but his books seem to go to "best seller" status before the bookstores get them. Perhaps because they publish enough numbers from the "get go" to make it a best seller so you buy it. I have enjoyed a lot of his earlier books but the plots get thinner and thinner.
Rating:
Summary: You be the judge.
Review: I purchased this book, after having read the feedback here. There was a lot of negative feedback, but I'm not one for accepting the "popular opinion." Grisham again takes simplicity, and turns into a jewel. That's Grisham. Out of simplicity, he makes a wonderful novel. His manner of taking characters, and giving them life and interest, is where his genius makes an example. The characters' dialogues is sometimes too simple, but that is his style, and I enjoy it. The only thing I didn't like too much (although found it refreshing,) was the Island accent on the lawyer for the insurance attorney investigating the Bonanza's sabotage. Apart from that, the story is plausible, and the ending was pretty good. The only reason why I gave it 4 out of 5, is because Grisham could shine more as a contemporary writer, if he would polish his characters' dialogue a bit more. It could of made this story, a bit more interesting. Can't wait for his next novel. Especially, after all the critisizm.
Rating:
Summary: One of the worst books I've ever read...
Review: He's resting on his laurels. Each of his books gets more and more cryptic. At least they had interesting plots, up until now. Remember Pelican Brief? Remember The Client? These were well rounded and full and rich with words. The Summons is not. You keep expecting it to start getting interesting but it just never does. I was severely disappointed. I paid full-price for a hardcover--I'd like my money back!
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