Rating: 
Summary: A Disappointment? I think not.
Review: After reading a number of nit-picking, judgmental, unsympathetic customer reviews regarding John Grisham's latest legal thriller, I was horrified. Granted, some of Grisham's earlier works had more solid plots than The Summons, and yes, better endings, but Grisham is still the greatest American author today. And in my opinion, he is one of the greatest authors ever. Period. I commend Grisham for continuing his writing efforts after producing such undisputed literary masterpieces as The Firm and The Client. It would have been very easy for him to have called it quits after seeing his productions receive the highest praises. However, he is continuing his dedication to his fans by producing quality pieces. The Summons is no exception. It contains an intriguing plot, colorful characters, and- despite what some negative reviewers have falsely claimed- a brilliant surprise ending. While I admit some of Grisham's earlier works have been better, The Summons is in no way a disappointment. It is what all of Grisham's earlier novels have been--a wonderful page-turner anyone in his or her right mind would love to call their own.
Rating: 
Summary: Who Stole The Ending?
Review: Ray Atlee and his delinquent brother, Forrest are summoned by their father to return home. Their father is a judge of very high standing within his Mississippi community, and he is dying. Before Ray arrives, his father dies, leaving Ray to discover the body. While alone in the house with his dead father, he also makes another discovery which turns his life upside down.From this point the story could have gone in one of two directions. We could have been treated to a 'What would you do if'' scenario with an accompanying roller-coaster ride of spine tingling thrills and an intriguing ending in a finale that was completely unexpected. Alas, this is not the case. In fact, it all gets rather mundane with no real memorable moments or startling events. Although it's written in the unmistakable Grisham style making it an easy-reading story, it's rather like a poorly made wine. The plotline promises so much, yet is thin and disappointing. It leaves the palate quickly with no lingering aftertaste and ends up being a pretty forgettable experience. And, by the way, who stole the ending?
Rating: 
Summary: Terrible
Review: This was one of the worst books I've ever heard. While Michael Beck was outstanding, the content was boring. The ending left me hanging and completely unsatisfied. Just awful!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointment
Review: John Grisham really lets us down on this book. The plot has possibilities, but he fails to develop it to its potential. After The Testament and The Street Lawyer I thought Grisham would explore in more depth the moral dilemma confronted. But instead the energy went into finding the source of the money and looking for ways to hide it. The greatest curiosity about the book, however, is why Grisham misrepresents estate taxes as he does. Even when considering the modest estate of the father without the hidden cash Grisham leads his readers to believe half would be eaten up in estate taxes. Surely as an attorney he knows the first $1m of the estate is tax free. I had to wonder if he was pushing a political agenda in this book.
Rating:
Summary: A disappointment for Grisham fans
Review: This book had a lot of potential. If it had been a short story, it would have been a great read. But it just drags on...and on... and on...to a very disappointing and unsatisfying ending.
Rating:
Summary: A New Low for Grisham
Review: Grisham has been on a downward spiral since the Runaway Jury. Bad plots, boring characters and terrible endings have made me doubt that this is even the same person who wrote the Rainmaker and the Firm. I didn't think he could write a worse book than the Testament, but I was wrong. The Summons suffers from a lack of characters and a lack of character development. Grisham spends more time talking about airplanes than he does about most of the people in the novel. The plot is simplistic at best and it is painfully clear where the meandering story will end up. And the ending was just awful. Not even one of his classic tacked on "sailing off into the sunset" endings - the book just abruptly ended. Do yourself a favor, skip this and read one of his earlier books instead.
Rating:
Summary: A Major Disappointment part 2...
Review: (...) What a major disappointment! Grisham really failed his fans this time in a big way. I think one of his children wrote the story and he published it under his own name. If I could rate it zero stars, I would.
Rating:
Summary: dull
Review: I've read all of Mr. Grisham and it is almost as if he is two people. His earlier books were wonderful, but since the Chamber he has turned into a different person. I kept waiting for the plot to happen, maybe some real interaction between the characters but all I got was Ray going from place to place to hide money? The last line in the book is how I feel about Mr. Grisham books now, later bro! I suggest that you wait until this book is in paperback because it is not The Firm, although it does have a couple of moments but Mr. Grisham makes sure he jumps right over them.
Rating:
Summary: PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: What happened to John Grisham!?!? I can honestly say, without regret, he has lost his touch. No one in their right mind can say that his books of today are the same as the ones of yesterday. I will not bore you with a synopsis, as you probably know by now what this book is about from reading the other reviews. I will say this: 1. If you're looking for suspense - it's not here.
2. If you're looking for a page-turner - it's not here.
3. If you're looking for a great legal thriller - it's not here.
4. If you're looking for a real nail-biter - it's not here.
5. If you're looking for twists and turns - it's not here.
6. If you're looking for John Grisham - he's not here. C'mon, let's get real! I am so tired that just because an author uses a legal name in the title, then it's classified as a legal thriller! A legal thriller deals with legal issues! John, if you're not going to write legal novels any more, fine, but don't package you're novels as such and then not deliver. It's not fair, and it's misleading! When you look at his earlier works, A TIME TO KILL, THE FIRM, THE PELICAN BRIEF, THE CLIENT, THE CHAMBER, THE RAINMAKER, THE RUNAWAY JURY, all of these ARE legal thrillers and all of them were excellent. Now, when you compare that to his newer books, THE PARTNER, THE STREET LAWYER, THE BRETHREN, and now THE SUMMONS, all of these are mediocre, if not poor compared to those white-knuckle books of long ago. It saddens me to see such a wonderful author fizzle out. Unfortunately, that's what has happened with John Grisham and THE SUMMONS. John's book is boring and you can tell he is bored. The writing isn't gripping. The characters are [boring]. The story is slow. It's as if John is writing to fill contractual obligations. This book could've been so much better, but when the author seems bored with his work, you've got to expect your audience to be bored as well. Better luck next time.
Rating:
Summary: DON'T ANSWER THIS SUMMONS
Review: This depressing short story is only 300 pages too long.
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