The Summons

Rating:
Summary: The Summons
Review: John Grisham's writing is direct, clear, and without any unnecessaryor distracting flourish in vocabulary. This enables the author to present each event and character without confusion to the reader (or listener) or the necessity to "go back" for clarification as the story progresses. Because of this, Grish am's style gets your attention from the very first sentence and the story seems to "flow" to it's conclusion. The tape of "The Summons" which I had the pleasure of listening to had the elements ofhumor, surprise, shock, and the highly unexpected ending.

Rating:
Summary: Can't believe I wasted my time on this!!!
Review: There is not much I can say about this one, except don't waste your time or money. This was the worst ever. I was so disappointed. I saved it for a trip. Started it in Boston, finished it somewhere over Cleveland, if the windows on the plane opened I'd have tossed it. The ending really made me mad. I have enjoyed most all of Grisham to date but this was awful.. Sorry John, but the truth is the truth!!

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Summary: The party is apparently over
Review: I have read all of Grisham's books. I think The Firm is one of the best page turners ever. I generally enjoyed most of the others, but I think The Testament was so bad that somebody should have been prosecuted. I also found the Bretheren lacking.
And, we come to The Summons. Slow, plodding, takes way too long to tell the story, and when you get to the end, alas there isn't much of a story. I think Grisham has lost it. I won't bite on the next one. The Summons for me was one of those books that made me angry that I had spent time reading it.

Rating:
Summary: grisham was in a hurry
Review: the summons was the worst Grisham book. it seems like he had to fulfill some obligatin to his publisher and hastily wrote this meaningless, forgetful book. the story is weak. and the ending is obvious. i used to trust the 'best selling list' but after seeing that 'the summons' made number one, i will from now on draw my own opinion on what is considered a good book.

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Summary: I love all Grisham Novels, but think he's losing his touch.
Review: Everytime John Grisham has a book out, I can't wait to read it; even if I have to get the hardback copy. So of course, when this came out, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I was totally into it (kept me reading until the wee hours) then to my disappointment, the ending totally failed me! I think that Mr. Grisham needs a vacation from writing a book every other month and to come up with a more feasible conclusion for his novels.
I would wait until this comes out in paperback and also wait for his future novels to be made into movies.

Rating:
Summary: A Great read ...
Review: John Grisham is one of the best story tellers in the novel genre today. THe problem is, this story is not up to the standards set by such classics as THe Firm or The Pelican Brief. IT starts off as classic Grisham and throws in the conflict fairly early in the story. The problem is, after following the main character, Ray, through most of the story, you end up dissappointed. The ending is a cliffhanger, but not a good one. The last few chapters spill the story, but you leave the book with a list of unanswered questions, most importantly, whathappened to the rest of the money? Though I was dissappointed I still gave it four stars, simply because Grisham is a good writer. He keeps you interested throughout the book, but ultimately lets you down. Start off with Grisham's other works and if you like those, then read the Summons.

Rating:
Summary: awful....absolutely awful
Review: this book would be bad if any author wrote it, not just because it's Grisham and I had high expectations. there was no suspense and the plot was boring and stupid, there were far too mnay details about airplanes and the dead Judge and not enough story, the ending was so obvious...how can you have a who done it when there are only three characters, of cousre one of them had to do it!!!!....i agree with reviewers who thinks he has to send in so many books by a certian date.Grisham needs to slow down and write when he wants to....that was awful, but of course I will continue to read his stuff because I know what he is capabale of...good luck next time John....

Rating:
Summary: Wait for the movie and hope for the best
Review: I borrowed the book from a friend (sorry Amazon'...however my friend bought the book from Amazon so I guess it's OK) and I read this book in only a few hours. If anything it is an easy read. Grisham captures the mood and atmosphere of a sleepy southern Mississippi town. You can almost feel the humidity in the air as you are transported to a place where the pace of life is slower, where time has stood still for decades. You are summoned to a small Mississippi town where Judge Reuben Atlee is known, respected and when you arrive, dead. Grisham then grabs you with an unexplained mystery. How does a Southern Mississippi judge who never made more than $50,000 in any year and who gave virtually all of his money to charity die with $6000 in his bank account and three million dollars in cash in boxes neatly arranged in his home? The premise and the mystery are heart thumping. You beg for a great story. You begin to turn pages in anticipation. It's Grisham and you know a great story is coming. Only one problem, the rest of the novel is ultimately disappointing. The action is thin, the characters shallow and predictable and the ending well'.disappointing comes to mind. The saving grace, the novel is short, not much longer really than a Hollywood movie, which this will eventually become. Let's hope that unlike most novels, the movie is better.

Rating:
Summary: A Major Disappointment
Review: I had eagerly awaited this return to the legal thriller by John Grisham. What a disappointment!! The ending was hardly worth the mediocre build-up. Grisham writes amazing descriptions of people and places but in this book, it just goes nowhere! TRY AGAIN JOHN! I haven't given up on you yet!

Rating:
Summary: For those who didn't like this book, SHAME ON YOU!
Review: Again, this was a wonderful book, from start to finish.
Those who called it weak, disappointing, bad, etc..
didn't remember the saying 'if you don't have something
nice to say..don't say anything at all'. It's obvious
to me that those who expected too much didn't get what
they wanted, and are now taking it out on John Grisham.
You should be ashamed of yourselves! If you didn't like
it, I'm sure a public library in your area would gladly
take it off your hands, and then people who appreciate
good stories, with a Southern sense of life and humor,
will enjoy what you didn't. It's YOUR LOSS! Want perfection?
Move to Beverly Hills, where everything is fake and
materialistic. Many of the bad reviews came from those
living in Maryland or DC. I grew up in Maryland and have
spent the last few years in Memphis, appreciating a more
simple lifestyle. You don't understand what you don't
know. Thank you Mr. Grisham for another fine book.
Can't wait for the next one!