Rating: 
Summary: The Judge's Fortune
Review: This story is told mostly through Ray Atlee son of Judge Reuben Atlee of Clayton, Mississippi. Ray is a law professor at the University of Virginia. His brother, Forrest, hangs his hat mostly in Memphis when not in detox. The summons is to come to their home called Maple Run in Clayton to see their ailing father. The father's death sets in motion the mystery of a cash fortune which Ray found in the house. Grisham weaves an interesting story around this mystery as Ray moves between Charlottesville, Virginia , Clayton, Mississippi and the Mississippi Gulf Coast seeking an explanation of the origin of the money. Though Ray has let no one know about the money, someone knows and is anonymously causing Ray great anxiety through notes, break-ins etc. Meanwhile Forrest has gone to another detox center without leaving a forwarding address. Ray does locate him and the mystery is solved in the closing chapters.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Start, Anti-Climactic Ending
Review: Grisham's legal novels have been trending toward unsatisfactory endings. That is the case with "The Summons." It starts out with great characters, atmosphere and potential drama. However, the ending is hollow. While still a big fan, I'm starting to wonder if Grisham's legal thrillers need more time in the oven.
Rating:
Summary: Better than the Brethren
Review: An aging judge summons his two sons for one last time to discuss his last will and testament. Unfortunately, he dies before both of them arrive. Ray is a college professor who dreams of flying his own private plane; Forrest has been having substance abuse problems for years. When Ray goes to his father he finds him already dead and as he is searching throughout the house he finds a hidden cache of money containing over 3 million dollars. Ray does not know what to think about the money and he is afraid that his respected father was a crook.My last foray with Grisham was with THE BRETHREN. I thought it was one of the worst novels I ever read. This novel is slightly better but it still falters. The story goes through several unrelated threads that do not fit right. Ray thinks that the judge won his money gambling and the reader spends too long reading about it and not getting anywhere. We find very late in the game where the money came from but by then the reader does not really care. Any Grisham addict will read this book but this is not his best work. I consider THE TESTAMENT to be his latest good novel.
Rating: 
Summary: A Major Disappointment
Review: Simple plot, simple characters, simple ending. If Grisham had written The Summons as his first book, he would be a full time Little League coach in Oxford, Mississippi. So much pre-release hype. It's a shame that publishers turn good authors into lazy has-beens just to pump out books-for-a-buck. I've purchased every Grisham book, but never again. The public library will be my only investment in Grisham's future.
Rating: 
Summary: disappointed
Review: As someone who has read all of John Grisham's books, I found this one very disappointing. I was eagerly anticipating the newest book, and this one did not deliver. The only thing I found intriguing was the reintroduction of Clanton, Mississippi and of Harry Rex Vonner, one of Grisham's best characters. After reading The Summons, I went back and re-read A Time to Kill. There is no comparison. Grisham needs to the take the time to turn out a book like his first one. The Summons lacked the plot and the characters Grisham has been famous for in the past. I sure hope the next one is better.
Rating:
Summary: Is Grisham just lazy or what?
Review: John Grisham has done it again. He's churned out a disappointing novel only because he sets his sights so low. Ray Atlee returns home because his father has summoned Ray and his brother Forrest home for a reading of the will. Ray arrives and finds his father is dead. Ray also finds $3 million in cash. Where did the money come from? That is the plot and the conflict. Ray takes the money and decides to hide it from his brother and from the probate courts. Then Ray tries to find how his father could have gotten that much money. This chase is pointless because none of it has to do with anything about the plot. Only in the last 70 pages or so does Grisham throw in a revelation about where the money cames from. The previous searches by Ray have nothing to do in leading him to the source of the money. Because Grisham is such a good writer, those sections are entertaining, but they end up being meaningless and add little to the overall story. The problem with the Summons is that it is so simple. Man finds money. Man tries to find where money came from. That's the plot. Grisham has deliberately chosen a simple plot revolving around a few characters. There is only so much he can do with the story to make it exciting. I wish Grisham would expand his reach and combine several different story arcs and characters in one exciting novel. He did this with A Painted House and most of his earlier novels. Be careful what reviews you read because I read one on Amazon that gave away the source of the money. It was kind of frustrating to already know that. Also, some reviewers complain about the ending and that it was just thrown together. I don't believe so. The Summons had n incredibly simple plot that was told from one person's point of view and really had only 2 other main characters. Such a simple story deserves a simple ending. I hope next time Grisham writes a book twice as long as this with his amazing characterization along with Tom Clancy-like plot and detail. That would truly be a masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: The Testament,The Brethren,The Summons........take your pick
Review: Ok here's the deal,out of the above mentioned three books by Grisham which of them qualifies as the worst among the worst?Well the honour's would be shared by both 'The Brethren' and 'The Summons',and 'The Testament' follows a close second.This is Grisham at his worst best.At least Brethren was a fast read though the plot(was there any in the first place!) was silly and stretched to 400 odd pages,in the case of Summons the plot itself is so sleep inducing (worse than Brethren) that you would have serious doubts whether this was written by Grisham who had given us 'The Pelican Brief'&'The Firm'.And to add to the readers woes the plot moves at a snail's pace with the predictable twists and turns and a really stupid ending which anyone would guess by 1/3rd of the book.This book can no way be classified a legal thriller...oh sorry,i take it back it is indeed a legal thriller because the protagonist is a law professor,and it is a thriller because of its sleep inducing capabilities.I have a request to make to all the fans of Grisham please..don't bother to read this one,you would be wasting your time as well as money...well on second thoughts maybe its better off if you read this one because going by the deteriorating standards of Grisham starting from The Testament(1999) to The Brethren(2000) to The Summons(2002) you can guess what would be in store when he comes up with a new book in 2003.
Rating:
Summary: Was Elmore Leonard a ghost writer?
Review: This is my first review but couldn't resist. I was really looking forward to this book with the setting the same as "A Time To Kill" but alas Grishom is tapering off to almost nothing these days. Cute story. Read it in two evenings...
Rating:
Summary: Not up to par
Review: I was looking forward to reading a Grisham novel, so I eagerly leap into the pages of "The Summons." By the time I completed the book, I was disappointed with the character development, story line and resolution of the novel. The word that struck me was "flat." This book does not have the depth and rapid-fire pacing of his other legal novels. I also found it interesting that this novel, based in Clanton, MS, does not even briefly mention the events which occurred in "A Time To Kill," which also took place in Clanton. You would think a person from a law family who was reminiscing at times about his past would have brought up such a momentous event that occurred in his town. The storyline was weak and most of the characters were annoying. Harry Rex was the best defined character and the book was most enjoyable to read when he was on the page. I figured a key part of the mystery about 2/3 through the book. Not fun! No Grisham twists and turns here.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I'm a huge fan of John Grisham's, but his lastest here, The Summons was a big disappointment. Everything that leads you to the first page has huge potential, but the let down begins almost immediately. It seems you spend so much time lugging money around in the characters car that "you" get tired of the whole deal. While the ending did perk up, too little, too late.
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