The Summons

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: How finding 3 million dollars changes people's lives
Review: What would you do if you suddenly found three million dollars? And what if that money came from a deceased parent's home? This is the dilemna at the heart of this book.
If you're expecting another Grisham legal thriller, don't buy this one. This one is far less about legal battles than moral ones. Unfortunately, the plot just doesn't hold together all that well and even the moral struggles, as described here, aren't all that engaging. Grisham isn't in top form here.
For one thing, Ray Atlee, the dead judge's son who finds the money, isn't even that riveting or likeable a guy. Secondly, there are plenty of plot holes and illogical moves. Ray, for instance, discloses the whereabouts of the money to people who are almost complete strangers. Why would he do this? Made no sense to me.
Still, this book did make me wonder what I would do with a sudden windfall of three million plus change. But I've read a much better book about this, A Simple Plan, a book about three men who find a fortune in a crashed plane. A Simple Plan is wonderfully written, suspenseful and darkly realistic. But save your bucks and avoid The Summons.

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.

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.