Rating: 
Summary: Not So Grisham
Review: The book is very easy to read and has a plot that forces you not to put the book down. The book though is like a Grisham and a Clancy book in one. Over the years I have read all of John Grisham's books. This one was by far was the most disappointing. Grisham fans should read it just because its Grisham, but other readers beware the book lacks the interesting story lines usually created by Grisham
Rating: 
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: Until now, you could not go wrong with a John Grisham book. John O'Hara he isn't, but his books were always interesting page turners. I can't for the life of me figure out why he wrote this one, other than to fulfill an obligation to a publisher. There are two plots which you know will connect at some point in time, but by that time you really don't care. "The Bretheren" are three convicts who used to be judges of one kind or another who ended up behind bars due to defects in their character which appeared at an inopportune time in each of their lives. Given the relative freedom of the minimum security prison they find themselves in, they are setting about to extort money with a nasty little scam they are running on the internet. Grisham seemed to get a lot of fun in describing how it operated...a lot more than I enjoyed reading about it. That plot at least was credible. The second plot was very thin gruel indeed. The head of the CIA is concerned with a shrinking defense budget and with the inclination of announced candidates for president to continue that practice. So he puts the resources of the CIA to work to find the perfect candidate. One who has no flaws, no skeletons, no baggage and that can be made electable. Once located the candidate is advised that he will be president so long as he sticks to the script, because the CIA can make things happen what will make the candidate look like a prophet, and money is no problem at all. The candidate agrees to the conditions and the story plods along, meandering in and out until the paths of The Breatheren cross those of the candidate. The situation is dealt with in a less than satisfactory way and the story rather drifts to a conclusion. I cannot close this without pointing out a glaring factual error in the book, which while not significant to the story, shows a level of sloppiness which is all too pervasive in modern book publishing these days. A character in the book is trying to make off with a bunch of money and he is being hunted by the CIA. At one point the CIA head is informed that the subject has just presented his passport at the airport in Hamilton, Bermuda. I was in Bermuda when I read this and I hooted out loud. Hamilton is the capital of that small island and does not now, nor has it ever, had an airport within its confines. The airport is, and has always been in St. George's, many kilometers to the east and is called Kindley Field. In the distant past, Flying Boats landed and departed from Darrell's Island in The Great Sound, but that is nothing more now than a ruin and some distance from Hamilton on the other side of the island. We have come to expect much more from Mr. Grisham. Alas, this time he has not delivered.
Rating:
Summary: Not his best work
Review: John Grisham is as addictive as any other author out there...but his newest book, The Brethren, does not live up to his usual standards. It is still typical John Grisham style, but I wish he would go back to the style he perfected in A Time to Kill.
Rating: 
Summary: NICE TRY, BUT...
Review: I've read all of Grisham's novels and this one is by far the weakest. I guess he should be given some credit for trying to get away from the tired formula of some of his recent books like The Partner and The Street Lawyer, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions. In general, none of the characters are well developed or likeable: the whole lot is two dimensional and mean spirited. The constant jumping between the two story lines is very distracting, even though a second grader could see where things are headed. The ending is very abrupt and unsatisfying, like he saw this was a story not going anywhere and not worth saving. I would bet that if John Grisham's name was not on the jacket of this book, it would be on the express elevator to the 25 cent bargin bin.
Rating: 
Summary: An Ironic Read
Review: As I was thinking I was going to have to muddle through the latest John Grisham, I was immersed in the primary season news. I was stunned that some of the things which happened to the fictional candidate were happening to a real candidate, at the exact same time I was reading! The coincidence was enough to keep me intrigued.But the storyline for this Grisham actually reminded me of older Grisham ("The Firm", "The Pelican Brief"). It reminded me of why I like Grisham's writing. With no movie to follow in my mind's eye, I was able to see the characters as, I hope, Grisham wrote them. I was very impressed with the latest from this talented author. After having been disappointed with the last few that I had to fight to get through, I was glad this was an easier read. I hope Mr. Grisham keeps writing them like this!
Rating:
Summary: A good page-turner
Review: Quite a few steps up from The Street Lawyer and The Partner, and every bit as good as The Pelican Brief. It has quite a few twists and turns, and his take on presidential politics is rather wicked. Perfect for that next plane flight....
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed Grisham fan
Review: After reading The Testament (which I thoroughly enjoyed) I was excited about reading Grisham's new book. After reading this book I have a question for Mr. Grisham. What Happened? There were three main reasons this book stunk: (1) As other reviews have pointed out, this book has no character which a reader could like. All of the characters are either corrupt politicians, underhanded CIA agents, or criminal lawyers (and I mean that literally. What fun is it to read about people you don't like? (2) Has John Grisham forgotten how to come up with an original ending? Everytime I finish a book of his I ask myself, did I finish reading the Firm again. Mr. Grisham needs to take a lesson from Joseph Finder in how to pull off a surprise ending (High Crimes) (3) Grisham finally resorts to the lazy writer approach in this book. By that I mean he lets a major thing happen in the book by a very stupid act on part of a major character that would never happen in real life. There was very little creativity in this one. Therefore, I give this book a 2 star rating, and I am being very generous.
Rating: 
Summary: Grisham did it again!
Review: The book starts out with two seemingly different stories: one, about a successful senator who is going to run for President; the other about a group of imprisoned judges committing mail fraud. Grisham weaves these two stories together to create an elaborate, well-written book. The book takes some interesting twists and has a good, complete outcome. A good read for the weekend; hard to put down.
Rating:
Summary: Not a good one
Review: I didn't like this book at all. It seemed to me nothing really happened. It is just about a guy whose secret might get loose and that is basically it. I usually learn things from Grisham books but not in this one. I big let down. He needs to settle down and take more time to develop better books.
Rating:
Summary: better than street lawyer
Review: This was better than his last 2 books. The plot was interesting and he didn't preach as much as in Testament and Street Lawyer. However, as I neared the end of the book I kept wondering how he was going to tie all the plots together in an acceptable way. As it turned out, he didn't. The book just ends. I almost think he may be setting up a sequel
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