Rating: 
Summary: Liked it, but too much "money focus."
Review: I have grown to enjoy these books, and liked this one as well. I liked the Aaron Lake/CIA thread better than the Brethren thread, tho. I found myself hooked when the CIA stuff came up, whereas I thought the prison stuff kinda rehashed itself. But, my biggest complaint is this book focused on money-money-money. That's all they talked about. Maybe that IS what makes campaign's run- but it wore me out after awhile. That's all the characters were concerned about, and made the read (for me) kinda one-dimensional.
Rating: 
Summary: Where is the story?
Review: When I read a novel I want to be lost in the characters. It's fiction. It's an escape. This book is so blase, you keep thinking something's going to happen. It doesn't. I'd like to know why the author wrote it. I keep thinking there must have been something he was trying to say.
Rating: 
Summary: Where were the good guys?
Review: I kept reading, hoping to find a character with some redeeming qualities. Sadly, I reached the end of the book without meeting a single "good guy". Grisham is one of America's great authors, but I'll have to admit that I missed the typical good guy/bad guy scenario. I must be in a rut.
Rating: 
Summary: Pay Someone Else To Write Your Endings...PLEASE!
Review: I must agree with all of the reviews that complained about the ending for the BRETHREN. The book started off slow, but peaked my interest when the connection was made between the sub-plots. At that point, I read the book until the ending, because I thought "Oh boy, this is going to be good!" NOT! I gauge how good a book is by how many times I want to re-read it. This book will join other Grisham hardbacks that are collecting dust on my shelf. The Street Lawyer (I can't even remeber what that was about), The Testament, and now The Brethen. Maybe one day I will wise up and go to the library before I go to the bookstore. Bottom line, the endings of Grisham books leave much to be desired. Even though I loved The Partner and have read it several times, I just could not believe the ending was so lame. At least he is consistent, if I read his next book I will start off expecting to be dissapointed.
Rating:
Summary: What a waste of time!
Review: Again I say, what a waste of time. Both Grisham's and mine. Don't bother to read it. And if you just have to, borrow it from your local library. Don't pay for it! No heroes, no one to root for, no one to feel sorry for except the reader. Come on John, I know you can do better!
Rating:
Summary: Mixed emotions
Review: Although I found this book to have a slow start, about two-thirds of the way through it picked up pace and became quite interesting, typical of Grisham books. However, the ending was entirely predictable.
Rating:
Summary: THE CONTINUATION OF A DOWNHILL SLIDE
Review: I only began reading Grisham novels with THE PARTNER a couple of years ago, and was overwhelmed with what a thrillride the book was. Non stop action, clever twists, and a very satisfying climax. But since then,......This book I would hope is the culmination of a few bad years for Grisham. Unlike his meaty adventures of the past, this reads like a cheap movie of the week pitch that got passed over by CBS. The idea is ok, the persecution of closeted gay men is appalling, no matter how malignant he makes the judges appear, and there is just no redemption to them, or the book. No one really pays for their crimes except for the victims of the Brethren's blackmail scheme. This took me all of 7 hours to read, really, and I consider it a crime that it is on the bestseller list, when so much quality fiction is out there. Why did I buy it? I needed a book for a weekend read. That is all. And I was seduced by the hype. Too bad, but a valuable lesson, want more for yourself, want better, do not settle for Grisham.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but could have been better!
Review: I am a big Grisham fan! But this book...i don't know...it seems that he knew a lot about John McCain and how this years primary season was going to play out because that's what I felt that I was reading, an inside look into one possibility of the McCain camp. The only difference is that there is a scam being run by these prison inmates called The Brethren. I wish that it would have focused more on The Brethren than this dual story line. I kept looking back to the front cover to make sure that Tom Clancy's name wasn't on it along with Grisham's. I am begging Mr. Grisham to back to his books of old. It seems that after The Client he took a turn with his story lines that are good, but nowhere near as awesome as his first four novels. Those were his best and I hope that he turns out more like that soon!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I have loved Grisham in the past. He's one of the few novelists today who can spin a yarn and really tell a story, and do so without including tons of offensive language and sexual depictions--which most writers use as crutches. But his last few books have disappointed. Take a couple of years off, John. All of your plots are sounding alike. Your writing has become predictable, formulaic. You probably just need a breather. This book isn't worth the time it took to read it.
Rating:
Summary: A loaner
Review: A friend loaned me this book. On finishing it, I'd decided two things. One, I am glad it was loaned to me and I did not buy it. Two, I'm sorry my friend bought it. A recent generous newspaper review listed as the most memorable part the section where it went for fifty pages without switching back to the campaign subplot. As I said, this was generous. This book just missed the mark. Maybe the next one?
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