The Brethren

By: John Grisham

Narrated by: Frank Muller

Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

They call themselves the Brethren: three disgraced former judges doing time in a Florida federal prison.

One was sent up for tax evasion. Another, for skimming bingo profits. And the third, for a career-ending drunken joyride.

Meeting daily in the prison law library, taking exercise walks in their boxer shorts, these judges-turned-felons can reminisce about old court cases, dispense a little jailhouse justice, and contemplate where their lives went wrong.

Or they can use their time in prison to get very rich --very fast. And so they sit, sprawled in the prison library, furiously writing letters, fine-tuning a wickedly brilliant extortion scam ... while events outside their prison walls begin to erupt.

A bizarre presidential election is holding the nation in its grips--and a powerful government figure is pulling some very hidden strings. For the Brethren, the timing couldn't be better. Because they've just found the perfect victim...

Don’t miss John Grisham’s new book, THE EXCHANGE: AFTER THE FIRM, coming soon!

©2000 Belfrey Holdings, Inc. (P)2000 Random House, Inc.

Great book but trouble with the recording.

Another terrific Grisham but there are problems with the recording which affect enjoyment. Probably 8 instances of the same phrase being repeated and one instant of the recording jumping forward.

interesting story!

interesting story really enjoyed it only issue I had was with the audio itself there are several times where lines are repeated which makes me wonder if there were any lines that were missed?

I rarely (never) take time to review……..

Grisham is my “sure thing” entertainment listen. And, I was not necessarily disappointed with this one. I was, however, really disappointed, even angry, with the really low production quality of the recording. I stopped counting the number of crappy edits. There were 10-12 repeated sentences. My next door neighbor narrates professionally and he has told me enough about the process that I know this is just sloppy production. If Muller does his own, he is as poor an editor as he is a narrator. I have returned titles before. I did not choose to do that with this one. Hence, I am writing a review. The story was good enough. The narration was poor. Muller does a good job of character voices, I think. His habit of breathlessly trailing of at every, every!, narration sentence drove me crazy. I will avoid him, HIM, as a reader. Mr Grisham, you should be a little ashamed of yourself for letting this low quality production be perpetrated on your loyal public. I will continue to read/listen to Grisham. I will never listen to Muller, again.

the brethren by John grisham read by frank muller

can't get enough of john grisham...read this year's ago...enjoyed listening to it again.....and also frank muller's reading

Another winner!

Spent some time over coffee and shared smiles enjoying and listening to this book with my husband! We loved it!

Fantastic Escape

After listening to around 6 Grisham novels, I have yet to find one of his legal thrillers that I haven't enjoyed.

One reviewer complained about the narrater being breathy? I found the reader, Frank Muller to be top notch - I would seek him as a narrator again. He was dramatic in his reading and his characters were extremely distinct and consistent w/out being corny. They sounded like real characters.

The book is fairly typical for a Grisham book, which is fantastic. I guess what captures me is that someone is always finding a way to get rich and then hanging on the edge to find out if their scam will work or they will lose everything...

I love Grisham books and this was no exception to my rule.

The Brethren

As a previous listener stated the narrator drives you nuts! His criticism is so exact! The narraator's voice elevates and drops in a same monotone song...at every, single, sentence! He is terribly boring to listen to and I am sorry to add that this ruins Grisham's entire work. It is extreme-ly irritating. I'd purchased the book over 8 months ago and still cannot get myself to hear it all because of this fella's poor narration. Sorry. This is the first negative input I've ever given a Grisham collection.

Solid Read

This story was interesting, propelled along by well written and multidimensional characters. It wasn't Grisham's most thrilling page turner, but I absolutely enjoyed it and would recommend it. The two main story lines seem oddly divergent at first, but stick with it. The narration makes this even better. I wish Frank was still around to read future Grisham books. He does the best job out of them all. Enjoy.

Interesting

This book was ok. Character development was fine. A good read overall. Not his best work. He's still the man!

I wonder if this is really a fictional story!

What made the experience of listening to The Brethren the most enjoyable?

The story line never went where you expected. Sometimes the ending of a novel is telegraphed about half way though. Not in this book.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

This plot kept me engaged from the very beginning. Very enjoyable.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Frank Muller?

I'm not sure. I think Mr Muller is an acquired taste. He is a little breathy and melodramatic but it didn't ruin the book by any means.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

This was a good entertaining book but also a bit thought provoking. Saying any more would spoil the book for someone who hasn't read it. Let's just say that I hope it is work of fiction.