The Summons & The Brethren

By: John Grisham

Narrated by: Frank Muller, Michael Beck

Length: 20 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Two from the master of the legal thriller:

The Summons:

Once Judge Atlee was a powerful figure in Clanton, Mississippi; a pillar of the community who towered over local law and politics for 40 years. Now the judge is a shadow of his former self, a sick, lonely old man who has withdrawn to his sprawling ancestral home. Knowing the end is near, Judge Atlee has issued a summons for his two sons to return to Clanton to discuss his estate.

The summons is typed by the judge himself, on his handsome old stationery, and gives the date and time for his sons, Ray and Forrest, to appear in his study. But the judge dies too soon, and in doing so leaves behind a shocking secret.

The Brethren:

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

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.

©2002 The Summons, ©2000 The Brethren, John Grisham (P)2002 The Summons, ©2000 The Brethren, Random House Audio

Two good listens

This was the first time I listened to the Summons a good story. Now I have read the Brethren when it was first published. Now I have the audible I enjoy the book often. I think it is my favorite Grisham story.

The Brethren is a very different type of Grisham

I’ve read many of the reviews but none with my take on The Brethren. It’s hilarious. I can see John Grisham chuckling and sometimes laughing out loud as he wrote.

I don’t think he ever meant The Brethren to be a serious thriller. He came up with every kind of hurdle imaginable for his characters. Great listen if you approach the book with the right attitude.

Note: Repeating of lines happens occasionally. Think it’s probably after a break in reading where the narrator repeats his last sentence.

A value in getting two novels for one credit.

These novels are not some of Grisham's best work but for one credit they're okay to pass the time if you have a lot to burn.

Worth the listen

This was worth the listen. Only issue is with the tech. At weird intervals parts would repeat. It was distracting.

Brethren

Couldn’t stand the Lecherous sounding narrator on Brethren. Sounds like an obscene phone caller all the time.
Too many repeated phrases throughout this recording.
Story OK but almost couldn’t finish due to narrator

slow start good ending

I had a hard time getting into it at 1st. There are quite a few characters to keep track of and remember and how they relate to each other. it took a while to build the story but once it got going it kept My interest.

Kept waiting

I guess I expected more from John Grisham books. The Summons had a potentially great story line but instead it went on and on to a very disappointing and flat ending. The Brethen- also great premise however drawn out without any suspense or interesting plot twists...I would save your credits on these.

“Michael Beck is brilliant as always”

Beck can make a crappy book amazing!! Although”The Summons” was amazing ... but, boy did the end tick me off!! I don’t want to give it a way and I had it figured out pretty well into the middle. I just love Grisham and his worthy Beck!!!

Double Double Toil and...

Getting a package deal like this I expected the novels to be more or less equal but not so here. In my opinion, The Summons was a much better story with a " Ah Ha " ending. The distant uncaring father is dead, Two brothers different as night and day must come home bury their father and settle the estate; which is just a claptrap old house and six thousand dollars in the bank. The Arrow Straight Bro.suddenly finds himself with a very large money situation on his hands that the Black Sheep Bro. can never never know about! Is this a case of finders keepers? The second novel The Brethern I thought just moved slowly and was a bit tedious at times. Three old corrupt judges ,in a county club Federal Prison ,running a con and dreaming of what to do with all that money once they get out. Catching little flies in their trap but then Opps! one fly is not so little is he? I just was not impressed with this plot, however, you milage may very. :>)

Awesome read, made me a fan, excellent story!!!

Where does The Summons & The Brethren rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I loved the story, especially the narrator, want to read all John Grisham books.

Any additional comments?

Not a disappointment, loved the book.