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The Brethren
by John Grisham (Paperback)

Offers	Condition	Offer date
from member cheekyram	Nearly new	5/26/2010
from member weathercock	Well read - No major damage	7/6/2010

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Editorial Reviews - The Brethren
Product Description
Trumble is a minimum security federal prison, home to the usual assortment of relatively harmless criminals - drug dealers, bank robbers, swindlers, embezzlers, tax evaders, and three former judges who call themselves The Brethren. They meet each day in the law library where they handle cases for other inmates, and practise law without a licence.
Amazon.co.uk Review
John Grisham's novels have all been so systematically successful that it is easy to forget he is just one man toiling away silently with a pen, experimenting and improving with each book. While not as gifted a prose stylist as Scott Turow, Grisham is among the best plotters in the thriller business and he infuses his books with a moral valence and creative vision that set them apart from their peers. The Brethren is in many respects his most daring and accomplished book yet. The novel grows from two separate subplots. In the first, three imprisoned ex-judges (the "brethren" of the title), frustrated by their loss of power and influence, concoct an elaborate blackmail scheme preying on wealthy closeted gay men. The second story traces the rise of presidential candidate Aaron Lake, a man essentially created by CIA directory Teddy Maynard to fulfil Maynard's plans for restoring the power of his beleaguered agency. Grisham's tight control of the two meandering threads leaves the reader guessing through most of the opening chapters how and when these two worlds will collide. Also impressive is Grisham's careful portraiture. Justice Hatlee Beech in particular is a fascinating, tragic anti-hero: a millionaire judge with an appointment for life who was rendered divorced, bankrupt and friendless after his conviction for drunk-driving homicide. The book's cynical view of Presidential politics and criminal justice casts a somewhat gloomy shadow over the tale. CIA director Teddy Maynard is an all powerful demon with absolute knowledge and control of the public will and public funds. Even his candidate, Congressman Lake, is a pawn in Maynard's egomaniacal game of ad campaigns, illicit contributions and international intrigue. In the end, The Brethren marks a transition in Grisham's career towards a more thoughtful narrative style with less interest in the big-payoff blockbuster ending. But that's not to say that the last 50 pages won't keep you reading late into the early hours.--Patrick O'Kelley

Amazon Member Reviews - The Brethren
I've read approximately 90% of John Grisham's novels as he always tells a good story with an ever-winding plot. This is a prime example of that.
I am a great fan of John Grisham but I did not enjoy this book as much as I have the other books I have read. The plot is quite clever but it is not gripping - i.e. I can easily put the book down without wanting to keep reading!
While this book is certainly well-written and gripping, the plot, especially the end, is shallow. In addition, the long-winded digressions about the presidential race are quite tedious to read.
I don't really know what to say about this book... it started well, then dragged, then picked up, then dragged, then quickly resolved itself and then ended! The plot premise was good - three ex-judges, scheming from prison, happen to catch a Presidential candidate in there scam causing the CIA and 'shadowy figures' inside the US government much angst. However, although I enjoyed the leisurely pace and the interesting titbits of info around how the American election process works, nothing else really happened. I had no sense of pending doom, there was little excitement and the story was plotted like a film - you could almost see it being directed straight from the page! I give 3-stars because its Grisham and because it can write a damn good book otherwise I would recommend that you try one of his earlier books which have far better pace and content.
My favourite book from this author. Very believable characters, even if you don't warm to any of them -- even the blackmail victims for the most part aren't particularly likeable people! The narrative leading up to the point where "Ricky" gets contradictory letters from Al is brilliantly done and unputdownable. Even though you don't like the Brethren, you wonder what their fate will be towards the end, and it did actually surprise me a little.