As far as John Grisham goes... I have to say I was disappointed. I mean it was easy to read, and entertaining as Grisham always is, but the ending really sucked. To be fair, I don't know if he could ever top his classics like The Firm and A Time to Kill, etc. Let's just say, I wouldn't bother making a film out of this one.

Though many of John Grisham novels usually contain numerous courtroom scenes, this book does not. His books are interesting and can be read in few sittings since we tend to get absorbed with the characters he writes about. I normally give his books a better rating, but it's the subject of this particular book that bothered me. That being said, I had to read it to the end to see how it ended.

Three ex-judges are serving time in a minimum security prison when they come up with the idea of extorting money from men who are keeping their sexual preference 'in the closet'. The story also centers on a candidate running for the Presidency. Both story lines are separate through most of the book but in the end they become throughly intertwined.

There was minimal suspense and excitement. The ending was ok but I'm not sure I would have left my readers with so many questions left unanswered. Then again, I'm not a Best Selling Author, am I. Maybe the author's intent was to make the reader aware that in life, people don't always reveal their whole story. We will always be left with questions.

5☆☆☆☆☆ - Another great read by John Grisham. Lots of great twists and turns. Love the surprise in the last paragraph ♡

Un libro totalmente adictivo y que, por tanto, es perfecto para desconectar en vacaciones. La trama está perfectamente tejida y está llena de detalles ingeniosos.
No me ha gustado el final. Creo que encaja bien con la historia y que es verosímil, pero hubiera preferido un desenlace distinto para los personajes (es una preferencia 100% personal).

disappointing because it was a page turner but the ending sucked massively lmao

I have now read around a dozen of John Grisham's books and I have to be honest this was my least favourite one so far. There were large parts of the book that do have the John Grisham magic but generally the plot was drawn out and tiresome. Once it does get get going the book improves but again it is let down by a very disappointing ending.

I'm not usually a John Grisham fan. As a lawyer, I read to escape the drama of my daily life, not to be immersed in another attorney's fictional version of what he wishes our occupation looked like. However, this book far exceeded my expectations. The writing was creative, descriptive, and exciting, with incredible attention to detail. Although technically a drama, reading this book felt like an adventure I did not want to end.

This wasn't a book about the law, or lawyers, or the legal field. Half of the story takes place in a federal prison, and there is a lawyer in it (if you can call him that), but that's really the extent of "The Law" in this book (except for the eccentric Kangaroo Court, of course). Thankfully.

The plot-line could have been very one-dimensional, but it wasn't. Instead, I counted a minimum of five separate plot-lines that all intertwined to make an exciting novel that ended far too soon. And far too abruptly.

3.5/5

Wow, I’m kinda proud of myself because of the fact that I finished a book in less than 5 days!

I found it quite boring at the first half and if I’m honest, I’m not very motivated to write a whole review like I’ve done before… so I guess long reviews really depend on my mood.

But anyways, as I said, first half was a bit… boring and didn’t quite trap me cause I was trying not to fall asleep at every single phrase, however the second half was quite enjoyable and, wow, I also found it funny! I wasn’t expecting any less of the humor because after reading the testament (that made me giggle every once in a while, ngl) I wasn’t expecting to be that bored.

There wasn’t really a main character so uh, I guess I really was conflicted with myself because I truly had no idea if I had to support someone on the book- and if I had to support someone, then did I have to support the “bad guys”? I was so confused by that but eh, it was still a decent narrative.

The plot was alright, I enjoyed some parts of it and found some others quite- unnecessary but oh well.

PS: I can’t think of a song that could match with this book

Fast-paced and gripping story, liked it a lot!

The worst Grisham I had the misfortune to read. It came out in 2000 and I guess it was the sloppy work of a writer who had enjoyed a golden decade and was a bit fed up with legal thrillers.

One of its problems is the contemporary obsession with unsympathetic characters. It can be annoying enough to follow the activities of one unsavoury character at a time, but this novel offers nothing else. In fact, there isn't even a main character as such, but a bunch of creepy criminals, liars and schemers.

The second problem is how un-prophetic the plot is. Surely nobody can blame Grisham for not having foreseen Islamic terrorism and the financial crisis of 2008, but it is sort of ludicrous to read of a world were the main problem was Russia and inventing fake enemies for the US. Also ludicrous that the CIA is supposed to be the mastermind of everything and capable to manoeuvre everybody like puppets.

The plot follows three imprisoned judges, who blackmail closet, rich, powerful gay men; an allegedly squeaky clean politician who is set up by the CIA as the winning candidate to the presidential elections; an ironsided CIA mega-boss and a corrupted lawyer.

Besides the unpleasant characters, the plot relays too heavily on coincidences and bad planning: after having established that CIA surveillance is over the clock and merciless, some important letters just happen to slip through the crack. The same with the untrustworthy lawyer: after his having behaved very suspiciously, the CIA just leave him alone in his house without tightening the grip, etc...

n  Spoiler - if you are interested in this sloppy novel.........n






Still, a bit of a page turner, but even the end is dissatisfactory: contrary to what I hoped, the conniving judges who know too much get money and freedom, instead of being topped off by the CIA. The lawyer who knew nothing is the one who get killed, instead - and there I just could not follow the logic, or lack thereof.

Since I'm a law aficionado, I often read one Grisham novel a year (my legal drama fix mostly comes from lawyer TV shows though). For 2012, I'm glad I chose this one.

If you're accustomed to his body of work, then you know that most of Grisham's books have bittersweet endings. So it's a delight to read one which is, for a change, so unlike his previous writings. You thought I was going to say the opposite of "bittersweet" now, didn't you? Unless the book sucks, I hardly give spoilers when I do a review.

A lot of his novels follow one character—usually some divorced, middle-aged lawyer who's assigned a peculiar case. The Bretheren, surprisingly, follows 6 characters from unique perspectives. If you're a Grisham fan, this is a refreshing departure from his otherwise formulaic storytelling.

This is a well-told tale that presents a devious scheme and a presidential election in the midst of a national crisis. For a moment there, I imagined Grisham doing a Tom Clancy-esque storyline…and he's good at it! I believe he should try his hand in it more. Juggling plots and characters, he masterfully tells the story point after point in a direct, and very human, fashion. It's a preposterous story but one delivered exceptionally.

My only gripe with this book, as with most Grisham novels, the narrative tends to somewhat drag during the final chapters. There were also a lot of redundant themes which I felt were too much to reiterate a point. Some very minor characters can be removed too. Edit out those things and the book would probably be half as long…and still be just as good.

I'm giving this book a 3.5 but since Goodreads doesn't do half-stars, let's round that off to 4. :)

This is an unusual Grisham novel that both works and doesn't work. He steps out of his usual courtroom setting to a low-security prison where three former judges are incarcerated. They are serving their time, minding "court cases" among their fellow inmates--and are participating in a blackmail scheme. Entwined with this is a primary race where a no-name candidate is thrust into the public spotlight by the hefty financial resources of a powerful organization with motivations of its own. What begins as a way of passing the time for the judges becomes a dangerous game, while each side struggles to find and to outsmart the other. It's a clever political thriller precisely because it remains mostly apolitical--no parties are mentioned, which gives the impression that both sides are equally corrupt. The writing is sharp and direct, although it meanders needlessly a bit in the middle. On the other hand, this is a book with no hero--"The Pelican Brief," "A Time to Kill," and "The Client" all had imperfect but engaging heroes for whom we wish the best--"The Brethren" offers us a trio of corrupt judges who are only slightly less despicable than the rest of the characters, a thoughtlessly ambitious primary candidate, and a drunk, gambling lawyer with loyalty to no one but himself. I realize that the very premise of the book required that the main characters act in immoral ways--but they are not even remotely likable. This is a book about awful people doing awful things to each other. It's a smart, interesting read but one that leaves a bit of a nasty aftertaste.