An interesting story about a Presidential election and a scam operated out of a low-security prison by three ex Judges.

There are three story lines in The Brethren. One takes place mainly in a minimum security federal prison camp where three disgraced former federal judges are incarcerated and from where they operate an extortion scam. A second story line takes place entirely within "the bunker", a windowless room from which Teddy Maynard, the aging and disabled director of the CIA, plays kingmaker and manipulates domestic and international events. The third story line involves the people outside prison and the CIA who are affected by the machinations of the judges and the kingmaker: primarily the judges' lawyer and their victims.

The plot is based on the premise that Teddy Maynard, the CIA director cum kingmaker feels that the US needs a stronger military. To that end, he grooms a relatively unknown member of Congress, Representative Aaron Lake, to become the next president of the United States, a president beholden to the CIA and especially to Teddy himself. With unlimited funds, personnel and influence, Teddy molds reality to his liking.

But all the resources that Teddy commands almost fail to discover Lake's secret, a secret that would surely lose him the election if discovered. The bulk of the novel is about the extensive measures taken by Teddy and the CIA to protect their investment in Lake, eventually bringing together the three story lines in what is probably supposed to be a shocking conclusion.

Not one of the characters in the book is well-developed. None of them have interior lives and none of them are particularly interesting. Indeed, none of them are particularly likable. I was unable to connect with any of the characters enough to root for or against them. Their interactions are formulaic. They seem to have no hopes or dreams, no love, no hate, no regrets, no ambition.

The great potential for including CIA gadgets and "trade craft" to spark interest went unexploited. The legal side of the story--John Grisham's strong suit--is completely neglected. The three women in the book are almost caricatures... but so are most of the men.

The narration by John Muller was marred by his habit of exhaling while pronouncing words, making it sound like he was on the treadmill while recording.

All in all, I found The Brethren a great disappointment. The only reason I listened all the way to the end was my vain hope that there would be a twist in the story and something interesting would happen

I like John Grisham as a writer, but not this book.

Three things:

1:

There was something about the homophobia in the novel that made me squeamish. I understand there are homophobes, but there was nothing in this novel to offset it. It's a dominate theme in the novel, normal and accepted, as if there is no alternative to homophobia.

2:
The reader gets to know the inner workings of the minds of some of the worst lowlifes in the book, which is amusing at times. Not so with the protagonist. In fact, I'm not sure there is a protagonist. The character who most resembles a good guy is allowing himself to be bought and sold - and he's no hero. In terms of character development, he's a stereotype of the corrupt politician who speaks in sound bytes.

3:
The ending: Anticlimactic. A cop out. No justice. A huge disappointment.

Overall, this is one of the most cynical novels I've read in a long time.

I have to say I quite enjoyed the book and it had some funny moments. Both meaning hilarious and strange. I only wish I knew at the beginning that there was no real court only the prisoners playing their roles in a made-up prison court. Then I would have a better attitude towards this book, not thinking that this is some kind of court fantasy, a very strange type of fantasy that I'm not a fan of. But later it all cleared up and I could enjoy the book. I think that the CIA would make a more dramatic action and I don't believe they would just let the blackmailers be.

An excellent and engaging Grisham legal-political thriller...but I feel cheated about the premise.

Based on the pitch from the back cover, I assumed this book would follow the Three Judges (The Brethren) as they made decisions inside a Federal Prison and served as the defacto law for the prisoners. That premise had only the barest of appearances in the entire book, mostly occuring in the first chapter alone!

Instead, the book focuses entirely on the other aspect of the disgraced Judges lives: Their major extortion scams. These judges lure in middle-aged closeted Gay men, making them think they might find a partner, and then blackmail them for huge sums of money in exchange for silence on the subject.

That being said, the book is actually really engaging and exciting. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire book, really wanting to know what would happen.

There was a political storyline in the book, about Aaron Lake, a congressman from Arizona who is convinced by the CIA to run for President in order to prepare for the upcoming Russian conflict. If that sounds ridiculous and far fetched, it is, but it doesn't matter: the premise is executed really well! In fact, I would love a sequel that follows that sub-plot and focuses not on the extortion scam but on the political stuff afterwards. Might feel like a different genre, but I'd love it!

I honestly didn't know where the book would end up, as it had numerous opportunities to go in different directions, all of which seemed plausible and possible. Grisham did an excellent job of making the tension palpable, and as the audience I almost feel like I'm in Lake's position and fear for my livelihood (or the other characters who have major roles!)

Overall, an engaging and highly thrilling book. I felt it had a lot of overlap with Grisham's later work "The Rooster Bar" (which hit way too close for my taste) but was much more thrilling and engaging. I'll give it an 8.4 out of 10!

Genuinely couldn't gaf about this greedy book. John Grisham will have to come here and beg if I need to pick up any of his books again.

Maybe I shouldn't read two Grisham books this close together. I finished The Appeal a few weeks ago; it was entertaining (refer to my earlier review). The Brethren just didn't do it for me. The Brethren was another political election "fixing" storyline. The Brethren are three judges serving prison terms in a low/minimum security prison. They have a scam in place to make money. Everything is going well, until it isn't. It's too much like The Appeal storyline and it takes too long to end. The setup is pounding at the reader four or five times until finally, the story moves along. I invested 150 pages. I usually finish if I'm that far in. Maybe next time I won't.

I LOVED IT! Great character development by Grisham as he moves through the complex story of three judges held in prison. They develop complex relationships with people with dark secrets building files on each victim that will be used to blackmail them out of millions. Very fast paced events with a Presidential election in the balance, linked to the judges in prison, and a CIA head pulling all the strings for a puppet candidate running on one key issue.

I highly recommend reading this excellent book.

Fast paced. Full of action. I did however I hate all the characters for different reasons so it was a bit odd not having someone to root for. I wanted them all to get their comeuppance.

An outlandish (and pretty homophobic) premise—the craziest part is that this book was written 20 years ago and not 30 or 40. The story and characters were entertaining, but the ending was a letdown, I hoped for a lot more mess, tension, etc. Pretty bland overall, not a Grisham title I’d recommend

DNF

Nearly half way through The Brethren and I’m out.

Greed with a capital G is on display in every nuance of this book.

Greedy crooks. Greedy politicians. Greedy CIA. Greedy lobbyists.

Not a single character worth rooting for and that’s my main reason for moving on.

(Reviewed 2/22/22)

Generally I avoid reading/watching works of fiction set in prisones (too bleak and depressing) but I've enjoyed this one. It was really, really funny and I actually liked the premise a lot, along with the cast of characters. The problem is that there wasn't much tension here - the blackmailers want to get paid, the blackmailed wants to pay and - this is important - no one really wants to double-cross anyone, which doesn't make a very thrilling plot. Still, I enjoyed it quite a bit, especially as something completely different from Grisham's usual, much more serious and grim works.