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The Summons & The Brethren cover art

The Summons & The Brethren

Written by: John Grisham
Narrated by: Frank Muller, Michael Beck
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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 Now the judge is a shadow of his former self, a sick, lonely old man who has withdrawn to his sprawling ancestral home.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

What listeners say about The Summons & The Brethren

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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The Summons, The Bretheren

It is unfortunate that readers are not able to rate the books individually. I would rate The Summons higher than The Brethren . I was disappointed in the ending of The Brethren

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

The 2nd narration was disappointing

The first story was good. I was unable to finish the second one because of the narration. Not only was hus dipiction of the black character offensive, but it dragged on.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Loved both!

I always adore Michael Beck reading John Grisham, but I also enjoyed Frank Muller doing The Brethren.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Narration not great

My grandmother loves reading but has become partially blind due to macular degeneration. She loves any book by John Grisham but she said the narration was too annoying to be able to listen to the whole story.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Meh. Not Grisham's best work

Both of the novels in this pairing are underwhelming. Grisham is at his best describing courtroom drama - immersing readers in the clever maneuvering and psychological reasoning behind choices made, for example, during jury selection. Courtroom battles of wit are lacking in these offerings. Neither of these stories leverage from those scenarios at all. Instead, they relate intrigues that are at best peripheral to legal wrangling. The writing is fine - interesting flawed characters, plots with twists and turns, and realistic dialogue - but the topics explored are unsuitable to Grisham's strengths. Try 'A Time To Kill' or 'The Client' to get a better idea of what Grisham can offer.

Michael Beck is a better narrator than Frank Muller, but neither are exemplary here. Both give decent performances, but some of the chosen accents are straight-up clichéed. Muller's timbre in particular is gravelly, whispery, and overly-dramatic. Furthermore, as mentioned by others, there are actually at least six episodes of repeated sentences in these novels.
The editing is not great.

Overall, these are disappointing examples of John Grisham writing presented indifferently. This duo of stories rates a distinctly average 5 stars out of 10.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Worst Narration Ever

I enjoyed the story, but it was completely ruined by the way the narrator read it. Every sentence ended in a breathless, dramatic tone, even the simplest of statements. I will never buy another book that is narrated by Frank Muller.

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4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Many errors

The stories were okay; not the best I've read from Grisham, but not bad. The second book, however, had many instances where sentences were repeated twice. Seems like the producer was asleep at the board.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

great story and narrator

I loved the story and the narrator's ability with the different voices and accents. Entertaining!

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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Two extremes

John Grisham writes a terrific story and Frank Muller is unsurpassed in his delivery. Could there be a better pairing, But the second half of this package is a great disappointment. It is difficult to appreciate Grisham's story behind Beck's often breathless and ominous tone of delivery. Totally distracting and difficult to listen to. These two readings should not be paired.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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Why is this author so famous?

I really was disappointed in these 2 books. The first one, dragged on and on and I couldn't finish the second one. I thought this author was supposed to be a good storyteller with a legal plot line. I didn't find this to be the case and I will try and return this book/

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