The Summons (2002, Hardcover)

Having been an avid reader of all of John Grisham's works (inlcuding the recent "Skipping Christmas", which I actually enjoyed and can fully picture as next years' made for TV or cable Christmas movie), I found "The Summons" to be the most disappointing yet.

The story show promise in the first 50 pages, leading up to Judge Atlee's death, Ray's discovery of a cashe of cash and the introduction of the cast of characters through the funeral arrangements and initiation of the probate process. The next 250 pages frankly drag to the point of exhaustion. As a small town lawyer myself, I would say that the "Summons" is the most realistic of all of Grisham's legal thrillers, as the law can be very dry and mundane, which is exactly what I found here.

As Grisham takes us through a potentially exhilirating quest on the source of the Judge's stash, we are presented with much possibility, only to be let down at the end. I found myself looking forward to a Grisham-esque explanation of everything near the end.

Instead, the payoff is not believable (even within the fictional boundaries of the book) and presents answers that involve information that Grisham usually buries somewhere in the story, even if only a sentence or two. In fairness, I figured out the "whodunnit" part with many pages to go, put the howdunnit and whydunnit explanations were a bit weak.

I think this is what happens when you are under contract to crank out a number of books of a certain genre for a publisher. This effort seemed forced to me and I was left with a bad taste in my mouth at the end.

I hope that Mr. Grisham is once again inspired in his next thriller, since I do enjoy his best efforts.

I really like John Grisham as a writer. He can keep you guessing what may happen next. Also even though not based on true events it does give you an insite to what goes on in the world. I bought the book because my other half loves him as an author and collects his books.

I collect this authors books. I had loaned my first copy to a friend and it was never returned. (There's a lesson there, right?):)

This book kept me on pins and needles 'til the end!
It also had an air of the comedy we see in our lives every day.
If you haven't read it, believe me it's a must read!!

Loved this book...it took hold of me from the git-go. John Grisham knows how to grab ahold and not let go. This was another of his books that I just could not put down. It's all about the MONEY!!!!!

John Grisham is one of my favorite authors. This is a great book start to finish. If you like His books you will like this one as well. Hard to put down once you start reading it.