What readers think of The Summons, plus links to write your own review.

Like many of John Grisham's fine novels this story meanders along like the great Mississippi then ends with the rapids.

The reason why I didn't give the Book a five is because it just has two many questions' unanswered! My first question is, why did his brother outright lie to his younger brother first about the money, then about the summons? Why did Forrest steal the money from his younger brother?. Who burnt down their father's house, and the younger brother's air-alpine? (In my opinion all along it was his older brother Forrest). Will Forrest give back the money he took from his younger brother? Their should be another book - Part II of the Summons.

Not of the money I paid for the book, although that would be great too, but mostly of the completely wasted hours I spent reading it.

It took about two chapters to figure out who the "bad guy" was, if that, and the side trails followed were somehow both boring and utter fantasy. Totally unbelievable characters, including Harry Rex (who has somehow undergone a personality transplant since his last appearance) to the King of Torts (are we really supposed to believe that a LAWYER is going to sit around admitting to dozens of felonies during an overnight visit with a total stranger?). And we are also supposed to believe that a lifelong junkie, who has stooped to murdering his own father, forging a will, threatening and intimidating his brother, arson, and God knows what else) comes into three million dollars, and uses it to check himself into long term rehab? Oh, puh-leeze. Perhaps Grisham should write a couple of novels about Santa and the Easter Bunny.

As for the ending, it is one of the worst literary cop-outs I have ever come across. Nothing resolved, characters taking off on tangents that bear no resemblance whatsoever to their own personalities as set up by the entire novel, and "see you in a year."

This just proves that once an author has reached a certain point in sales, their publishers will print any doddle they type up without bothering to read it first. Complete garbage.

What I liked best about this Grisham book was that Ray was SO human; scared, can't shoot a gun, not sure what to do. So many of Grisham's heros are so smart, physically fit, etc. that they feel like fiction, but Ray was someone I can relate to. He was real. Also, haven't you ever wondered what you would do if you suddenly came across 3 million and had to hide it? Loved it!

I thought the book started out nicely. A bit slow as some other reviewers have pointed out, but it was not so slow as to be turn-off and probably had to be deliberate in order to describe just what kind of man the Judge was.

The book told a good story well, but it could have been about 150 pages longer and in those pages, he could have developed the characters more. I never felt like it was a true mystery as it was pretty obvious from the get-go who was trailing Ray. Lingering a bit on the other characters could have set them up as equals and given the ending more of a payoff.

The ending was also disappointing as it felt hurried and resolved nothing. There was never the sense that any of the characters grew or learned from what happened to them and truly left the reader hanging.

With all of that said, it was a fun read. Easy enough to pour through pretty quickly. I don't think I would buy it, but I would recommend it for a rainy Sunday.

I really enjoyed this book and would strongly recommend it. It had a great plot and a great ending. Once again, excellent job Mr. Grisham!

This is one good book, because it talks a lot about the judicial system, and it is easy to read.

This book was great I'm 17 and just love each and every one of Grisham's book however this one is among my favorites. The build up to the end was exciting, and suspenseful. The book was very well written and I would recommend it to anyone who likes thrillers with a bit of mystery.