Product Description

Trumble is a minimum security federal prison, home to the usual assortment of relatively harmless criminals - drug dealers, bank robbers, swindlers, embezzlers, tax evaders, and three former judges who call themselves The Brethren. They meet each day in the law library where they handle cases for other inmates, practise law without a licence, and sometimes dispense jailhouse justice. And they spend hours writing letters. They are fine-tuning a mail scam, and it's starting to really work. The money is pouring in. Then, their little scam goes awry. It ensnares the wrong victim, a powerful man on the outside, a man with dangerous friends, and The Brethren's days of quietly marking time are over.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15071 in Books
• Published on: 2000-11-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
John Grisham's novels have all been so systematically successful that it is easy to forget he is just one man toiling away silently with a pen, experimenting and improving with each book. While not as gifted a prose stylist as Scott Turow, Grisham is among the best plotters in the thriller business and he infuses his books with a moral valence and creative vision that set them apart from their peers.

The Brethren is in many respects his most daring and accomplished book yet. The novel grows from two separate subplots. In the first, three imprisoned ex-judges (the "brethren" of the title), frustrated by their loss of power and influence, concoct an elaborate blackmail scheme preying on wealthy closeted gay men. The second story traces the rise of presidential candidate Aaron Lake, a man essentially created by CIA directory Teddy Maynard to fulfil Maynard's plans for restoring the power of his beleaguered agency.

Grisham's tight control of the two meandering threads leaves the reader guessing through most of the opening chapters how and when these two worlds will collide. Also impressive is Grisham's careful portraiture. Justice Hatlee Beech in particular is a fascinating, tragic anti-hero: a millionaire judge with an appointment for life who was rendered divorced, bankrupt and friendless after his conviction for drunk-driving homicide.

The book's cynical view of Presidential politics and criminal justice casts a somewhat gloomy shadow over the tale. CIA director Teddy Maynard is an all powerful demon with absolute knowledge and control of the public will and public funds. Even his candidate, Congressman Lake, is a pawn in Maynard's egomaniacal game of ad campaigns, illicit contributions and international intrigue. In the end, The Brethren marks a transition in Grisham's career towards a more thoughtful narrative style with less interest in the big-payoff blockbuster ending. But that's not to say that the last 50 pages won't keep you reading late into the early hours.--Patrick O'Kelley

From the Publisher
Grisham's bestselling backlist reissued with fantastic new covers

From the Back Cover
Trumble is a minimum security federal prison, home to drug dealers, bank robbers, swindlers, embezzlers, tax evaders, and three former judges who call themselves The Brethren. They meet each day in the law library where they spend hours writing letters. They are fine-tuning a mail scam, and it’s starting to really work. The money is pouring in.

Then their little scam goes awry. It ensnares the wrong victim, a powerful man on the outside, a man with dangerous friends, and The Brethren’s days of quietly marking time are over.

‘Grisham spins out a compelling, beautifully written thriller… it’s all absolutely brilliant’ Independent on Sunday

‘An engaging and fast-paced story of powerful men in high places and blackmail gone awry, it will hook you from the first page and won’t let you go’ New York Post

‘Completely gripping’ Mirror

‘A lively and fast-paced story’ Times Literary Supplement

Customer Reviews

A Decent Holiday Read
This isn't Grisham writing with passion; he's filling his time before embarking on another, better, idea, it seems. Having said that though, the premise of the story is an interesting one and, while the tale gets lost as the author indulges himself in his knowledge of Presidential primaries (and judging from the 2004 race Grisham does know of what he speaks), there are just enough confrontations and discoveries to keep a Grisham fan turning the pages until the - disappointing - end.

Clever use of the American political and criminal worlds.
Grisham is back to his 'suspense' style of writing. From the very 1st page you are captured as he superbly introduces the main characters. Small sub-plots intertwine with a balance that keeps you wanting to 'turn the next page' in anticipation.

The 3 judges that make up the Brethren, lead by Joe Roy Spicer, are a delight to read about. Far from being criminals they become 3 infamous heroes with their clever '1-step-ahead' routine that keeps the CIA on their toes.

Aaron Lake is supposedly a mild-mannered 'never done anything wrong' would-be president - but then again isn't that like real life today?

Grisham's in-depth knowledge of the legal, and probably, illegal world coupled with his sense and perception of the 'behind the walls' everyday activity both in Government and Prison environments makes this book truly compelling.

Grisham is back to his best....keep going John. I love it!

The Brethren � A Review
This isn't the first Grisham novel I've read so I think it's safe to say that this is book somewhat unlike his others. Here, Grisham provides a real page turner that keeps the suspense going until the very last page. The characters in the novel are entirely believable from a bumbling and incompetent lawyer to the trio of clapped-out judges who share centre stage in the story (at times, caricatures of themselves). As usual Grisham takes time in developing the characters and presents each of them in a distinctly coherent way.
I'd truly hate to give the game away but, in short, with a subtle twist near the end of the story you'd be a fool to miss it!