Saturday, April 9, 2011

The Brethren

Okay, so I know I said I would post reviews of books I've been reading lately.  Like the Millennium series and The Book Thief.  But gosh, have I read heaps since then!
It's like I am trying to catch up from the past 10 years of textbook only reading.

Just this afternoon I finished reading The Brethren, a great page turner from the pen of John Grisham.  I have read the majority of Grisham books, and seen the few movies made from his books.  All time favs include The Pelican Brief, The Partner, and Runaway Jury.  Oh, and Tom Cruise in The Firm - great soundtrack.

'The Brethren' is what inmates of a very minimum security prison call three of their fellow inmates.  They are three ex-judges.  They all have long sentences.  And to help maintain some sense of order in the prison, but more likely to keep some status in the facility, they form an unofficial court system in the prison.  They sort out the petty arguments and 'claims' of other inmates.  He peed on my roses, so I claim compensation.  He stole my mail, uses it to gang up on me, I want justice.  That sort of thing.

At the same time .. there is another story line.  A presidential election campaign, and how the CIA strangely get involved and help .. buy? the election.  Very interesting stuff.  And of course, the two story lines come together.  The three ex-judges, getting bored and thinking of life outside, start a scam of some sort.  I won't give details, but the scam is clever, and it is what brings them and the presidential campaign together.

Grisham, as you no doubt know, is a great writer.  His work is usually based on legal scandals, law cases, or crooks in the legal business.  He sometimes weaves political intrigue into the plot .. always with enough detail to keep readers hooked on the adrenalin and intrigue.  It is easy to understand the legality/politics in play.
And I think they are quite believable, for the most part.

Mind you, I'm not up to speed on what the FBI/CIA can and cannot do.

                             

Happy reading, peoples. Any Grisham book is highly recommended.

Hmm ... what's next ...

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...