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Book Review of The Brethren

The Brethren
The Brethren
Author: John Grisham
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Book Type: Hardcover
reviewed on + 152 more book reviews


I read The Partner a couple years back and enjoyed that. A friend loaned me The Brethren. Part of the suspense of the book was wondering how and when the two storylines (the scam and the presidential candidate) would intersect. However, once that occurred, the story seemed to fall apart.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS: Trevor, the attorney/courier for the Brethren in the scam, was murdered by the CIA, apparently because he knew "too much." I found that hard to believe because Trevor really wasn't that involved with the actual scam--he delivered and sent mail and deposited money in an offshore account. The Brethren all were given early release from prison on the condition that they leave the U.S. for a specified period of time. Oh, and they were also each given $2 million. This was all engineered by the CIA. We're also supposed to believe that squeaky clean senator (and eventual presidential candidate) Lake suddenly decided to go to the "dark side" and respond to a gay lonely-hearts club ad. Then, while campaigning for the nomination, Lake makes a foolish and uncharacteristic mistake that reveals his identity to the Brethren. END OF SPOILERS

Book started out interesting but fizzled out.