The Brethren - by John Grisham (Paperback)

About the Book

Housed at Trumble, a minimum security federal prison, are three former judges who call themselves The Brethren. They meet each day in the law library where they write briefs, handle cases for other inmates, and spend hours hatching schemes to make money. Then, when one of their scams goes awry and ensnares an innocent man with dangerous friends, The Brethren's days of quietly marking time are over.

Book Synopsis

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - Three disgraced judges plot a major scam from behind bars--with national consequences--in this "crackerjack tale" (Entertainment Weekly) from the master of the legal thriller.

They call themselves the Brethren: a trio of former judges doing time in a Florida federal prison. One was sent up for tax evasion. Another, for skimming bingo profits. The third for a career-ending drunken joyride.

Meeting daily in the prison law library, taking exercise walks in their boxer shorts, these judges-turned-felons can reminisce about old court cases, dispense a little jailhouse justice, and contemplate where their lives went wrong. Or they can use their time in prison to get very rich--very fast.

And so they sit, sprawled in the prison library, furiously writing letters, fine-tuning a wickedly brilliant extortion scheme--while events outside their prison walls begin to erupt. A bizarre presidential election is holding the nation in its grips, and a powerful government figure is pulling some very hidden strings. For the Brethren, the timing couldn't be better.

Because they've just found the perfect victim.

Review Quotes

"Terrific storytelling from one of the masters of the game."--USA Today

"Gripping . . . engaging . . . will hook you from the first page and won't let you go."--New York Post

"Fast-paced and action-packed . . . You'll be thoroughly entertained."--New Orleans Times-Picayune

"Deeply absorbing . . . All will be captivated by this clever thriller that presents as crisp a cast as he's yet devised, and as grippingly sardonic yet bitingly moral a scenario as he's ever imagined."--Publishers Weekly

"With startlingly good writing and plotting, Grisham tells an entrancing tale."--San Antonio Express-News

"Grisham does such a terrific job of inventing clever twists and devising a compelling momentum that readers can't help but be intrigued."--Chattanooga Free Press

"Skillfully written and plotted with an eye for logic as well as humor."--Dallas Morning News

"Entertaining, satisfying . . . The plot is engaging and moves along at a brisk pace. The crisp, laconic prose produces an easy read. The characters are well drawn. The requisite morality issues are present. Grisham displays a gift for capturing contemporary feeling about the law, politics and society."--Tulsa World

"An intricately plotted tale."--The Atlanta Constitution

"An exciting read right up to the end."--The Legal Intelligencer

About the Author

John Grisham is the author of numerous #1 bestsellers, including The Firm, A Time to Kill, The Rainmaker, The Innocent Man, The Whistler, The Boys from Biloxi, and many more. His books have been translated into nearly fifty languages. Grisham is a two-time winner of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction and was honored with the Library of Congress Creative Achievement Award for Fiction. Grisham serves on the board of directors of the Innocence Project and Centurion Ministries, two national organizations dedicated to exonerating those who have been wrongfully convicted. Much of his fiction explores deep-seated problems in our criminal justice system. He lives on a farm in central Virginia.