I first must make this clarification before sharing my thoughts on this book. I love me some Grisham. Seriously, John Grisham has been one of my favorite authors for more than a decade. But I will also tell you that I had become mildly bored with some of the books I had read in recent years from this otherwise wonderful author.
All that changed with “The Summons.” With this book, Grisham returned to his artistic way of incorporating the law as a background to a story about people. My problem with some of his other books I’ve read in the last few years was that they seemed to be more about the law with people as props.
The Summons starts out with law professor Ray Atlee being summoned via letter to come visit his dying father. The idea was that Ray and his addict brother Forrest were to come discuss their father’s estate. The problem is, when Ray arrives at his father’s home, Ray finds him dead. He also finds millions in cash hidden in a cabinet with no explanation or record.
Ray doesn’t know what to do with the money, but it becomes apparent that someone else knows about the cash. He tries to figure out where the money comes from while trying to keep it away from the phantom bad guys.
Grisham weaves intricate details about family relationships and personal demons throughout this thrilling story that creates a must-read within “The Summons.”
Jamie, Bentonville
“In Mongolia, when a dog dies, he is buried high in the hills so people cannot walk on his grave. The dog’s master whispers into the dog’s ear his wishes that the dog will return as a man in his next life. Then his tail is cut off and put beneath his head, and a piece of meat or fat is placed in his mouth to sustain his soul on its journey; before he is reincarnated, the dog’s soul is freed to travel the land, to run across the high desert plains for as long as it would like.
When the son of a rich railroad tycoon became a traveling amateur artist, he stopped through the Pennsylvania countryside to paint a landscape and wondered to himself of the land’s beauty, “Did such plenteousness also contain monotony? It needed an accent”.
“My prayer is that what is written on the following pages will help you gain a deeper understanding of God’s Holy Word and will help you grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ.”
“When Kunta came to, he was up on deck, amazed to find himself still alive. The orange lights, moving about, made him think at first they were still below. Then he took a deep breath and realized it was fresh air. He lay sprawled on his back, which was exploding with pains so terrible that he couldn’t stop crying, even in front of the toubob.”
