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- Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages ;
Dimensions (in inches): 1.07 x 6.90 x 4.16
- Publisher: Dell Pub Co; ISBN:
0440241073; (December 17, 2002)
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Amazon.com
Law professor Ray Atlee and his prodigal brother,
Forrest, are summoned home to Clanton, Mississippi, by their ailing father
to discuss his will. But when Ray arrives the judge is already dead, and
the one-page document dividing his meager estate between the two sons
seems crystal clear.
What it doesn't
mention, however, is the small fortune in cash Ray discovers hidden in the
old man's house--$3 million he can't account for and doesn't mention to
brother Forrest, either.
Ray's efforts to keep his find a secret, figure out where it came
from, and hide it from a nameless extortioner, who seems to know more
about it than he does, culminate in a denouement with an almost biblical
twist.
It's a slender plot to hang a thriller on, and in truth it's not
John Grisham's best in terms of pacing, dramatic tension, and interesting
characters (except for Harry Rex, a country lawyer who was the judge's
closest friend and in many ways is the father Ray wishes he'd had. He's so
vivid he jumps off the page).
But Grisham's legions of fans are likely to enjoy The Summons
even if it lacks the power of some of his classic earlier books, like The
Firm, The Brethren, and The Testament. --Jane Adams
Book
Description
Once Judge Atlee was a powerful figure in Clanton,
Mississippi--a pillar of the community who towered over local law and
politics for forty years. Now the judge is a shadow of his former self, a
sick, lonely old man who has withdrawn to his sprawling ancestral
home.
Knowing the end is near, Judge Atlee has issued a summons for his two sons
to return to Clanton to discuss his estate. Ray Atlee is the eldest, a
Virginia law professor, newly single and still enduring the aftershocks of
a surprise divorce. Forrest is Ray’s younger brother, who redefines the
notion of a family’s black sheep.
The summons is typed by the judge himself, on his handsome old stationery,
and gives the date and time for Ray and Forrest to appear in his study.
Ray reluctantly heads south to his hometown, to the place where he grew up
and now prefers to avoid. But the family meeting does not take place. The
judge dies too soon, and in doing so leaves behind a shocking secret known
only to Ray.
And perhaps someone else.
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