The Summons

by John Grisham

Ray Atlee is a professor of law at the University of Virginia. He's forty-three, newly single, and still enduring the aftershocks of a surprise divorce. He has a younger brother, Forrest, who redefines the notion of a family's black sheep.
And he has a father, a very sick old man who lives alone in the ancestral home in Clanton, Mississippi. He is known to all as Judge Atlee, a beloved and powerful official who has towered over local law and politics for forty years. No longer on the bench, the Judge has withdrawn to the Atlee mansion and become a recluse.
With the end in sight, Judge Atlee issues a summons for both sons to return home to Clanton, to discuss the details of his estate. It 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, which he prefers now 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.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Legal Thriller, Suspense, Legal, Crime

384 pages, Paperback

First published February 5, 2002

About the author

John Grisham is the author of more than fifty consecutive #1 bestsellers, which have been translated into nearly fifty languages. His recent books include Framed, Camino Ghosts and The Exchange: After the Firm.

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.

When he's not writing, Grisham serves on the board of directors of the Innocence Project and of 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.

John lives on a farm in central Virginia.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big Man in small county, Judge Atlee is on his death bed, so he sends out a Summons for his two sons, one is an alcoholic and drug addict; the other who actually turns up is law professor Ray Atlee, who return to his childhood home to be at his father's bedside. His father's legacy is unexpected and turns out to be very dangerous. Another interesting Grisham thriller suspense read that took me along many oaths I did not expect! 7 out of 12, Three Star read.

2024 read

[Holly B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable audio! I love a legal / crime/ mystery thriller and Grisham is so so good at creating intrigue and taking the time to really develop the characters.

The narrator, Michael Beck was brilliant at voicing all the characters.

There is a 3 million $$ discovery and mystery that follows the money, some bad behavior, a dead judge, a break-in and more!

The ending didn't wow me, but did surprise and I'm still mulling things over. This one is from 2002, but very entertaining!

[W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ray Atlee and his brother are called by their ailing father to his home,as he wants to settle his estate.But when they get there,their father dies,and three million dollars are found in his house.The money is not mentioned in the will.Ray now has to find out where all this cash came from.There is also the additional problem of what to do with it.
I'm very fond of this book,as it made me rediscover John Grisham.Years earlier,I read the Pelican Brief,and found it disappointing.When I picked up The Summons,I had very low expectations.But the book surprised me,it was a real page turner.Very suspenseful,and very hard to put down.It made me a Grisham fan.Only the ending is not as good as the rest of the book,otherwise this would have earned five stars.

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a very compelling read. Good while in the small Southern town, but boring just about everywhere else. A disappointment.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm surprised to see how many readers were disappointed with this book since I thoroughly enjoyed it. Maybe the plot was a bit thin and predictable, but Grisham's writing style is so smooth and easy to read that I was able to consume this book in two sittings. It was like I was able to sit down and visit with an old friend. Perhaps some other readers confused this familiarity with boredom.
It all starts when law professor Ray Atlee and his prodigal brother, Forrest, are summoned home by their ailing father to settle his estate. But, by the time Ray arrives, his father is already dead. The will is simple enough: the estate is to be divided equally between the two sons. However, Ray discovers something he hadn't planned on-- $3 million in cash stashed in the father's house. It turns out that Ray isn't the only one who knows about this fortune; someone else is after the money and won't hesitate to remove Ray from the picture. The remainder of the book is devoted to investigating the source of the cash and trying to discover who the other party is that wants it.

Some better proofreading would have made this an easier book to read since there are some glaring errors that should have been caught. But, all in all, an enjoyable, suspensful book. I will continue reading Grisham.

[Tooter · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars

[Mark Porton · Rating 2 out of 5]

After recently reading The Broker by John Grisham my appetite was whet for more by this author, so I jumped into my car, scoured the local charity shops, and snaffled up a handful of his books – eager to read more.

The Summons was an ordinary experience. Forgettable.

Professor of Law at Virginia University, Ray Atlee returns to his childhood home in Clanton Mississippi following the death of his father – a curmudgeonly, but well-respected Judge. Ray hadn’t visited his father for years due to a falling out many years ago. Ray encountered a run down home, as his miserly Old Man, was not big on spending money.

Whilst cleaning the house for sale Ray found three million dollars hidden away in cupboards. This was a startling discovery, as the Judge was known for his unfailing honestly, and this money was far more than what he would have earned as a Judge.

So, what does Ray do - declare it? Share it? Take it? Is it clean or is it dirty money?

This discovery is followed by a train of events leading Ray into situations he would never have imagined, including threats to his life and safety. During all this, Ray is required to deal with his younger brother – a professional addict (drugs and booze) called Forrest.

Ultimately, this was a disappointing effort. It started off interesting, but it lost its head of steam midway, and it didn’t recover. The mediocrity of the middle section was only exceeded by the disappointment of the ending. I know these stories are all about plot, but a tipple of character development does help – I thought this story was short on this, I didn’t really care for Ray, or the other cast members for that matter. A big shame as I thoroughly enjoyed The Broker.

Listen here Johnny Gee – once I have a great experience with something or someone (as with The Broker), I become a very sticky type, so you can’t shake me off this easily!!

I will continue ploughing through my other Grisham Booty – but not yet.

2 Stars

[Sammy Loves Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book on CD at my local library. They were having a sale, so I grabbed this CD set.






This turned out to be a mystery about a son finding 3 million dollars in cash, stashed in boxes, in his deceased father's home. Deceased father was a well respected judge.





Someone knows that Ray has found this money, and is intimidating him to return it with acts of violence.







The mystery is solved in the final 2 chapters. It was so Anti-climactic that I felt like part of the book was missing. But NO!! All pages were accounted for.





What a total waste of time!!

[Claire Grasse · Rating 1 out of 5]

And Grisham continues his downhill slide, unarrested.

Oh for the days of his earlier books, when the plots were intricately woven and I couldn't put the books down! You know what I thought when I read this book (and King of Torts, and The Broker)? I thought, OK, JG, we get it that you're a rich boy now, and now you want to explore your rich-boy interests in your fiction. Single malt whiskey, high-stakes gambling, yachts, piloting small aircraft... whatever. The reader can almost see the author's latest hobby unfold in these three books mentioned. The awfulness culminates here though, in The Broker. How about some plot instead? Half of this book is devoted to the question of "did dad make his money gambling? I don't know, let's investigate the gambling industry in tedious detail, and see!" The fact that the answer turns out to be "no" left me cross-eyed. When you devote this many pages to the subject, sir, the reader expects it to have some bearing on the plot.

Dear Reader, I'd save my time if I were you.

[Jay Schutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

What would you do if you went to your father's house, found him dead and then discovered 3 million dollars in cash stashed away and knew it wasn't covered in the will? Keep it, tell your drug-addled brother and split it or call the authorities.
That was the dilemma that confronted Ray. Not as easy as 1-2-3 especially when someone else knows about the money and will kill to get it.
A very good legal thriller from the guy who does it best.
Recommended.

[Karl Marberger · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot was a bit thin, but well written nonetheless. Also a pretty surprising ending.

[Zainab · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one had been sitting on my shelf for exactly 3 years and 20 days. It was about time I read it.
I now see why everyone loves John Grisham. Man's a genius. Such a great book!

[John Conrad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grisham has thrilled in the past, but those days are over, it appears. While I appreciated the theme of two brothers conflict over a large inheritance, and the drug addiction part was interesting, I thought I would go mad if Ray Atlee went to one more casino or hotel or restaurant or old friend or law office or rich lawyer's yacht or storage unit or private detective.... ad nauseum... Grisham is not his old self. I recommend The Firm, A Time to Kill, The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Runaway Jury, possibly The Rainmaker, and that's about it.

[La Tonya Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome read with a twist ending. Judge Ruben Vincent Atlee has died. He was the chancellor of Ford and the surrounding counties for Clanton, Mississippi for forty years. He was well received, respected, admired, feared, loved, and hated. His two sons Ray and Forrest expected to arrive in their home town to discuss their father's will with him, only to find him dead and a bookshelf of over three million dollars. This is where the adventure begins. Where did the money come from? How did his father acquire such a large sum of money? Is the money illegal? Who knows about this money? Should Ray/Forrest include this money in their father's estate or just keep it? Continue to read to find out how often Ray moves the money between Charlottesville and Clanton. This is a witty novel. Enjoy the journey.

Quote:

Vicki's departure from his life was so well planned and her execution of it was so cold-blooded that Ray's lawyer's first comment was, "Give it up,pal."

"Don't Be. There's not much to discuss, nothing to fight over, so it'll probably be ugly."

"I don't lie. I cheat and bribe, but I don't lie. "

[Dan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring. Predictable. Stupid. Read it only if you really hate yourself.

[Mike Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Grisham read. Fast with twists. Two sons are summoned by their father a retired judge to discuss his Will. The eldest son Ray Atlee arrives early to find his father dead and over 3 million dollars secreted in cardboard boxes.

Then we follow Ray as he attempts to find out where the money came from and trying to keep his younger brother (a drug addict) in the dark about the money.

Didn’t see the twist coming. Enjoyed the story.

[Sharon Huether · Rating 5 out of 5]

Judge Atlee, a retired Judge in Clanton, Mississippi requested his sons Forrest, the black sheep and Ray the law professor by letter to visit him on Sunday afternoon at 5 pm to discuss the details of his estate.

Ray is right on time. Upon entering the home. Ray finds his father lying on the couch, dead. Looking around the room Ray finds something shocking. Money, all in one hundred dollar denominations in old stationery boxes.

When Forrest arrives an hour later. The money has already been put in black trash bags and shoved into a broom closet. Ray and Forrest look at the Will. All of their fathers assets are to be divided equally.

After the funeral the brother went their separate ways.
Ray did a lot of investigating as to where all the money came from. Dirty money he called it.

Ray was beaning watched and his apartment was broken into twice. Nothing was taken. He was feeling the heat of his knowledge.

A series of bad things happened. An airplane he co-owned with others was set on fire. His father's old home was burned down. His brother disappeared to a rehab center in Montana.
Where did the three million go to?

I loved all the suspense.

[Nenette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything about it is good, but the ending did not work well for me. It is Grisham all the way, with a little twist, as this time there was no case in court, no big time law office...The summons is a document of such, though called so with a sarcastic tone. There was the usual thrill and suspense and it wasn't quite late in the book when I figured out the culprit. I read somewhere that The King of Torts is a thematic sequel to The Summons, so I'm reading that next. Never mind that it's only "thematic", I was really hoping there were more pages, at least an epilogue in The Summons.

.....I wrote the above early in the morning, and then I hit the shower, during which time I thought twice about my review. I was being selfish In a way, asking for more, I failed to dwell on the most important part of the book: the life lesson; after all, I believe lessons are what all stories are all about. Two brothers; one, educated albeit a lawyer; the other, a dope addict for life. All their lives, it's the lawyer who's always been the smart one, even the dope-addict brother thought so. But in the face of temptation, it wasn't a surprise who turned out to be the smarter one, but who's the moral one.....And for that, an extra star.

[Bill · Rating 1 out of 5]

Writing For the Money (2012)

Grisham, John (2002). The Summons. New York: Random House.

A lawyer in Mississippi finds three million dollars in cash in his father’s house after the old man dies. The money is not mentioned in the will, and indeed there is no obvious way the judge could have amassed that much cash. Should the lawyer declare it to the IRS and lose half in taxes, as the law requires, or quietly split it with his no-good, loser, drug-addict brother who would probably use it to overdose, or should he just stuff it into the trunk of his car and keep quiet? Choice number three, obviously. But threatening notes appear, followed by break-ins and fires. Somebody knows about the money and wants it.

That is a pretty good set up, because it’s a nice fantasy everyone has had, finding a hoard of cash, and a good question, what would you do with it, with respect to the law, with respect to family, and especially, what would you do if your life was threatened by having the loot?

But the choices for a novel are more restricted than that. We can’t have the protagonist just buy houses, cars, and airplanes, because that’s not interesting. We can’t have him give half to the IRS, because that just rubs greed the wrong way. We could have him split it with his brother, but, again, that goes against the greed motive, and also, maybe he really does care about his irresponsible brother. But, he has to do something with it. He cannot just drive around the south with the money in the back of his Audi for two hundred pages. What fun is that?

But that’s what happens. The promise of the premise is not fulfilled. If the writing were lyrical and insightful, we might not care that the plot has the dynamism of a slug crossing a garden. But the writing is only pedestrian, and also pretty clearly written by a committee. The plot wanders here and there, as if nobody were in charge of directing it, and the ending is incomplete and arbitrary. There obviously was no overall outline of the plot. It was the old, make it up as you go method.

I got the book on a remainder table and I thought I’d see exactly how he works his magic. Unfortunately, there is no magic, other than the fact of the author’s name. I did make a couple of useful observations. One is that the writing is spare, competent, and kinetic, with few digressions into scenery, costumes, or characters’ interiors. That is the formula that sells, apparently.

Also there were a couple of well-wrought moments of chilling suspense, when the protagonist receives threatening notes that reveal the pursuer’s intimate knowledge of his movements and motives. The idea that someone is watching you that closely is frightening. It might have worked even better if the narrative had been first-person and the main character a little more reflective. This narrator is third-person, close in to the main character, but overall, an inert narrator.

I would have enjoyed a paranoid, fear-soaked cat-and-mouse chase, or maybe some clever turn-the-tables plotting, or even, since it’s Grisham, some tricky legal maneuvers. But there is just nothing going on here. It’s a Grisham novel for the sake of a Grisham novel, and there is no literary or artistic reason for it to exist.

[Una Tiers · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot has a fun premise. The paranoia is overplayed.

[Fatema · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first looked at the book, I first noticed a dull scene of a car driving to infinity as the sun reached the end of the horizon. But, as I read through the book, I grew more interested in the plot and just couldn’t put down the book. I found this book unique in its content and also the characters seemed so life-like. The book I am talking about is “The Summons” by a wonderful author named John Grisham.
I give this book a decent four stars because of its surprising characters and powerful storyline that has a fascinating plot that has all the characters entangled in a complex situation. The part of the story when Ray plans to transfer the money into his car literally gave me chills down my spine. This book is a wonderful piece presented by Grisham in which he has made the story in such a way that it makes you feel like you’re part of the plot yourself! By hearing the story in such a way of a dying father with two sons, one may think of how melodramatic this story would be. But, the twists and turns introduced in the book by Grisham compel you to think twice. He has organized the characters well enough and has narrated the mystery of the money with great dexterity.
I enjoyed reading this book and I strongly believe that John Grisham knows how to create the best storylines ever!

[Iniye · Rating 3 out of 5]

I keep telling myself, “the next one is going to be great,” but John Grisham keeps making it impossible.

A story about a professor of Law, Ray Atlee, whose father instructed him to visit him in their family home to discuss about his will. On getting there, Ray discovers his father had died and left just the crumbling house and a few thousand dollars for him and his addict brother, Forrest.

Ray later discovers boxes of cash totalling up to $3 million, and he doesn't know where it came from and what to do with it.

On the process of investigating the source of the money, he discovers that other parties are also after that money, which brings about more and more adventures for Ray.

The plot started really good, but lost pace halfway through and another bad ending by John Grisham.

[Loreta Griciutė · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Sunkoka blaiviai galvoti,kai randi tėvą mirusį,paskui tris milijonus dolerių grynais,ir suvoki,kad apie pinigus žino dar kažkas ir mielai dėl jų tave nudėtų.
Godumas - keistas padaras".

Miršta visų gerbiamas teisėjas,ir testamento vykdytojų yra paskiriamas vyriausias sūnus. Tas sūnus netyčia randa 27 dėžes,kuriose yra virš 3 milijonų grynais.Apie tai niekam neprasitaria,net jauniausiam broliui,kuris turi bėdų.
Vat čia ir prasideda intriga,kai reikia išsiaiškinti pinigų paslaptį.
Vyriausias sūnus sulaukia grąsinančių laiškų dėl pinigų, į jo butą du kartus įsilaužiama,prasideda bauginimas ir kiti negeri dalykai.
Pamažu ima aiškėti, iš kur pas mirusį tėvą galėjo atsirasti tokia didelė suma,nes jis gyveno taupiai,ir daug pinigų aukojo labdarai.
Ir tuo pačiu yra paslaptingas žmogus,kuris nori tuos pinigus atgauti.
Įtampa išlaikyta iki paskutinio puslapio,buvau gerai suklaidinta,nes jau atrodė žinoma,kam tų pinigų reikėjo.Bet...
Tikrai netikėta pabaiga,kai viskas išaiškėja,nebuvau numačiusi tokio finalo.

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

So I'm at my mom's house drooling over her book collection...Okay, I'm lying. I'm looking over two shelves of either leftover college books in uninteresting subjects or my mother's extension collection of John Grisham books. They're all in hardcover. Let's just say she's a huge fan. I've avoided his books like I avoid anything I see on the bestseller's shelves assuming they are a bunch of crap because they are popular and popularity of most things literary tends to correlate with the number of idiots in the world who recommend books to each other.

Anyway, I'm in town after three years in Japan, bored out of my mind and dying for something to curl up with to weather out some of these nasty midwest thunderstorms. I plucked one off the shelf which happened to be 'The Summons'. Two days later, I just stuffed it back with the other hardcovers thinking, "What the hell did I just read?"

I told my mom I had stolen one of her books and she winced when I told her which one. "Honestly," she said, "That's one of his worst. I don't even believe it was written by him. You should have asked me! It definitely wasn't one of my favorites."

NOW she tells me. That's what I get for my insatiable book hunger. I won't give up on John Grisham, just yet, I suppose. I did like 'A Time To Kill'...but then again, that was Matthew McCaughnahey in his holy-hell-HOT days. There were some other good movies I think I saw based on his books. Mr. Grisham, you deserve another chance.

In this book, you basically get some really vivid character development (which I enjoyed) while some egotistical, pompous, boring blowhard drives around with 3 million in cash shoved in trash bags while he panics and tells random strangers he has it. I wonder if this was one of his early creative writing attempts that he thought he could possibly dress up and publish? It's very amateurish in plot and substance. Anyway, I guess they all can't be three run homers in the bottom of the 9th. I think I'll read some Goodreads reviews and choose another one.

[Caleb J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grisham is consistently entertaining. This is another well paced legal intrigue novel. Can't say I have ever rated his books a 5 nor have I ever been disappointed. Even though he is somewhat formulaic you expect to be entertained and he always delivers.

[Dele Haynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Summons by John Grishom (novel - audible) It was while listening to Sycamore Row that I recognized some of the same names of the characters because my daughter and I were listening to The Summons on our travels. Turns out that The Summons is the third book that takes place in Clanton
MS. Judge Atlee, has summoned his sons to come home in Clanton because he is terminally ill. You might remember Judge Atlee, he was the judge in Carl Lee Haley's trial in A Time to Kill. He was also the judge who presides over the trial about the two wills in Sycamore Row. In that book, he was already quite ill. We were briefly introduced to his sons, but don't know yet that there is no love lost between father and sons.
With the end in sight, Judge Atlee issues a summons for both sons to return home to Clanton, to discuss the details of his estate. Ray arrives first to find his father has already past. Forrest, who soon follows, doesn't want to deal with the arrangements and he leaves it all up to Ray. In inspecting his father's study, Ray finds a big surprise...over three millions dollars in cash. This leads Ray on a search of where did the money come from and what to do with it. Ray thinks he's the only person who knows about the cash, but soon finds out there is someone else out there who knows.
In true Grisham style we are taken on a great romp around the south trying to learn how his father came by all the money and who could possibly know that it exists. It's always nice to have reoccurring characters in books, it make it feel as if the story is longer.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent novel by John Grisham.
Looking at other reviews of this book on Goodreads it appears that readers either loved it or hated it with no middle ground. For me who I admit love the easy way John Grisham writes and enjoys his excellent plots and character development though it was a very good read. Maybe not full of action and court cases but nevertheless plenty of intrigue and mystery.I agree certainly not the best John Grisham book but the standard is so high.

[Andre Gonzalez · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was quite a boring book. He still managed to make a dry story interesting, but this is definitely one of the worst Grisham books out there.

[Pixie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic storyline, Grisham at his best - better than King of Torts. Story starts out simply enough despite its slow-paced southerly-style plotline, and has an easy-to-follow yet intriguing build-up to the plot denouement, which comes as a bit of a surprise even though you might have your own suspicions as to the hidden murderer, OR is it a murder? Without doing a spoiler, Grisham leaves the reader guessing, which makes the story all the more compelling. Jolly good read whatever!

[Carol Jones-Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The main character, Ray Atlee, is a law professor with a good salary at the University of Virginia. He has a brother, Forrest, and a father, known to many as Judge Reuben V. Atlee. Ray is sent to his father's house in Clanton, Mississippi, to discuss issues regarding the old man's will and estate. To do this, Ray has to go to fictional Ford County, Mississippi, the setting for four of John Grisham's other books including A Time To Kill. When he finds his father dead in the study, Ray discovers a sum of over $3 million in the house, money which is not part of Judge Atlee's will. Ray immediately thinks the money is "dirty" because his father could not possibly have made so much money in his career.

Assuming that he is the only one who knows about the money, Ray decides to take it without making it officially part of the estate, and does not tell anyone about it: he knows that if he made it a part of the estate, taxes would take most of the money. But later reality proves otherwise. Ray is being followed; someone else knows about the money. After his own investigations into the roots of the money and the identity of his shadow—including trips to casinos and shady meetings with prominent southern lawyers—he eventually discovers that Forrest has the money. He finds Forrest in a drug rehab compound and confronts him. At the end both part, with Forrest telling Ray that he will contact him in a year.

This is a great book. I love a good courtroom. Highly recommend.