The Summons.

by John Grisham

John Grisham's The Summons marks his return to the legal thrillers that made him a bestselling author. Ray Atlee, a law professor at the University of Virginia, is summoned home to rural Mississippi by his widowed father, a retired judge. There, as in all the Grisham novels, the twists and turns begin.

Arriving at the once grand house, he finds his father laying dead on the sofa. He searches through his father's possessions and quickly finds two surprises. A holographic will sits on a desk, dividing his father's estate between Ray and his substance abusing brother Forrest. The cabinets provide an even bigger shock. Boxes of legal stationary are filled with cash. In vintage Grisham style, no clues reveal where the money comes from or what Atlee's father intended to do with it. Atlee knows that a judge's salary couldn't account for the money nor could bribery. His father had stringent ethics and the cases before a rural judge are too small to generate that kind of cash.

Reporting the cash means paying estate taxes and sharing the remainder with his brother. Atlee has second thoughts about doing that and decides to hide the money until he can figure out a solution. Before he does, he starts receiving ominous messages. Someone out there knows about the money and wants it back now. Everyone in town is suspect. Fleeing back to the shelter of his campus brings Atlee no relief. Whoever wants the money follows him there and breaks into his apartment.

In the spirit of mystery writer Ross Macdonald, only the past will reveal the present. Atlee must find how his father got the money to know who is in on the secret.

He learns that his father, a strict judge, had another side. He gambled, had a long affair with a court reporter, and strangely for him, once took an assignment outside of his normal venue and docket to preside over a large products liability trial. At the same time Atlee seeks his father's history he must stay one step ahead of his own pursuer.

Grisham knows his former profession well, from the "ham and egger" lawyers scraping out a living in rural divorce court to class action attorneys achieving unimaginable wealth. His fans will welcome his return to the law. The Summons ranks as one of his best books. Like many others, it begins with a jolt and keeps moving from start to finish. There are moments of laugh out loud humor to rival The Rainmaker, particularly a visit to a class action attorney's yacht and a traffic stop by a state trooper.

Since the success of The Firm, Grisham's first best seller, countless others have tried to emulate him. Unfortunately few have been able to simply tell a story, the key to Grisham's books. For a few enjoyable hours, you can't go wrong with The Summons.

The Summons (341 pages) is published by Doubleday.

David Mandell lives in Norwich, CT, and is a member of The Florida Bar.