19 Comments

  1. I have just finished reading THE SUMMONS, it appears that the story has not been completed,I feel as there is more to come. Can you tell me if there is another book that continues the story please?

    Thank you,

    Jim Cartwright

    1. Sorry, Jim,

      Ten years later, there hasn’t been a formal sequel to The Summons, and I believe there may never be: Grisham doesn’t usually write sequels, and the book itself remains a minor entry (ie; no movie adaptation, no cult following, no protagonist built for further adventures) in his bibliography. I refer to The King of Torts as a “thematic sequel” because, as written above. it does re-use a memorable secondary character, shares world-building elements and is just as concerned with sudden money as a morality play. That’s likely to remain as close to a sequel as we’re ever likely to see… although I wouldn’t mind being wrong on this one.

      In her 2007 book Revisiting John Grisham, Mary Beth Pringle analyzes The Summons in far more detail than I do, and concludes that there is potential for a sequel, but it hasn’t materialized.

    1. I definitely agree. Mr. Grisham left the end without an end. I love his writings. I pick up a book and can’t put it down. You’re on the edge of your seat to know ‘what’s next’. What happened to the brothers? Mr. Grisham, we need a sequel to The Summons.

      1. The strange thing is that Grisham is usually good with endings.

      2. Four blank pages at the back of the book provide

        space for each to write their own “ sequel”

      3. That’s right! For fun, I asked ChatGPL to write “a plot summary to a novel in the style of john grisham”. Here is what came out:

        When small-town lawyer Joe Smith takes on the case of a lifetime, he has no idea what he’s getting himself into. His client, Sarah Johnson, is a young woman who has been wrongfully accused of murder. As Joe delves into the case, he realizes that Sarah’s guilt or innocence is tied to a powerful and corrupt corporation, and that the deck is stacked against him.

        As he fights for Sarah’s freedom, Joe finds himself up against not only the corporation’s lawyers, but also a shadowy group of individuals who will stop at nothing to see Sarah convicted. With the help of his colleagues and a tenacious investigator, Joe must uncover the truth and expose the corruption before it’s too late. But as he gets closer to the truth, he realizes that he may be putting not only his career, but also his life, on the line.

    2. I agree with Ed Sankary completely. You need write a real sequel to The Summons. Please don’t leave your devoted fans (me, for one) forever wondering what happened to Ray and Forrest Atlee. Also, I loved your books featuring Jake Brigance. What a great character!

  2. I love the testament and king of torts, John Grisham is really a good story tell. Good job

  3. I actually really liked “The King of Torts”. Over time, it has become one of my favorite novels, and has led to me reading it several times.

    I think the main attraction for me, is that amazing opportunities can come at you from any direction in a short period of time – this is according to my own belief system which follows an entire saga of those who understand the ‘abundance consciousness’. Some draw this into their life randomly, but those who wake up and shift their thinking can have the same prosperity once quickly they give up all the limitations they’ve accepted in their minds.

    What I did not like about this book, is that it puts a very negative spin on having money and success, presented in a very narrow minded view. Additionally, this transition was made within just a couple pages, which made no sense whatsoever.

    Clay went from being sickened by endless consumption and thinking there was no way he could ever spend $20,000 a month, to suddenly wanting a $44 million dollar private jet in just 2-3 pages. The abruptness in the story made no sense when you understand Clay’s character and background. A real person in this situation would likely have been FAR more cautious, and would have laid low for years after making his $100 million instead of taking yet another mass tort from his shady friend Max Pace.

    The author goes too far out of the way to try to show that money corrupts, to the point that he changes Clay’s character. Of course, in reality, it is NOT money and prosperity that corrupts – these things are freeing to people. Corruption comes from accepting immorality.

    Several elements come into play:

    – The massive pharmaceutical industry which does nothing but poison the human body with drugs in to order to cover up the symptoms, instead of changing people’s diet so they don’t become sick in the first place and eventually fully recover

    – Pill-popping losers who came after Clay later because their $40,000 lawsuit wasn’t enough money to compensate them for beings stupid and lazy enough to take a pill instead of changing their diet and daily exercise to cure their problems

    – Clay having a heart of gold, taking care of his Father, and trying to take care of a gold-digging scum-bag slut (Ridley) who was only after his money the whole time

    – Clay holding out for the true love of his life, Rebecca, even though she was a shallow low-life who dumped him because her parents didn’t think he made enough money

    – Clay feeling bad enough to go into the town of the brick-company in order to see first-hand the damage caused by putting a company out of business

    – Clay giving huge bonuses to people in his office for believing in him and leaving OPD to become part of his new firm

    In short – Clay was an unbelievably noble individual, worthy of wealth and prosperity, whose true character would never have succumbed to the endless spending that the author placed on him.

    Unfortunately, in my perspective, religion is an offspring of Marxism, communism, and socialism. It tells you that everyone who is prosperous must be evil, and that the poor should get free money from the people who actually earned it.

    This is very wrong. Capitalism, hard work, and self-responsibility create prosperous nations, just like America used to be. Wealth is not evil, it is what we do with it that makes it good or bad, which is a point I think was entirely missed in this novel.

    Nonetheless, the idea that amazing opportunities are always right around the corner is the reason I still enjoy reading this from time to time.

  4. The story of the Atlee brothers begs to be finished. Who, actually turns out to be the “bad guy” in this saga. Please let us know. It ended too abruptly, without promise of an end.

  5. I loved the summons as all of John Grisham s books..But the summons left me in suspense. ..lost

  6. Ditto to most of above, The Summons ended with more questions than answers.
    Perhaps it’s time to tell us more about the Atlee family.

  7. The summons has to be finished, the ending left more questions than answers, so frustrating!.

  8. Please bring back Rsy & Forrest. We want closure of this family. I belive Ray needs a woman in his life.

  9. I agree. I looked for the sequel. I know writing a book takes time but the characters are already there. Please…

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