The Brethren

The Brethren (2000) by John Grisham. Three convicts in a minimum security federal prison, two former judges and one a former sheriff, come up with a scam to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars. It involves placing phony ads in a gay magazine, corresponding with the men who answer the ads, and then blackmailing them. It works pretty well -- until they ensnare a man who is running for president. This is a pretty amusing book, but is has an air of staleness about it. Notice the publication date -- before 9/11. All of the plotting and strategy around the presidential race has an anachronistic feel to it, because it is set in a pre-9/11 world. Grade: B-