失控的总统丑闻 (2000)

《失控的总统丑闻》（英语：The Brethren）是一部由美国作家约翰·葛里逊于 2000 年出版的法律惊悚犯罪小说。

剧情

三个被称为“兄弟会”的前任法官被监禁在佛罗里达州北部的特兰堡监狱，并发展了一个骗局，以勒索富有的未出柜男同性恋者。在他们的律师特雷弗卡森的帮助下，他们将尚未获得的钱转移到一个秘密的巴哈马银行账户。

与此同时，美国中央情报局无情和即将退休的局长泰迪梅纳正在策划一个控制美国总统选举的计划：亚伦莱克是一个强力支持增加国防预算支出的总统候选人，而梅纳决心控制他，然后让他当选。

不知不觉，兄弟会牵制了泰迪的总统候选人。美国中央情报局争相阻止兄弟会发现他们做了什么。但是消息已经走漏，情势需要泰迪所有非法操纵的经验，以免他的候选人被曝光。

弟兄会失去了对特雷弗的信任，并解雇了他。他后来被加勒比海的中情局代理探员杀死。中情局在特兰堡监狱中安排了一个人告诉法官，他知道他们参与了骗局。于是他们完成了一个交易，金钱换手，众法官们在泰迪的坚持下得到了总统的赦免，而法官们离开该国，前往欧洲旅行。后来，他们重新启动了骗局。

The Brethren is a 2000 legal thriller novel by American author John Grisham.

Plot

The "Brethren" are three former judges who are incarcerated at Trumble, a fictional federal minimum security prison located in northern Florida. The trio embark on a scam to deceive and exploit wealthy closeted gay men. None of them is gay, but they write convincingly as two young vulnerable gay men, developing friendships and then asking for financial help. In some cases, they also try blackmail.

With the help of their lawyer, Trevor Carson, they transfer their ill-gotten money to a secret Bahamian bank account. Carson takes one-third and employs private detectives to investigate the victims of the scam. This takes over from Carson's normal legal business, which had been making very little money for him.

Meanwhile, Teddy Maynard, the ruthless and soon-to-retire director of the CIA, is orchestrating a scheme to tip the United States presidential election in the favor of Aaron Lake, a hawkish congressman supported by arms manufacturers. However, Lake, who is closeted, is hooked by the unwitting Brethren in their scam. Realizing that Lake stands to be exposed, Maynard scrambles to stop them from finding out the truth. After the Brethren fire Carson, he is killed by CIA agents in the Caribbean.

The CIA plant a man inside Trumble, who tells the Brethren that he knows about the scam. A deal is worked out, money changes hands and the judges are pardoned by the outgoing president at Maynard's insistence. The judges leave the country and travel to Europe, where they later restart the scam. Meanwhile, Lake is elected and Maynard, eager to finish the cover-up, selects for him a suitable First Lady.

Reception

In a starred review, Publishers Weekly highlighted how Grisham is one of "only a few megaselling authors of popular fiction [who] deviate dramatically from formula". In line with this praise, they noted that "Grisham's fans may miss the stalwart lawyer-heroes and David vs. Goliath slant of his earlier work", given the fact that "every personage in this novel lies, cheats, steals and/or kills"; however, they concluded that "all will be captivated by this clever thriller that presents as crisp a cast as he's yet devised, and as grippingly sardonic yet bitingly moral a scenario as he's ever imagined".

The A.V. Club's Tasha Robinson also discussed how "The Brethren presents a curious speed bump in [Grisham's] decade-long ride on literary cruise control", adding that, "most notably, there isn't a single film-friendly hero here".

While Publishers Weekly referred to the plot as "expertly orchestrated and very complex plot", Robinson argued that "Grisham takes his time" connecting seemingly disconnected plot lines, and "even when the book finally coheres, the fireworks are minimal".

Robinson concluded, "The Brethren isn't especially exciting, nor is it especially glib. But it is suspiciously relevant to the current presidential election, as well as a satisfying break from Grisham-as-usual."