The Exchange: After The Firm - The biggest Grisham in over a decade Paperback – 4 July 2024

I LOVED IT, but then really what's not to love?If your expecting a taut, tense courtroom drama FORGET ITIf your expecting a clever & devious scam by the "good guy's" FORGET ITIt's neither of those yet somehow it's pure Grishman. Not just because it's Mitch, although to my mind he remain's a great character whose just grown up & has gotten wiserThe writing is a precise, descriptive & uncomplicated as ever, you turn the pages eager to get to the next, it's one of those hard to put down read's and it contains character's that despite all their wealth, slight arrogance & seemingly perfect lives you still like them or loathe them as is appropriate.If like me you have been waiting for this ever since reading The Firm, you won't be disappointed, despite the lack of plot twist's & sense of danger to the main character... It's not THAT kind of book, it's not all legal jargon & it's not all thrilling chase's,heart stopping moments & danger lurking round every corner, BUT it's great nether the less... It would be... It's a GRISHAM after all

The novel features Mitch McDere who had to go to ground years earlier to avoid being killed by the mob with which the law firm he was working for at the time were involved. The events formed the novel ‘The Firm’ by John Grisham.At first, I assumed that ‘The Exchange’ was going to be about federal agents years ago operating as executioners of drug dealers whom they were supposed to arrest during drugs raids but shot dead instead. But the story never got off the ground and I wondered at the point of it since the plot changed abruptly to the kidnapping in Libya of a young lawyer, Giovanna who works in the massive worldwide law firm in which Mitch is now a partner.Mitch and Giovanna were in Libya to take action against the regime for failing to pay a Turkish company the outstanding fee for a massive construction project, the building of a bridge ordered by Colonel Gaddafi. The project was never feasible or even necessary since there was no water to go under the bridge! The Colonel kept changing his mind making the project much more expensive and then tired of the project altogether. Giovanna goes to inspect the bridge. Mitch is mysteriously struck down with food poisoning, which is never explained, so he can’t accompany Giovanna who goes on the inspection alone and in the course of it is kidnapped by a ruthless group who oppose Gaddafi and demand £100M in ransom.The rest of the book is largely devoted to the efforts by Mitch and others to raise the money, running all over the world, using private jets and staying in lavishly expensive hotels. I found the excess described/money no object rather nauseating. Moreover there is precious little law or legal procedure in the book. The setting for the story could be any rich corporation and its top bods.The book is well written and readable so I’ve given it 4 stars, but it’s over long and I was quite pleased to get to the end of it.

Looking forward with great anticipation of a great book and film character. Made more poignant with the sad death of Gene Hackman.A bit of a departure for John Grisham, lacked energy, and was pedestrian in its narrative.No twists or turns. Unlike majority of his work some brilliant books and subsequent films this is not up there.

In the conclusion to an Author’s Note at the end of this book, The Exchange, John Grisham says, “A special thanks to the readers who have enjoyed The Firm over the years and have been kind enough to write and ask: Will we ever see Mitch and Abby (McDeere) again?” Well, The Exchange is Grisham’s 41st novel, and 38 others have been written by this prolific author since The Firm, the book that introduced the McDeere’s to this author’s readership.In terms of time, it has been fifteen years since Mitch McDeere stole $15 million from the mob and disappeared. In its passing narrative, occupying some 334 pages from the Hodder and Stoughton publishers, The Exchange fills-in some of the details of that event, by way of offering a possible reason why, since then, Mitch and his wife, Abby, have lived in relative obscurity, with Mitch working his way to being one of the top lawyers working for the biggest law firm in the world, Scully & Pershing.It is not by chance that John Grisham is amongst the foremost writers of his time, and, in The Exchange, John Grisham tells the story of how a new case takes Mitch McDeere to Libya and his involvement in one of the biggest hostage negotiations in recent history. Terrorists who have murdered, and will do so again, have captured a fellow London-based lawyer with the firm of Scully & Pershing, Giovanna, the daughter of a wealthy Italian, Luca. Mitch and Giovanna had been representing Luca in his legal battle with the Libyan government over the latter’s refusal to reimburse Luca for his company's work in building a bridge for the Libyan government in the Libyan desert.Whilst in Libya, Giovanna had been captured by terrorists and held for a $100 million ransom – to be paid within ten days. Mitch, and in due course, his wife Abby, has become central to the negotiations with the terrorists for Giovanna’s release. The narrative of the novel develops from this situation. In some ways, The Exchange is a follow-up to The Firm, but in other ways it is a separate story which, with Grisham’s narrative skills, simply and clearly offers some parallels between Mitch McDeere’s previous experiences and those he now faces and shares with Abby. The difference now is that with the clock ticking, Mitch must remain one step ahead of those who have kidnapped Giovanna. So too, unlike his experiences with the mob who are intent on revenge, there is nowhere where Mitch can now hide.Early in the novel, John Grisham prepares his readers well for what is to come. There is a gradual development of the story, with important background information concerning his major characters. There are no overwhelming emotional or physical junctures, but it is a narrative that gradually draws in the reader as the story continues and develops. When it is reached, the denouement of the plot and the conclusion to the novel provides satisfaction and literary completion, rather than great tension and surprise. This is the mark of an experienced and successful writer, and, in these areas, there are few who are the equal of John Grisham.The Exchange is, for this reviewer, one of the most enjoyable and stimulating of John Grisham’s later novels. Not only does The Exchange reintroduce the character of Mitch McDeere, but there is also a gentle but firm reminder that the author, John Grisham, remains one of the modern legends of literary fiction. The Exchange is well worth its purchase price and comes with this reviewer’s highest recommendation.