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3.2 AVERAGE
3.2 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Thank you to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for the ARC!
Oh boy, here we go.
In our bookstore John Grisham has to be in the top 5 of our bestselling authors, the clientele that loves him is pretty exclusively middle aged white men. After finally picking up a Grisham for myself, I can absolutely see why.
The book opens with the introduction of Mitch and Abby McDeere, if you have already read The Firm, you should already be well acquainted. The whole beginning of the book attempts to slyly inform the reader of what happened in The Firm with Mitch flying back to the city he narrowly escaped for a death penalty case that conveniently falls through the second he gets there. Just enough time to catch up with an old "friend". The Dialogue in this book makes me crazy. If I wanted to read a play by play conversation I would probably pick up a kids books.
"Meanwhile I was in Prison." "Are you going to keep blaming me for that?" "No, Mitch. As of today I'm letting go." "Thanks. Me too." *snore*
And then, we get to the actual plot. A friend in Rome asks Mitch for a favour that will take him to Libya for a lawsuit against the government who is refusing to pay for a bridge. Long story short, someone gets kidnapped, the McDeere family is in danger, the kidnappers want $100 million, they get $75 million and everyone lives happy ever after. But wait, what about the lawsuit that brought him to Libya in the first place? Guess we'll never know. They let $75 million go just like that? Seems so. And yes, of course, The Firm will play into this whole ransom ploy in an unexpected way.
My other issue with this book is the slightly racist feel that seems to be happening here. For example: "In a place like Libya, there was always the flash of horror that an American could suddenly be on the floor, handcuffed, and then hauled away and detained for life. Mitch loved the thrill of the unknown." HUH
Anyway, it takes a lot for me to give a book a single star, so this feels like a solid two, but between the juvenile writing style and vaguely racist undercurrents in this book, I am not sure I will be picking up another book by John Grisham.
Oh boy, here we go.
In our bookstore John Grisham has to be in the top 5 of our bestselling authors, the clientele that loves him is pretty exclusively middle aged white men. After finally picking up a Grisham for myself, I can absolutely see why.
The book opens with the introduction of Mitch and Abby McDeere, if you have already read The Firm, you should already be well acquainted. The whole beginning of the book attempts to slyly inform the reader of what happened in The Firm with Mitch flying back to the city he narrowly escaped for a death penalty case that conveniently falls through the second he gets there. Just enough time to catch up with an old "friend". The Dialogue in this book makes me crazy. If I wanted to read a play by play conversation I would probably pick up a kids books.
"Meanwhile I was in Prison." "Are you going to keep blaming me for that?" "No, Mitch. As of today I'm letting go." "Thanks. Me too." *snore*
And then, we get to the actual plot. A friend in Rome asks Mitch for a favour that will take him to Libya for a lawsuit against the government who is refusing to pay for a bridge. Long story short, someone gets kidnapped, the McDeere family is in danger, the kidnappers want $100 million, they get $75 million and everyone lives happy ever after. But wait, what about the lawsuit that brought him to Libya in the first place? Guess we'll never know. They let $75 million go just like that? Seems so. And yes, of course, The Firm will play into this whole ransom ploy in an unexpected way.
My other issue with this book is the slightly racist feel that seems to be happening here. For example: "In a place like Libya, there was always the flash of horror that an American could suddenly be on the floor, handcuffed, and then hauled away and detained for life. Mitch loved the thrill of the unknown." HUH
Anyway, it takes a lot for me to give a book a single star, so this feels like a solid two, but between the juvenile writing style and vaguely racist undercurrents in this book, I am not sure I will be picking up another book by John Grisham.
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Cea mai slaba carte a lui Grisham. Am abandonat-o la 30% deoarece este atat de prost scrisa incat tind sa cred ca nici macar nu a fost scrisa de JG.
"The Exchange" by John Grisham is a book billed as a sequel to his breakout novel “The Firm.”
It is now 15 years after the events of "The Firm." Mitch McDeere is happily married with a couple kids and works at a prestigious global law firm. When he gets involved in a lawsuit for a bridge in Libya, things go bad and Mitch is now negotiating for the return of a kidnapped coworker. Things get more tense when Mitch’s wife is the contact for the kidnappers.
While it is the same characters, I’m not sure that this is what I was expecting. The preceding book was a riveting page turner while this one was not. It felt a bit slow and predictable.
It is now 15 years after the events of "The Firm." Mitch McDeere is happily married with a couple kids and works at a prestigious global law firm. When he gets involved in a lawsuit for a bridge in Libya, things go bad and Mitch is now negotiating for the return of a kidnapped coworker. Things get more tense when Mitch’s wife is the contact for the kidnappers.
While it is the same characters, I’m not sure that this is what I was expecting. The preceding book was a riveting page turner while this one was not. It felt a bit slow and predictable.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was really excited when I heard that this was a follow up to “The Firm” but it seems that I set my expectations too high.
Once I started reading, it took about 80 pages for the plot to start developing but once it did, it took off like a shot. And then, it ended. Badly.
Without giving too much away, there were certain hints of the past in the current plot that went nowhere and the whole thing ended up revolving around how a ransom is paid.
All in all, too many questions and potential plot points left dangling and unanswered. I was let down. This was not one of his better novels. Better plot next time please JG!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A