I've been reading John Grisham novels for over 20 years and was excited when I heard he'd written a sequel to The Firm. I treated myself to the signed edition! The book did not disappoint - a good story with the usual depth and detail you'd expect from this author. And the ending - well, I don't think we've heard the last of Mitch McDeere!

7/10. Completed on 22/11/23. Not his best work. Story line was interesting enough if not a bit far fetched. It lacked meat on the bones particularly at the end. I wouldn't read it again and I've never said that before about Grisham.

Contains spoilers. It's billed as a sequel to The Firm and while it has the same main character, Mitch McDeere, its a different story and not a continuation. First third where a kidnap occurs and where Mitch's family are under threat had me hooked. But I lost interest after then basically because I didn't care much about Giovanna, who is kidnapped, or her Italian dad, Luca, who Grisham Italuan stereotypes so much that I'm surprised there wasn't a scene where he was riding in gondola singing "just one cornetto". If you're new to Grisham then better legal story books of his are The Firm, The Rainmaker, & Runaway Jury. I'd also recommend an overlooked coming of age novel of his called A Painted House, which is wonderful.

This was actually a bit of a surprise for me as it’s a Grisham book, and I usually enjoy them across the board. But this one I had some reservations about. This story takes up with Mitch McDeere (from The Firm) 15 years after his perilous escape from a corrupt law firm in Memphis. Now in Manhattan with his wife and children, Mitch is a partner at the world’s largest law firm and is asked to fly to Libya to document the construction of Gaddafi’s desert “bridge to nowhere” that his client is suing for payment of. Then things go seriously haywire (to say the least) and terror ensues. Mitch and his wife Abby are thrust into the middle of a sinister plot that sees them struggling to help secure an exchange involving multiple countries, millions of dollars and the safety of their own family. Unfortunately, this didn’t give me the excitement factor that I was expecting. There’s some violence and a few harrowing moments, but mostly it felt a lot like it was trying to make a few political statements. It was rather slow in parts, and there was so much flying around in private jets that I had both whiplash and jet lag, with most of the hurried travel accomplishing nothing and seemingly unnecessary. And the denouement just fell flat for me. I love Grisham, but for me this was not one of his best efforts. My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for providing the free early arc of The Exchange for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

Fifteen years after the implosion of the firm where he worked, lawyer Mitch McDeere is faced with another confounding situation. As he races across the world to beat a deadline, he finds himself reminiscing about his previous practice. Author John Grisham brings back the character that established him as a pioneer in legal thrillers in a sequel that doesn’t measure up to the original work in the lackluster novel The Exchange: After the Firm. It's 2006, and Mitch McDeere is settled with his wife, Abby, and twin sons in New York City. The nightmare with his previous employer, Bendini, Locke, and Lambert, in Mississippi is long behind him. Mitch and Abby have finally gotten used to living life without looking over their shoulders. Abby’s job as a cookbook editor is going well, and Mitch is now a partner in mega law firm Scully and Pershing. The life Mitch and Abby thought they’d have in Mississippi is finally theirs. When Mitch gets a call from a mentor for a favor, it seems simple enough. Mitch has been good friends with Luca Sandroni for many years, and Luca’s daughter, Giovanna, is now an associate with Scully and Pershing. Due to his declining health, Luca wants give one of his latest cases to Mitch and is requesting that Giovanna be added to the team. Mitch is more than happy to oblige. After Bendini, Locke, and Lambert fell apart, Luca provided Mitch and Abby safe haven in Italy. He helped Mitch personally and professionally. Mitch jumps at the opportunity to take Giovanna under his wing the way Luca did for him. The case Luca is handing over involves Turkish construction firm Lannak. Lannak, following the express orders of dictator Muammar Gaddafi, built a bridge in the Libyan desert. Now that the bridge is almost finished, Gaddafi’s government is stalling on payment, and Luca has been representing Lannak in the negotiations. Mitch and Giovanna travel to Libya to meet with their clients, but Giovanna and some Libyan locals are kidnapped by terrorists from an unknown organization. Mitch races back to New York, as much to get out of harm’s way as to figure out what to do next. Scully and Pershing is the largest law farm in the world. Surely, Mitch thinks, if anyone can get Giovanna back, his firm can. What he discovers, though, is the firm has its own interests. After weeks of silence, the terrorists ask for a ransom of $100 million within 10 days. Mitch begins his own campaign to bring Giovanna home, but with little information to go on about who is doing the asking and why his efforts are stunted. Then the terrorists contact Abby, and Mitch’s entire world starts to spin sideways. Author John Grisham uses this novel to answer the question, “What happened to Mitch after The Firm?” The book’s premise remains mostly unformed and unexplored. Grisham’s running commentary narration makes the novel feel like it’s skimming the surface of an old spy film. The terrorist organization is never given a name or any sort of affiliation, which, after a point, leaves them feeling more like a fuzzy concept rather than a group with a distinct purpose and mission. More than that, the group never offers any concrete reasons for Giovanna’s kidnapping. What little readers do know of the terrorists sounds stereotypical to the point of feeling generic. Rather than worry for Giovanna’s welfare and, by association, Mitch and Abby’s safety, readers may come away with absolutely no emotional reaction at all. It's also unclear later in the book why Mitch is so deeply invested in Giovanna’s rescue. Worst of all, despite graphic descriptions of violence, Mitch himself never seems in danger of anything. With the lack of tension and any active conflict, readers may lose interest in his noble mission. Grisham gives Mitch several opportunities to reflect on life after Bendini, Locke, and Lambert, but many of these recollections feel forced. They don’t flow with the rest of the narrative at hand. Diehard fans of John Grisham may want to pick this one up, but other readers are probably better off reading the original novel instead.