John Grisham’s “The Exchange”

John Grisham’s “The Exchange” touted to be a sequel to his previous blockbuster novel “The Firm” starts off as a legal thriller and later shifts into an international suspense thriller involving an abduction. Mitch McDeere, the small town lawyer from “The Firm” returns in this novel as a partner in one of the top law firms - Scully and Pershing.

After the life threatening encounter with the Mob fifteen years ago, Mitch and his wife Abby have been living a normal life with their kids. Mitch is assigned a case which involves construction firm Lannak’s lawsuit against the Libyan government over unpaid dues for building a bridge in the middle of the desert. Luca Sandroni who was managing the case before, suffers from pancreatic cancer and his daughter Giovanna is chosen to work along with Mitch for Lannak. When Mitch and Giovanna decide to visit the bridge in Libya, Giovanna gets abducted and the security personnel accompanying her end up being brutally murdered on video. 

Who is behind the abduction? Is it the Libyan colonel? Is it Mitch’s past catching up with him? When they wait for an outfit or the people behind the abduction to make contact, Mitch’s wife Abby is being threatened with pictures of her family and a contact is made with a huge ransom demand. Abby is caught in the middle of a hostage negotiation as the kidnappers only communicate to Abby. Mitch and Abby try every possible source to come up with the ransom amount. Will they be able to rescue Giovanna alive with the clock ticking? Will they close in on the kidnappers?

A promising premise with a potential to become an engrossing international thriller is let down by tiresome sidetracks with very little action happening throughout. The hostage negotiation takes a backstage at one point and the side track involving the attempt to raise funds for the ransom takes center stage until it gets boring. By the time the novel gets back on track, it is too late. The unconvincing link up to “The Firm” at the end and an abrupt climax makes this novel a futile attempt at giving a sequel. 

“The Boys from Biloxi” by John Grisham

John Grisham’s “The Boys from Biloxi” is a riveting saga of friendship, betrayal, rivalry and justice that is set in world of crime. The novel is set in Biloxi, a happening city with pubs, casinos, gambling, prostitution and its connection with organized crime. 

Hugh Malco and Keith Rudy, two childhood friends who were once inseparable, part ways to follow the legacy of their fathers. Lance Malco, Hugh’s father makes money from vice whereas Jesse Rudy, Keith’s father is on the other side of the law as a honest lawyer turned district attorney. Over time, both families are often pitted against each other. With Keith and Hugh on the opposite sides of the law, how far will each one take things against the other?

The strength of the novel is the characterisation and attention to detail in staging a city of vice and violence. Despite the overwhelming list of characters, all the primary characters and protagonists have clear character arcs and get the much needed closure. In the first few parts,  there is everything happening in the novel - gambling, gang wars, murder, heist, drug trafficking, courtroom drama and at times the backstory and subplots diverge too much. However, the novel settles down as a tale of revenge at the later stage.

Though there are moments of brilliance in the courtroom showdown, most of the action happens outside the courtroom. The great detailing of the process of jury selection, choice of attire for the defendants, strategies employed inside the courtroom by the lawyers and jury tampering is John Grisham playing to his strengths. 

The novel is not a compelling page turner, but the staging and showcase of events makes it worth reading. The novel also touches upon the debate on death penalty but doesn’t make it preachy. The massive twist towards the end is a brave piece of writing.

The Boys from Biloxi has just enough to keep the readers engrossed!

“The Pelican Brief” by John Grisham

“The Pelican Brief” is a mystery novel that revolves around the murders of two Supreme Court justices who were either liberal or democratic or environmentalists. There are two possibilities behind the murders - a revenge for a case in the past that these judges were part of (or) a precautionary act to eliminate their voting on a case that is yet to be handled by the Supreme Court. Which one is it? 

A young law student Darby Shaw hunts all cases from the past that might link the two Supreme Court justices but fails to find a compelling case. She finds a case that is a long shot, writes a legal brief on it and almost decides to discard it. When the brief circulates around in the circles of FBI and the White House, she is in grave danger of getting killed and she is forced to run for her life. Her legal brief which was a shot in the dark had threatening implications in the inner sanctum of the White House.

While she is on the run, she calls up a reporter who goes to any extent and even resorts to sleazy ways to break a shocking news to the world. She dictates to him how she wants to approach the story and its verification before he breaks the story to the world. They both start digging the truth only to realise that there is an even bigger conspiracy. 

The novel is propulsive and page turning.  Though the plot solely rests on the suspense behind the legal brief, the novel is able to keep up the suspense until the very end without losing its steam. The overwhelming list of characters might need a track, despite that the novel is fairly engaging and easy to comprehend.

Another John Grisham masterpiece in the legal thriller genre!