Thank you Netgalley, Doubleday Books | Doubleday and John Grisham for free e-ARC in return of my honest review.

The Exchange is a riveting sequel to The Firm, continuing the story of Mitch and Abby McDeere after they exposed the crimes of a law firm and fled the country. Set fifteen years later in Manhattan, Mitch is now a partner at a prestigious law firm. When a favor takes him to Rome, he becomes entangled in a sinister plot with worldwide implications, putting his loved ones at risk. With his skills put to the test, Mitch must navigate a dangerous game with no place to hide.

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy The Exchange. The plot may have lacked the excitement and intrigue expected from a thriller, and the characters may not have resonated as strongly. Overall, the story may have fallen short in delivering a gripping and engaging narrative that captivates my attention.

I found this book rather.... ordinary, I guess, at least compared to John Grisham's earlier work. It was an easy read and engaging enough, but there were a lot of meetings... and phone calls... and international flights... The book certainly didn't deliver on its promises of being a riveting legal thriller. It never achieved the level of suspense you would expect from Grisham. Oddly, too, the book opens with Mitch going to Memphis in connection with a death row case. It's a short-lived excursion that includes a rather banal meeting with one of his former colleagues from The Firm, but that storyline goes nowhere, and then the *actual* plot of the book begins. Having said all of that, it was entertaining enough to warrant a three-star rating from me.

I wanted to like this book. I loved The Firm and I consider John Grisham a comfort read. But this is less about Mitch McDeere than it is about everyone else in his sphere. Now he’s a corporate lawyer so zero courtroom and minimal legal stuff. Rich, perfect father/husband/lawyer zipping around the world having meetings which could have been emails.

**2.5 stars**

So I was shocked when I was approved for this on NetGalley but it after reading it and seeing a lot of negative reviews I’m pretty sure I was only approved in the hope I’d give it a really good review. Sadly, I cannot. I read the firm when it came out around 1993-94 and it started a live for John Grisham, a love I still have today. But I think a sequel to Mitch’s story is about 15 years too late. This one was lacking the mystery and nail biting suspense of The Firm or a usual Grisham novel. I honestly didn’t care about Giovanna enough to read a whole novel about her. I can’t believe Mitch would go back to visit old friends in Tennessee, I’m sure that was just for the readers of The Firm but still.

If The Exchange had been my first John Grisham book honestly it would be my last. I’m going to re-read The Pelican Brief and remember what I loved about his books.

Thanks to the author and publisher for the e-arc I received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Good enough. I really like The Firm and it was great to revisit these characters. Solid 4 stars. Grisham is always good for a solid read.

The Exchange is not so much a sequel of The Firm but the longest addendum known to man. With some of the same characters but none of the pace and thrill and edge of your seat drama, this book just made me question what I ever liked about John Grisham thrillers.

Update Mar'24: 3.5 stars
I waited patiently on the waitlist at the library but I'm not sure why. 3 stars because it's Grisham and I've been a fan since The Firm. But .5 stars because:
Questioning why it was considered a follow-up. Okay, Mitch and Abby were there but this was a stand-alone.
What was the point of the death-row scenario scene. Confusing.
So much travel, I couldn't tell where Mitch was. Adding to the confusion.
So many meetings. I lost track of who was who at the zoo.
Finale. Anticlimactic, to say the least. Maybe anticlimactic is not the correct word, the words came quickly but I was not terribly immersed. And then it was done.

My review in one word: disappointing.

Nov'23: Review coming! 4 stars for now.
I wasn’t able to finish this book before it was archived, now I’m on the waitlist at our (wonderful) local library.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3. The Exchange is a sequel to The Firm, which I loved, but this book fell very short for me. Mitch and Abby don't even feel like the same characters. Gone is the fire and drive I feel they had in the first book and in its place is fear and going with the flow. Maybe I wouldn't behave any differently were I in there shoes, but I expected more of them. Mitch takes a return trip to Memphis at the start of the book and I feel it was only placed there to give anyone who hasn't read The Firm the backstory they need to understand where Mitch came from. While there Mitch has a very unbelievable lunch with an old friend he hasn't seen since he fled the city and the FBI dismantled the firm they worked in.

Normally I'm all about the details, especially when it comes to solving a mystery, or in this case when we are trying to figure out just where Mitch's associate is and who has taken her. The action didn't really ramp up until I was about 40% into it. I'm glad I stuck with it, but next time just make the book shorter and cut out all the extra details that have nothing to do with the case at hand (and there are a plethora of unnecessary details in this book!). The story itself made me tired as there is a ton of travel and meetings. Oh the meetings!

I do believe this works as a standalone book. So if you haven't read The Firm you should be fine.

Thank you NetGalley and Doubleday Books for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Like to know what happened to Mitch and Abby McDeere, who fled the country after exposing the criminal enterprises of Memphis law firm Bendini, Lambert & Locke in the Firm? Read The Exchange.

Fifteen years later, Mitch is a NY partner in a renowned international law firm. He and Abby have twin sons and Abby is a senior editor at a press specializing in cookbooks.

After Mitch takes on a case in Libya, a young female lawyer (Giovanna) who accompanies him is kidnapped and held for ransom. Both Mitch and Abby out themselves at risk to bring her home.

Thank you, Netgalley and Doubleday, for an ARC of this book! The opinions in this review are entirely my own!

Well, this was definitely not my favorite Grisham, unfortunately! I have to admit that this is the first of his books I read in English. All the others I have read, I read in German. Even though this one fell a little flat for me, he is still one of my favorite authors. I did like the writing, but the setting and focus of the story just weren't what I expected from the author. I'm not sure why I couldn't love the book. It was an OK book for me, but now your typical amazing Grisham.

"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.

I first read and enjoyed The Firm over 30 years ago so I didn't really remember all of it so I do believe this can be read as a standalone. This story started a little slow for me, the action picks up after the kidnapping and I liked those parts. I did really enjoy the interaction between Mitch, Abby and their boys. There was the start of a possible death row case which was wrapped up too quickly, I would've enjoyed more of the story. I would like reading more about Mitch, Abby and their sons in the future maybe a book 3?

I enjoyed "The Exchange" and appreciate the advance copy. It was great to reunite with Mitch and Abby in the story. It was a tense legal thriller that kept me turning the pages as most of Grisham's books do. It was not as compelling as "The Firm" which left me a little disappointed. However, it would make a fantastic movie and I am recommending it to library patrons and book clubs.

This was a great follow up to its predecessor - it was interesting, unique, well paced, and picked up the characters in a way that was true to them. Definitely worth a read - hoping for a movie (without it's previous main actor).

My rating: 2.5 stars.

I was skeptical before even starting to read this book. In The Firm, they turned on the mob! How can they come back from that?!

The book is disappointing. It focuses on terrorists and not law. We never find out why or how the terrorists targeted them and we get no resolution on the bridge lawsuit. I admit to skimming the last half as I have no desire to read a book about terrorists but hoped for some kind of resolution or twist.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The Exchange is the sequel to The Firm. It’s 15 years later and Mitch McDeere and Abby have twin boys and live in a NYC apartment. Mitch is a partner at Scully and Pershing, the largest law firm in the world. S&P takes pro bono casework seriously and Mitch has been assigned to work a couple of death row pro bono cases; one of which leads him back to Memphis, Tenn, where he meets up with his old friend Lamar from Bendini, Lambert and Locke, the notorious law firm where he was previously employed. It’s an interesting meeting to say the least.

Meanwhile, one of S&P’s well respected partners in Rome, Luca Sandroni, asks Mitch to handle a lawsuit for him involving a well-established, lucrative client—a Turkish contractor, Lannak, that’s suing the Libyan government for withholding a four hundred million dollar payment on a massive completed project. Mitch agrees to handle the lawsuit and travels to Libya to gather information to better equip him for the case. Although Mitch is concerned about the safety of Libya, he’s assured that it’s for the most part, safe. At Luca’s request his daughter, Giovanna, who also works for S&P in their London office, accompanies Mitch as an Associate on the case.

A day is arranged for Mitch and Giovanna to travel to the dessert to gather information about the useless bridge project that Muammar Gaddafi ordered to have built to his outrageous specifications, but who now refuses to absorb the additional costs involved in its completion. Once in Tripoli, Libya, plans to visit the construction site go awry due to unforeseen circumstances, and dire consequences ensue. Before long, Mitch’s family, and others, are a target of vicious, ruthless attackers, and S&P must scramble to satisfy their greedy demands. But the law firm needs help securing what they want. Will they get it in time, or will another valuable life, or lives, be lost?

Since The Firm is one of my favorite movies I was eager to read a follow-up to the story. I was expecting characters from Mitch’s prior law firm, Bendini, Lambert and Locke, to appear in The Exchange, but that wasn’t the case. We do meet up briefly with Mitch’s friend Lamar from The Firm, but that was the extent of it. I was a little disappointed by that because I wanted to see retaliation tactics in this sequel 🤭. Nevertheless, Grisham still managed to keep me intrigued with this new plot line. I enjoyed learning how Mitch reestablished himself professionally, and how he and Abby achieved success after everything that transpired at BL&L. I did, however, expect a more sensational conclusion to the story. I felt let down by how it ended. Additionally, I was left with unanswered questions about some of the events that took place; and a few of the strategies and decisions made seemed a little far-fetched to me as well.

Even though I took issue with the ending I still enjoyed the majority of the story. Initially, I was reading the book, but halfway through I transitioned to listening to the audiobook version and that was more enjoyable for me. It actually made a big difference.

Thank you, Doubleday Books, for providing me with a free copy of The Exchange via Netgalley.

I loved The Firm and was very excited to read TheExchange. In this sequel, Mitch and Abby McDeer are now in New York and have kids. Abby is a chef and magazine editor. Mitch works for one of the largest law firms in the world. He is still good at his job! So good that he is requested to help with a lawsuit about a bridge in Lybia. Once there an associate is kidnapped and Mitch is once again running for the bad guys and trying to set the world to rights.

While it would seem that this book should be fast paced, it somehow dragged in places. As a John Grisham and Mitch McDeer fan, I am glad I read it, but It was not quite all the stars that I expected it to be.

I grew up reading John Grisham’s legal thrillers and I hope to always have one nearby! His legalese is not too hard core for those of us who are not diplomats. I love his characters and storylines.

I was so hyped to read this book. I have mostly loved all of Grisham's books that I have read. I even reread The Firm before I read this one.
While I mostly enjoyed this book, there felt like there was something missing from it to make me love it.
I enjoyed this story, and I was glad to be back in this "world" for a couple of days.
I am not opposed to another book coming out in the future.

I liked this book, but not as much as the first.

Positives:
- loved the characters again
- happy they have a family now
- the thrill that finally came in was good
- chapters were short (I love finishing a chapter, I’m no quitter lol)
- the main plot of the book
- the end!

It’s a backlist, and I wanted to make sure I read The Firm prior. I do feel like I could have read it as a standalone. Which was part of the fact I didn’t absolutely love it.

About 58% in. There were so many questions and I was hoping by then I would have a link to the drama and people (no spoilers) of the first book. I really wanted it to start faster. That’s a personal opinion/want though. I liked the thrill and mystery that really came in after chapter 26. But wish that it happened sooner. It seemed to trudge and be very slow to pick up.

Overall, it’s a good book! If you enjoy a slower to start thriller and mystery, murder, and crime.

I would still recommend this series to others!