Did not finish. The writing was cliche and boring. I remember the Firm being much better - might be that I was just younger and didn’t have higher expectations

2.5⭐

It has been fifteen years since the events of The Firm and after spending a few years on the run, now forty-one-year-old Mitch McDeere is based in New York and is a partner at Scully & Pershing, an international law firm, working out of their Manhattan office. The narrative follows Mitch as he is thrust into the midst of a complex web of political intrigue, greed and conspiracy when his London-based colleague Giovanna Sandroni, also the daughter of one of his senior associates is kidnapped in the course of an official trip to Libya, where their firm was representing a Turkish construction company in a lawsuit against the Republic of Libya under Gaddafi's regime. Mitch rushes to arrange for the substantial ransom amount failing which she would be executed - an endeavor that has him traveling across the globe all the while the kidnappers have eyes on him and his family back in New York. Will he be able to save Giovanna before it is too late?

Having loved The Firm and being a fan of Grisham’s work, I had high hopes for The Exchange and was glad to catch up with Mitch and Abby. Abby does play a larger role here as compared to The Firm. I will admit that the premise is interesting, and the narrative moves fast, but this does not make up for the lack of character development and disappointing execution. The plot wasn’t particularly gripping, and I got a bit tired of all the jet setting and repetitiveness. Ultimately it all boils down to arranging the money for The Exchange and some updates on Mitch’s family.

I was excited reading the segment in which Mitch visited Memphis once again but was disappointed that the Memphis segment was of no significance to the plot. All that segment accomplished was to raise my hopes for some sort of continuation (or any link for that matter) to the intrigue of Mitch’s past in Memphis only to have them dashed to bits! So, there’s that!

Overall, I was not quite taken with this novel and feel that you really don’t need to have read The Firm to follow this storyline. To be honest I cannot say this is a “sequel” in the true sense of the term. Yes, Mitch and Abby are important characters here but that is about it. Perhaps those who haven’t read The Firm might enjoy it more than those who have. I would love to meet Mitch again but do hope for a stronger plot.

Many thanks to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I really enjoyed this follow up to The Firm that took place many years later. I found the story compelling, and it kept me interested the whole way through. It's been a long time since I've read anything by John Grisham but I definitely checking out mire of his backlist.

With thanks to the publisher + NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't read a John Grisham novel since his early days,. The Firm was an amazing read, so I was so excited to find out he had written a sequel. And if it had been a true sequel, I may have been able to finish it. Alas, I gave up about a third of the way through. I suppose as a stand alone, this would have been a good novel, but my expectations were very high and at least in the beginning, the book just didn't match. I wish it had just been billed as a Mitch McDeere book rather than a sequel.

I remember reading The Firm in 1992. It had just come out in paperback and it included a cool, tear-off bookmark on the inside cover that I thought would become standard practice but never took off. Anyway, I loved that book and 31 years later, a sequel has finally been released.

The Exchange brings back Mitch and Abby McDeere in an unexpected setting following the conclusion of The Firm. It's 2005 in Manhattan, and Mitch is a partner in the world's largest law firm. After a harrowing kidnapping of a colleague in Libya, the story delves into the intriguing but drawn-out process of assembling a ransom, challenging the no-pay policies of the countries involved. The terrorists' ruthless tactics and the systematic elimination of security personnel add tension and grim realism to the book. However, Mitch's character development is ambiguous, leaving me questioning his moral journey. The ending is dramatic but not entirely satisfying — though it does leave the door open for more adventures with Mitch and Abby. But at this point, will anyone care if the next book is as pale a sequel to the original?

Recommended only for curious readers of The Firm.

This book is the sequel to The Firm, which was a fabulous read! The Firm was my first book in the John Grisham universe. I am a fan. It was nice to have a little nostalgia in the story. A little background from the first book. He meets with person from his old law firm, who is still mad at him from what had happened in the previous story. It gives you a little background just in case you didn't read the first book. The plot was stunning, the characters were amazing, and it was a great sequel. Mitch and Abby are wonderful characters.

Disclaimer: Thank you NetGalley and Doubleday for this review copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Published by Doubleday on October 17, 2023

Mitch McDeere is the protagonist in John Grisham’s The Firm, a novel most readers seem to like more than I do (the movie, I thought, corrected the novel’s weak ending). Mitch McDeere is back in The Exchange, another novel that suffers from a disappointing ending.

Mitch and his wife fled from Memphis to avoid a revenge killing for bringing down a corrupt law firm — the story told in The Firm — and hid in Italy for a time. When the coast seemed clear, Mitch took a position in the New York office of the nation’s largest international law firm. Now it’s 2005, fifteen years after The Firm, and Mitch is a well-paid partner who travels the world litigating various business disputes, usually in an arbitration forum.

The firm’s Italian office represents a Turkish construction company that built a billion-dollar bridge over nothing in Libya, an ego-stroke project of Ghaddafi in which the dictator lost interest after the failure of a corresponding plan to divert a river so it would flow under the bridge.

Libya still owes the construction company $400,000 and isn’t paying. The head of the Italian office brought a claim against Libya in an international arbitration forum, but that lawyer is dying of cancer. He brings in Mitch to take over the case and persuades him to assign his daughter Giovanna, a young lawyer who works in the London office, to help him.

Mitch and Giovanna travel to Libya to rack up billable hours gazing at the bridge. Giovanni is kidnapped on a field trip. The drivers and security specialists who accompanied her are beheaded or hung or otherwise executed in gruesome fashion.

Mitch is fortunate to have avoided the kidnapping/execution, but his convenient illness (doctors apparently never know why he alone got food poisoning, if that’s what it was) and his decision to send Giovanna to do his bridge gazing made little sense. I thought Grisham was setting up a deeper mystery that never materialized.

The novel begins with Mitch’s brief pro bono assignment to a death penalty appeal in Tennessee that ends when the prisoner commits suicide. I was hoping this might be a death penalty novel — that’s Grisham’s strength, in my view — but the opening quickly gives way to the story in Libya. I again thought Grisham was setting up a plot twist and the novel would circle back to Memphis. Again, I was disappointed.

Instead, the story is a fairly ordinary thriller about someone (maybe terrorists, maybe not) who kidnaps a dual citizen of the UK and Italy and threatens to kill her if a $100 million ransom isn’t paid. Mitch spends most of the novel flying here and there, trying to raise the ransom money from governments that pretend not to negotiate with terrorists but do so for the right hostage. Some of the novel’s best scenes involve Mitch’s frustration with the management committee of his law firm, which won’t risk taking out a line of credit to fund a large chunk of the ransom because that might reduce the firm’s quarterly profits.

Mitch’s wife becomes the contact point when the payoff instructions are delivered. The scenes involving Mitch’s terrified wife are tense and deftly executed.

Unfortunately, the rest of the novel feels like a half-told story. The kidnappers seem to know quite a bit about Mitch. Do they have a contact in his firm? Are they Americans seeking revenge for Mitch’s ratting out the Memphis firm? Who knows? Grisham seemed so set up several tantalizing possibilities, then leaves every question unanswered. The result is only a partially satisfying novel. I recommend The Exchange for its ability to build tension, but not for a story that feels like it should have been so much more.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

If you loved The Firm and want to know what Abby and Mitch have been up to for the past 15 years ... this is your book.

Keep in mind that while this is centered around two characters from The Firm it delves into where they are now and hopefully have some clarity as to what happened.

This book has adventure, deception, secrets, lies, and a whole lot of on-the-edge-of-your-seat suspense. What will happen when Mitch takes a case that has "nothing to do" with his past. Will his world unravel again?

Who is safe? Who can be trusted? Nothing is as it seems.

A fast paced story that leaves you once again wondering ... what will happen to Mitch and Abby.

Review of the NetGalley Kindle ARC eBook obtained in advance of the official Doubleday release (October 17, 2023. One of my firsts book I read of John Grisham way back in the day was The Firm. The Exchange is the the sequel to “The Firm” .. What became of Mitch and Abby McDeere after they exposed the crimes of Memphis law firm Bendini, Lambert & Locke and fled the country? The answer is in The Exchange, the riveting sequel to The Firm. It is now fifteen years later, and Mitch and Abby are living in Manhattan, where Mitch is a partner at the largest law firm in the world. When a mentor in Rome asks him for a favor that will take him far from home, Mitch finds himself at the center of a sinister plot that has worldwide implications—and once again endangers his colleagues, friends, and family. Mitch has become a master at staying one step ahead of his adversaries, but this time there’s nowhere to hide. Love this book... loved The Firm years ago and this one did not disappoint for me. I read a lot of negative reviews on goodreads but I had to give it a shot.. Add it to your TBR.

Synopsis
In the much anticipated sequel to “The Firm,” we encounter Mitch in another life or death scenario. When his coworker is taken captive and held for ransom in Libya, Mitch and his wife Abby put their lives and futures on the line to save her.

My Overall Thoughts
I came for the nostalgia, but I found myself truly enjoying the story. It’s a fast-paced, gritty, race-against-the-clock thriller. The intensity kept me hooked from start to finish.

What I Didn't Love
I found all the main characters difficult to like. It was hard to root for any of them. They were all somewhat interesting, so that almost made up for it but not quite.

Potentially Offensive Content
Adult themes
Sex
Graphic violence
Adultery
Language

What I Loved
The book delivers a fast-paced narrative filled with intense drama. Set against a real-life historical backdrop, the story feels real and is highly believable. I never once questioned the series of events as they unfolded.

I Would Recommend This Book To
I believe this book will appeal most to older readers, especially those who are fans of Grisham’s earlier works. I’m not sure how well this will resonate with younger adults.

The Exchange is a sequel to John Grisham’s blockbuster The Firm. 15 years after the Firm we see what became of Mitch and Abby after their escape from the implosion Bendini, Lambert and Locke law firm. I read the Firm when it originally came out, so I don’t remember too much about the book, but enjoyed reading the Exchange.

The first Grisham I didn't enjoy. It focused entirely on a kidnapping in Libya and Mitch and Abby's attempts to raise the 100 million ransom, no trial, no court, no climax. I had to break away to read something more appetizing, but I did come back to endure the ending.

"The Exchange," by John Grisham reunites us with Mitch and Abby McDeere 15 years after the events of The Firm. Now living in manhattan, Mitch is a partner at the world's largest law firm, and Abby is an editor of cook books. With 2 children in tow, the 2 seem to have found the ideal life. Things take a turn for the worse when while in Libya, Mitch's colleague Giovanna is kidnapped and held for ransom. Mitch and Abby now run around the world to raise money and communicate with the kidnappers in order to save Giovanna's life.

As with any John Grisham novel, the Exchange is a fast-paced, well written and enjoyable read. Although Mitch is a lawyer, this novel is not a typical Grisham legal thriller. The novel focuses largely on Mitchs efforts to raise and deliver the ransom money. Unfortunately, the twist, turns and suspense is less than one would expect from a Grisham novel. Also, threads at the start of the novel are quickly abandoned and have no impact on the story.

Overall, The Exchange is still an enjoyable read and a nice way to spend a few hours. Thank you Netgalley and Doubleday for the ARC.

In the end I was let down, I held out hope, but The Firm shouldn’t be apart of the name of this book. My disappointment comes from knowing John Grisham is way better than this.
This story takes place 15 years later with Mitch and his wife Abbey living in New York with their twin boys. Mitch is a lawyer, (how did that happen?) and a partner to boot in an international firm (wait, how did this happen too?) The story revolves around the kidnapping of a colleague in Libya and Mitch has to facilitate the ransom and release of his friend/colleague. I finished with the thought of, go figure………
Thank you NetGalley for this review copy in exchange for an honest review.

It was a nice follow up to the Firm with some of the same characters. However not much legal drama just a lot and I mean a lot of meetings for ransom money and Mitch spending time traveling on planes. The ending left it open for perhaps more of Mitch and Abby in future stories.

Oh gosh - where do I start with this "The Firm" follow up by John Grisham? "The Firm" is the second book I read by Grisham more than 30 years ago and I was entranced. I've since read it at least two more times. I was so excited to delve back into Mitch and Abby's lives to see how they ended up. This sequel, of sorts, felt so dull, almost like Grisham had no interest in it and was only writing it under pressure to deliver a sequel to one of his greatest hits. The story could have been so exciting but it felt lifeless. It was mostly just a lot of international flying and so. many. meetings. Mitch McDeere once again becomes disillusioned by the firm he works for, although this time, it's not because of illegal activity. Simply because of how they handle an emergency situation. The writing was flat and there was absolutely no character development at all. It started. Some stuff happened. It ended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for providing me with an eARC of The Exchange in exchange for my honest review!

As someone who enjoyed The Firm back when I read it a few years ago (I have yet to see the Tom Cruise-starring film adaptation), I was surprised and interested to learn that John Grisham was publishing a sequel. Unfortunately, The Exchange has turned out to be nothing more than a shallow and unnecessary follow-up. The first act had me invested, but then I gradually realized this wasn't going to focus on the legal and underworld crime thrills that had compelled me throughout The Firm. No, no, The Exchange instead becomes more of a political thriller—not even a taut and suspenseful one at that, but rather a hollow and generic tale that leaves me just flipping through the pages and wondering when this will truly rivet me. But it never reaches that point, and when it ends, it concludes on such a whimper. If Grisham wants to bring back Mitch McDeere, this isn't the way to do it.

Overall, I'm officially rating The Exchange 1.5 out of 5 stars, which I'll round up to 2 stars. I suppose I'm feeling generous for some reason.

Review of The Exchange by John Grisham

I was absolutely ecstatic to get this book as the firm is my second favorite John Grisham book ever (A Time to Kill is my favorite). It was a wonderful to be back in the world of Mitch McDeere and his wife, Abby. I loved that they were living in New York City, and I love the international travel in this one. The story was solid, and it held my interest for the whole time. My expectations were sky high and they were almost met. I did really enjoy this one, but it wasn’t quite what The Firm was to me. But it’s a must read for John Grisham lovers and especially for people who liked The Firm. Fun fact, John Grisham lives in the town where I went to college and I saw him quite a few times during my time there.

Synopsis:

What became of Mitch and Abby McDeere after they exposed the crimes of Memphis law firm Bendini, Lambert & Locke and fled the country? The answer is in The Exchange, the riveting sequel to The Firm, the blockbuster thriller that launched the career of America’s favorite storyteller. It is now fifteen years later, and Mitch and Abby are living in Manhattan, where Mitch is a partner at the largest law firm in the world. When a mentor in Rome asks him for a favor that will take him far from home, Mitch finds himself at the center of a sinister plot that has worldwide implications—and once again endangers his colleagues, friends, and family. Mitch has become a master at staying one step ahead of his adversaries, but this time there’s nowhere to hide.

Readers of The Firm who were captivated by the perils and adventures of Mitch McDeere will pick up where they left off in John Grisham’s riveting sequel, The Exchange. Fifteen years have passed since Mitch and Abby fled Memphis, and at 41, Mitch is once again established in Big Legal and his star is in the ascendant.

What begins as a sweet and prestigious assignment involving international travel and a connection with an old friend quickly leads to the kidnapping of a colleague and a threat to the McDeere family.

Abby plays a prominent role in this unfolding drama, and her own career as a cookbook editor added real interest to the plot. Readers will enjoy rooting for her and for Mitch as they take on a sinister band of adversaries in a race against time. With multiple international settings and a light touch on the legal and courtroom scenes, this was an engaging adventure tale.

Many thanks to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.

I loved The Firm and was excited to see a follow up for Mitch and Abby. Mitch is working for a high powered NY law firm and gets sent to Rome to help a dying partner with a lawsuit with Libya and a bridge built there by their client. The partner, Luca, asks Mitch to include his daughter, Giovanna. Mitch and Giovanna head to Libya to look at the bridge in question, but Mitch gets food poisoning and when Giovanna goes alone with security, she is taken.

The rest of the story is working to get her released. Lots of meetings and travel, but I kept waiting for the big AHA moment and it just never happened. Very anticlimactic and disappointing ending. The beginning of the book is also odd because it involves Mitch going back to Memphis for a case that doesn’t materialize and then it’s never spoken of again.

Nice to catch up with Mitch and Abby, but I did wish for a little more surprise and intrigue to the main plot.

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.