Thank you Netgalley and Doubleday for the chance to read The exchange by John Grisham. I was excited to read this because it was touted as the sequel to The Firm which was my 2nd favourite book by the author (behind A time to kill). I have always wanted to know what happened to Mitch and Abby McDeere, whether Mitch was able to continue being a lawyer, or whether the mob caught up with them. From this perspective, this book was a huge disappointment. It was not the sequel I was expecting, and the main characters could have been anyone. The book devoted a few pages to the previous book, when Mitch is persuaded to go down to Memphis to work on a pro-bono death row case. What a red herring...it had nothing to do with the main story...I spent 65% of the book, thinking the plot will go one way, or another...and to be not only totally disappointed, Grisham did the one thing I absolutely hate...a quick finish, and a unsatisfying ending. If you are looking for a book about a kidnapping in Libya and ransom book, read on...but if you are looking for a taut legal thriller, don't bother.

This is not a good book. It is boring and nothing happens. Fun revisiting these characters but what was the point? very disappointing. Thanks to NetGalley ad the publisher for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Well, I finished it,,,finally. I think that I was kind of disappointed. It has been a very long time since I read The Firm, but I seem to remember Mitch as someone willing to take a lot more chances than the currrent Mitch does. The first maybe 20% of the book was kind of bringing us up to date on what has been going on in the lives of the McDeere's since they fled for their lives fifteen years ago. Then we learned of the current kidnapping of a female associate by a terrorist group while both she and Mitch were in North Africa, From there it was just a constant back and forth across continents while the law firm tried to raise the ransom money. Every time they approached a new source of funding, we had to read the whole story all over again. Seemed like a bunch of filler to me. And the end was pretty abrupt. All in all, not even close to being a favorite.

When I saw I was approved for this arc, I slightly freaked out! I read a few of John Grisham’s books when I was in highs cool so this was exciting for me. I have not read The Firm, but was able to catch ip quickly with the explanation in the beginning. This picks up in the lives of Mitch and Abby McDeere after they exposed the corruptness of the law firm that Mitch worked at. It has been 15 years and the McDeere’s are now living in Manhattan and Mitch is a partner at the largest law firm in the world. His mentor in Rome asks him to take over an important case and his daughter will be a younger lawyer on the case. When she is kidnapped, Mitch finds himself at the center of the whole situation trying to negotiate something that seems impossible. Abby is also picked as the chosen one to communicate with the captors, but will she make the right decisions and will they be able to keep their kids safe?

I can not believe that I waited as long as I did to get to this arc. I ended up listening to the audiobook and it pulled me in from the get go. I was very shocked to see that Abby had a main role, but it shows how connected your family can be to situations like this. I am not always the biggest fan of kidnapping stories because I am a baby when it comes to scary things, but this story kept me wanting to figure out how they would save her. I also loved the kidnappers connections knowing that Mitch and Abby had been in the Caribbean and had money at an off shore bank account. It just all connected and was so cool to me.

Big thanks to @johngrisham @netgalley and @doubledaybooks for this advanced copy!

I went into this book relatively cold, meaning I really had no idea what the story was or how it would play out. I re-read The Firm in anticipation and enjoyed it as much as I did the first time I read it. I was interested to see how the author was going to move forward and was excited when almost immediately Mitch was thrust back into the Memphis area and a meeting with his old friend, Lamar. What followed was a bait and switch, with everything that brought Mitch to the south dropped without another mention and the plot turned to an international kidnapping case. For the record, I would have been much more interested in the original plot.

While I really enjoyed the plot of The Firm, I didn’t really care for Mitch and, to a lesser extent, Abby. Without the same interest in the plot in The Exchange, and still not caring for Mitch or Abby, this book fell a little flat for me. It seems to me that, for a couple who still seemed to be traumatized by their experiences in The Firm, Mitch could have picked a less famous law firm (and how did his involvement in this international news-making kidnapping not be made public, which would out him to all the people from The Firm he had tried to avoid for 15 years?) Additionally, the role Abby played in the story seemed incredibly far-fetched.

It was a middle of the road read, don’t get me wrong, just not a great read and was let down by my higher expectations.

I do not enjoy giving less than 5 stars, especially to John Grisham! However, I did not “feel” this one. I’m generously giving it 3 stars. I am not seeing how it is a connected to The Firm. The characters were poorly developed as were the settings. There was not a solid plot in the pages of this book. I’m not sure I will leave a review for this book anywhere but right here. I was disappointed to say the least

The Exchange by John Grisham was a novel that certainly is relevant during this time of unrest in the world. A lawyer is kidnapped and held for ransom. There is suspense and intrigue in this novel but I was left wanting more. I wanted to know more about all of the characters involved. What was the kidnapped lawyer’s experience before being kidnapped? How many other lawyers knew and respected her? I guess I am hoping for another sequel that will answer my questions and allow me to understand the various lawyers’ motives more clearly. I did not dislike this novel, I was just hoping for more. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for allowing me to read this novel.

So I haven't read the Firm in over 20 years, so any character references to it that were in The Exchange I mostly missed. In fact, though I remember Abby McDeere as well as I remembered Mitch, I had no recollection of her having anything to do with food editing, which was talked about quite a bit in The Exchange. In fact, I think Abby definitely had a more central role to the story in The Exchange than she did in The Firm, again, if my memory is accurate.

Anyway, Mitch McDeere might have been the character that put John Grisham on the map, but he doesn't hold a candle to Jake Brigance to this reader. A Time To Kill is one of my favorite novels of all time and the plot of The Firm was just trite in comparison, so I wasn't waiting with baited breath for a new novel with these characters. So, with that low anticipation level, it probably helped my enjoyment of the novel. I had stopped reading John Grisham for many years after so many of his books seemed exactly like the others. It has only been in recent years that I started building a nostalgic enthusiasm for his upcoming novels again, likely to do with the quality of many of his recent novels having been elevated.

This thrilling story involving a terrorist kidnapping of a young woman who was supposed to be traveling as a co-worker with Mitch, thus leaving him feeling very responsible for her safe return, gripped me from the start of that part of the story....which wasn't the very beginning, mind you. Overall, I think this book worked well as a standalone and didn't need Mitch specifically. I think Grisham is tying himself down with too many series right now when what he has done best in recent years is write moving stand-alone novels and even non-fiction.

The Exchange is a good Grisham novel that was not the formula that Grisham fell into after the successes of his first 4 legal thrillers. As has been the case after most of his novels in recent years, I am looking forward to his next!

The Firm is one of my favorite novels, and Mitch one of my favorite characters. Tore through this in two sessions - overall 4 stars. I wish the follow up to The Firm had been a little longer. Many thanks to John Grisham for bringing us back into this world!

I don't think a sequel was necessary. I did not want to know what Mitch and Abby were up to or if they found peace. The Firm was great. It left us with questions but those were the questions we needed to ask, keep us wonder, and preserve the air of mystery.

What happened to Mitch and Abby were once in a lifetime event. You don't expect them to find themselves in a similar situation again. At least, you hope that they were smarter than that. But when you come back with another whirlwind of an international drama, I would raise my eyebrow and never put it back down until I put the book down.

So whoever forced Grisham to write The Exchange did not do any service to him. He could spend that time piecing together another story. What happened next to Mitch and Abby could be a nice fireside chat question. Anyways... Storytelling was great, I was going through pages like a breeze. But I rather kept Mitch and Abby in my memory.

John Grishman IS BACK!!!.
I think that this book shows the original John Grishman. I feel like John lost his way and was just trying to write as many books as possible. This hurt his writing but he is BACK with this book.
Back to the intrigue with twist and turns. Showing all sides of a situation the good the bad and the ugly of the corporate world.

I loved this story so much! Being back in the world if "The Gurk" with Mitch Mcdeer was amazing. I loved the story and the pure adrenaline rush while reading!! This is the John Grisham we all know and love! 5 amazing Stars!

I really enjoyed getting reacquainted with the McDeere's. I vividly remember loving The Firm when I came out and reading it with much excitement. This book is a little less anxiety causing and a bit slower paced. Giovanna got kidnapped and Mitch went to work trying to raise the ransom to get her back. I liked hearing about Mitch and Abby's life with their twin boys, The level of stress in this book was less than The Firm but the fact that Mitch & Abby could still put their lives back together at the end made the ending satisfying for me. The rest of the ending was disappointing as they paid the ransom, got Giovanna back but then nothing. No answer as to who the "bad guy" was, no real answer as what happened or why. I expect these things from a John Grisham novel. Even an epilogue would have been amazing. I guess all's well that ends well and it was a pretty good book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada Limited for the chance to read this book.

Apart from trying to let us in on the world of "Big Law" and huge ransom demands, it was difficult to think of the point of this novel. Quite disappointing.

I really enjoy the firm, both book and movie.
The exchange is the sequel of the firm. It is not necessary. But I do like to check how is Mitch doing after he escaped.
Of cause, the exchange set up current day, and bring up a new case. Mitch is not a new by anymore, he is the partner of one of the biggest law firms in the world. And of cause, the case is big, international case, many countries involved. Political, military, kidnapping, ext. it’s a great reading experience, but I don’t think it’s good enough for a movie.
4 star from me. Thanks to penguin random house, NetGalley and John Grisham give me the opportunity to read this book.

The Exchange is the much anticipated follow-up novel to The Firm written many years ago by John Grisham. We now get to learn more about what happened to Mitch and his family once they fled the Memphis law firm Mitch had been newly employed at. Mitch is now working for a NYC law firm that has brancehs all over the world. The daughter of one Italian lawyer is kidnapped and held hostage by terrorists. It's up to Mitch to try to broker the lifesaving deal her family needs. Lots of action in this book. Read and enjoy!

I have stopped reading Grisham novel a while back because I thought his books became boring and repetitive, this novel changed my mind . The Exchange is vintage John Grisham, we are revisiting Mitch and Abbey McDeere from the Firm . Excellent book with a plot that had me staying up all night to the conclusion.

Fans of The Firm, rejoice! Mitch and Abby McDeere are back and in fine form. This story grabbed me from the first page and flew by. This is one of those stay up all night to finish books. John Grisham at his best. The story flows with twists and turns galore. No spoilers here but you will need to get this book!

I was so looking forward to this - another legal thriller by the esteemed John Grisham. I loved the idea that he was bringing back characters from the Firm - which I loved. Guess I've read too many thrillers because this book was a disappointment and did not deliver. While Grisham has been a leader in legal thrillers there is now depth in the competition for our reading and sadly - there are better reads out there.

Many readers will still remember when John Grisham launched his career with The Firm. It was a fun, fast paced story that kept readers turning the pages as they hoped that Abby and Mitch would manage to escape/survive intact. Well, they did and this is Grisham’s taking their story into a new chapter.

I don’t think that The Exchange quite lives up to its predecessor. Still, readers who remember the characters fondly may want to travel with them on this new adventure. The stakes are again high.

I note that the review ratings for this book have been all over the place. I give it a solid three stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for this title. All opinions are my own.