Many thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for gifting me a digital ARC of the sequel to The Firm by John Grisham - 4 stars!

In the years after Mitch exposed all the corruption happening in his Memphis law firm, he and his wife, Abby, now have a new life in NYC with their twin boys. A colleague and friend from Rome summons him to ask for his help on a huge construction project lawsuit, and asks that his daughter, Giovanna, a law associate, help Mitch. They head to Libya but Mitch gets sick and Giovanna is forced to go on her own. Then the worst happens and she is kidnapped. Mitch and Abby are suddenly in the midst of a terrorist negotiation.

I love John Grisham's books but this is not a legal thriller as you might expect. It's certainly a compelling thriller but more in the vein of terrorists and international politics. I kept trying to figure out how Abby got so involved, and I never quite felt the connection to any of the characters. But it's still a new John Grisham book and a must read!

Grisham is one of my FAVORITE authors! Grisham is known for his intricate plots and complex characters, and it's not uncommon for his books to present ethical and moral dilemmas within them. His storytelling style keeps readers engaged and guessing - this time on an international level. The Exchange catches up with Mitch and Abby McDeere fifteen years after the events in The Firm. The story revolves around a kidnapping and ransom plot and was quite suspenseful.

Another great story from John Grisham. I enjoyed how he continued the story of Abby and Mitch many years later. It was a seamless transition. Overall, the storyline was interesting. Some parts seemed to move slower and others were predictable. Overall 4 stars.

This felt hastily written and was something of a let down. I’m not sure if I missed something, but the action was hardly propulsive, most of the exposition was hurried and too vague to be believable, and the sheer amount of incidental characters made it hard to follow. This is the second Grisham I’ve read this year, and I’m inclined to say he may have lost his touch. It’s entertaining and gripping, but the sudden conclusion felt too reminiscent of The Firm, although not as satisfying. At the final page, I found myself wondering if I had accidentally skipped a chapter. I was delighted to revisit Mitch and Abby, but I found the adventure illogical at best and poorly crafted at worst.

The Exchange by John Grisham is the sequel to The Firm. I read The Firm many years ago, but can still recall the intensity of it and how I just had to keep reading until I knew the outcome. Sadly, The Exchange did not evoke the same feelings. The story follows Mitch and Abby McDeere fifteen years after they fled Memphis, they now live in Manhattan and have twin boys. Mitch is sent to Rome to meet with the head of the Italian division of his current law firm, where he is a partner. Once there, he is asked to go to Libya and while there, his colleague Giovanna is kidnapped and held for ransom. The story continues with Mitch and his firm working to get the funds for her release by the terrorists. While I enjoyed the storyline for the most part, it lacked excitement and I never felt connected to the characters in a way that I wanted to come back for more.

Mitch and Abbey 15 years later are still together raising twins in NYC. I used to read everything John Grisham wrote. I especially liked the Firm and was excited to read the sequel. I found this book a bit flat. The action starts when Mitch’s associate, the daughter of a senior partner is kidnapped in Libya. Murders, failed raids, lots of air travel and trying to convince people to provide money to pay the ransom. The characters were not fully developed and the ending underwhelming. Thank you #NetGalley, #DoubledayBooks, #JohnGrisham and #TheExchange for the advance readers copy for my honest review.

Thank you so much @prha & @doubledaybooks for the e & audio advanced copies.


This is a story about complications.

I really enjoyed elements of this- getting to see where Mitch is today, that they’re still married etc… that being said it felt like it was fairly unconnected to book 1 & could easily be read as a standalone novel. I think this would be a solid read if you enjoy international politics (I do not especially). This wasn’t his strongest work for me personally, but the writing was still excellent!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️. 💫 rounded to 4.

As a sequel to The Firm I felt that it didn’t really measure up. The wonderfully well-rounded characters, a typical Grisham specialty, it somehow lacking. Although the plot was plausible and realistic there wasn’t the usual twists and turns we expect from a Grisham novel. Finally, the ending was anticlimactic and a great disappointment. All in all I was underwhelmed!

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books who provided me with a copy of this book. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Delighted to include this title in the October edition of Novel Encounters, my column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for the Books section of Zoomer, Canada’s national culture magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)

This is a voluntary review for a complimentary ARC kindly provided by NetGalley and the author/publisher.

Having liked the movie The Firm I looked forward to reading this book having read a few of his other novels. It starts out drawing the main character, Mitch McDeere, back to Tennessee but not really sure why except to confirm all bridges had been burned. The main story surrounds McDeere’s work for a large NY law firm that extends internationally. A kidnapping becomes center stage of the story, but overall the story fell flat for me, and making a connection with the characters didn’t happen. Wish it had been different.

The Exchange deceptively takes us initially into typical John Grisham territory, picking up on the story from years ago of Mitch and Abby McDeere. It's now 2005, and he's a partner in a big white shoe law firm in NYC. He returns to Memphis for the first time since leaving The Firm for a possible last minute representation of a man on death row. But that's where the similarities end as Grisham then takes us to a lawsuit based in Libya and lots of bad things happen.
I loved the different connections to The Firm, but at the end of the day, wasn't really sure what they added to the story. The ending was disappointing, with some storylines left hanging. The events in Libya were initially interesting, but then it seemed more about flying around on a variety of planes.
Thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday for the opportunity to read The Exchange in exchange for an honest review.

RIVETING!

In my opinion, Graham has released another novel that will fly up the charts and have readers scrambling to purchase it in all forms! THE EXCHANGE is riveting from start to finish. This novel is Grisham at his best – leading you worldwide to pursue justice and mainly to help a friend. Loaded with international intrigue, greed, lack of loyalty, espionage, and danger at every turn, Grisham provides readers with our old friend and good guy hero, Mitch McDeere, who does his best to take care of family first and his close friends second. Not the person you would want to provoke, or you will live to regret it if McDeere is on the case. Mitch heads up a host of other players working with several countries to meet the demand of a group of rogue soldiers in exchange for an irreplaceable commodity. That commodity is a treasure to all on Mitch’s team, and no price is too high – or is it? Mitch learns who his true friends are and, more importantly, where their priorities lie. This novel is a thriller from start to finish!

Not sure I've ever given a Grisham novel any rating less than 5 stars but, ya know, this one kinda sucks. I was so excited to read a sequel to The Firm. But alas. The characters are flat, the story gets real boring real quick. And the ending? I had to check to see if I missed some pages somewhere. Damn.

Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley folk.

I was provided an early copy for review. It has been many years since I read The Firm. The Exchange picks up several years later. It was a fast read with lots of suspense and plot twists. In my opinion it was good, but not as good as The Firm. Mitch and Abby were key characters but the plot would not have changed much had they not been in the story. There really wasn’t a lot that tied this story to The Firm. I felt like Grisham ran out of ideas and wrote a stand alone book, then changed the main characters names to Mitch and Abby.

It was wonderful to revisit the character of Mitch McDeere from The Firm. After all this character went through in that book, I was hoping for a happy life for him and his wife. It seemed like it until his firm sends him to Italy to help out longtime friend and colleague, Luca. Luca is in ill health and his firm is in the middle of suing Libya on behalf of one of his clients. He is sent to Libya along with Luca’s daughter, also an attorney. While investigating, Luca’s daughter is kidnapped and that sets off a whole new series of dangerous events. I couldn’t put this book down and was amazed at the amount of research that had to be done to make this book as good as it was. I highly recommend it!

Loved the twists and the return of the beloved Firm characters. The plot could be current news of the day. Enjoyed the suspense and mystery.

John Grisham's novel: The Exchange: After The Firm is an international suspense. The Exchange centers around the abduction of another colleague in this legal thriller that brings back Mitch McDeere, the hero of the novel, The Firm. I enjoyed the beginning and the end of this novel. Unfortunately, I found the middle a little slow with a lot of legal negotiations that went nowhere, very predictable plot. This can be a stand alone novel. Disappointing as I thoroughly enjoyed The Firm.

Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for this Arc in exchange for my honest review.

If you like other John Grisham books, then you’ll probably like this one, because let’s face it, he’s cracked the code on writing books that appeal to the masses.

My interest in this book was to find out more about “The Firm” and the bizarre cult-like way a law company could exist and operate (cue conspiracy theories), so the first part of this book worked well for me as it re-introduced Mitch and Abby and got us up-to-date on everything that happened after “The Firm” ended.

After that, the book only held mild interest for me - not because it wasn’t well written - I just wasn’t ready for a whirlwind international fast-paced thriller with kidnapping and corrupt multinational businesses.

I’m sure I’ll watch the movie when it comes out… and I’m sure it’ll be great.

I am a huge John Grisham fan, having read and loved all of his books. That being said, The Exchange was a disappointment to me personally. I am sure it was the setting and the way it mimicked what is happening in real life today In the Middle East. I enjoyed the main character, Mitch McDeere and his wife Abby, but as it was touted to be a sequel to The Firm it did not live up to the hype in my opinion. The tension and pacing of The Firm was missing. Too many nefarious characters, meetings, and traveling and no courtroom drama whatsoever. I found myself very apathetic to the plight of the kidnapped daughter of Luca which made me sad. I usually inhale his books and this one took me a week to finish.
Many thanks to John Grisham, Doubleday, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of this book, published on October 17th.

The Exchange by John Grisham picks up 15 years after The Firm ends. Mitch and Abby are living in New York with their twin sons. Mitch is partner in a big international law firm. Mitch and a partner in their firm’s Rome office are working on a case involving payment of a bridge in Libya. While visiting the site of the bridge, one of the firm’s associates (who just happens to be the Rome partner’s daughter) is kidnapped. After the kidnappers make contact through Abby, the scramble is on the raise the ransom.

It was nice to revisit some of the characters and places from The Firm. The first 20% was slow and I was having trouble building interest but then things picked up. Then, it just seemed to come to an abrupt end. I am a huge fan of Grisham novels and this one was good but not one of my favorites but definitely worth the read. Will be looking forward, as always, to reading his next novel.