Thank you to the Publishers and Net Galley for the ARC of one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE Authors, John Grisham.
The Exchange was a much needed reuniting with Mitch and Abby McDeere!

15 years after the craziest year of his life, and things get ramped up again internationally!!

Great Read and I hope there is another with the next adventure he takes!

Do you ever have something you loved way back in the past? Decades ago? Maybe a book or even music that when you opened up in the present day just read or sounded boring; maybe not stood the test of time? I think you know where I'm going with this.

I use to be a huge fan of John Grisham and "The Firm", "The Pelican Brief", "A Time to Kill" were some of my favorite books so I was very happy to get a copy of Grisham's current book "The Exchange" which is sequel to "The Firm"

This one takes place fifteen years later and Mitch is a partner at a huge law firm. We all forgot the consequences of what happens at the ending of "The Firm" and somehow Mitch gets to keep practicing law...... But water under the bridge as MItch is sent to Rome to assist with a lawsuit to collect a huge debt when one of his associates gets kidnapped with a huge ransome. The book quickly turns to Mitch and the firm trying to pay this ransom.

This could have been a great international thriller! But what kills it is the lifeless writing. Just empty characters with no personality. I honestly couldn't get over it espcially when it made the book more boring. Grisham is a great writer, and the plot does move along masterfully, but it's just Character A,B,C etc etc. No character has any distict personality and honestly Grisham should have not even made this a sequal to "The Firm" Just used new characters.

It's still John Grisham and if you loved "The Firm" you will get some value reading this book but take away that factor and it's average.

I really appreciate Doubleday Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book for free for a honest review and it's out now.

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The Exchange: After the Firm by John Grisham takes place 15 years after The Firm, following its protagonists, Mitch and Abby McDeere. John Grisham is a bestselling author, known for his legal thrillers.

Abby, a publisher of cookbooks, and Mitch, a lawyer for a very big, global, law firm, live in Manhattan with their two kids. Mitch is asked to go to Libya to help a construction company that has been stiffed by the Libyan government and is now suing.

Mitch’s co-council, and young Italian lawyer, Giovanna, have been kidnapped. The criminals are asking for a huge amount of money and even the large firm, their insurance, and the governments involved are unwilling to pay.

I enjoy Grisham’s books, but this one was disappointing. There is no courtroom drama, the characters are flat, and I didn’t learn a thing from reading it.

There are certainly some highlights, which make much of the book worth reading. Mitch meeting with former colleagues, and several negotiations with banks and governments for example.

The Exchange by John Grisham is supposed to be an exciting novel, but instead, we get tiresome sidetracks about raising funds, and an unconvincing conclusion. I can see where Mr. Grisham was going with this book, but the pace was lacking, the characters were not relatable, and I never got the overall point of the book.

A lot of traveling happens as well, which might play out well in a movie or a TV show, but it feels disjointed in the book. At times I was lost in what was happening when it came to the timeline, and I actually found the amount of traveling distracting and even boring.

I understood what was happening in the sequence of events, but I couldn’t figure out the point of the story, no deeper meaning, nothing about the greater good, or even getting justice for an injured party. The first half of the book got me hooked, but there was no big mystery, no plot twists, a linear story that is only exciting to the protagonists, but not the reader.

Fast, fun and a bit over the top, Grisham's latest book, The Exchange, brings back Abby and Mitch McDeere 15 years after The Firm. Married with two kids, the McDeere's have a good life and are doing well. Of course this can't last, and when a friend comes calling with a favor that plays to Mitch's skills, it seems like a no brainer to help. Of course it turns out to be nothing like a no brainer and soon Mitch and Abby are caught up in a deadly drama that takes them to Libya, Turkey and other places around the world and the bodies begin to pile up.

While not a Pulitzer prize winner, The Exchange does grab and keep your attention. The ending is a disappointment, but I hear that there is a sequel which will tie things up nicely, so I'll need to read that to learn what really happens. A great book for travel.

I was pleased to read this book to get reacquainted with Mitch Mcdeere! I was hoping for more though. It started off great but three quarters of the way through the continual discussion about getting the ransom became repetitive. I was disappointed that there really wasn’t much “edge of my seat” reading. It was a story about gathering ransom money. Even the ending was “unthrilling”.
Still happy to have read it though and hope there will be more of the McDeere’s in the future.

I was really excited to read this sequel to The Firm. Mitch McDeere and his family are back. This time Mitch is trying to save a young female lawyer from Libyan Terrorists. After a contract in Libya goes bad, Mitch’s law firm is brought in to wage a legal battle against Libya. But things go south very quickly.
I had a hard time reading this story with all of the real life stories coming out of the Middle East. I found the pace of the book to be kind of slow as well. Much of the story line seemed somewhat unbelievable. This is one that I would recommend you pass on unless you are a huge Grisham fan. Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for this Arc in exchange for my honest review.

A huge yawn! A story about waiting and waiting and waiting , and nothing happening. Very disappointing for Grisham.

Thank you Doubleday Books and NetGalley for providing a copy of The Exchange for review.

Fans of John Grisham will not be disappointed as he once again delivers high stakes legal drama on an international stage. A wiser, more experienced Mitch McDeere returns to the page as he struggles to save the life of a colleague from international terrorists in exotic settings abroad and a money-hungry legal establishment at home. Thrilling action scenes had me perched on the edge of my seat with my heart in my throat.

But there weren’t that many action scenes. What tied the scenes together was often heavily summarized business minutia. In very few scenes were we in the moment with the characters. I never felt the sense of threat to Mitch’s personal relationships as I did in The Firm. In fact, I’m not sure why this warrants being called a sequel. It didn’t deliver the legal conspiracy and pressure on Mitch’s personal relationships that I enjoyed in The Firm.

Mitch is back.
In this follow up to The Firm it’s been fifteen years and Mitch and Abby are now living in New York where Mitch is a partner for one of the largest and top firms world wide which has him flying from country to country their life’s seem to be back to normal. But then a colleague asks Mitch if he can help with a case in Libyan that’s when things take a turn when the Laywer he was suppose to help is kidnapped. Soon Mitch finds himself dealing with kidnappers, ransoms and flying all over all to get the Laywer back and Abby steps in to help also. There’s never a dull moment in Mitch and Abby life. I knew I was going to read this so although I seen and read the firm many times over I re-read The Firm with a group and I still love that story although this is a follow up you don’t have to read or watch The Firm to read this. It is nice to know Mitch and Abby’s background and what happened to them fifteen years ago so I would recommend reading The Firm first but again you don’t have to it’s a story on its own thank you Netgalley

I have not read John Grisham in a long time but was excited to see a sequel to The Firm, which I enjoyed when it was written. Before I read this new book, I streamed The Firm movie with Tom Cruise so that I remembered the main themes. What a difference 15 years can make.
After roaming the world for several years to get the mob off their backs, Abby and Mitch McDeere return to NY where he is a top up-and-coming lawyer in a prestigious global law firm. Mitch is assigned a case involving a construction firm that Qaddafi is refusing to pay for a bridge they built in the middle of the Libyan dessert.
Suddenly, this book, that I expected to be a courtroom procedural, became a clone of Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon series. Rather than prosecuting criminals, McDeere is chasing over the globe trying to free a kidnapped assistant lawyer from a middle eastern terrorist group. The similarities seem too much to be coincidence.
Just look:
They both are at the top of their game, Allon’s is spy craft, McDeere’s is legal. Both have beautiful wives and young twins. Both have access to channels of power in Washington, London, and Rome; have an aging mentor who is ill; have unlimited access to corporate jets to fly them over the globe at a moment’s notice.

At least Allon would have decimated the terrorists!


I was disappointed that Grisham took this turn in his literary career. The weak ending of this book gives credence to the old trope: “write what you know.”
My thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for an advanced copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

The Exchange by John Grisham was a great read. This is book 2 which took place 15 years after book 1. It was a trip to read more of this beloved character, Mitch McDeere. As a person who works in law, I usually don't like many legal dramas/thrillers but this book was solid and definitely worth a read.

I received an advanced audio review copy of this book from the author/publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

What a delight settling into reading a new John Grisham book. The Exchange is billed as a sequel to The Firm, but honestly, it is also a standalone book. If you haven’t read The Firm, the tidbits you get in The Exchange might be enough to have you read it too. Win/win for the reader.

There is something comforting about reading a JG book. It is not full of extraneous metaphors, and long descriptions of locations. Instead, it’s a tightly woven legal thriller where he draws a picture using the least number of words with the most impact. He hooks you in and keeps your attention.

In this book, a young female lawyer who also happens to be the daughter of a partner of the same worldwide legal firm, is kidnapped. He is dying and her life is threatened. Time is of the essence. Mitch McDeere and his wife Abby resurface 15 years after The Firm raising their family in New York City. Mitch is a partner in a prestigious law firm and Abby is editing cookbooks. Neither are prepared for a repeat of their past life in Memphis but are pulled into an international incident to help their colleagues and friends. It’s a page-turner and I would recommend it to those who love legal thrillers.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #Doubleday Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Mitch McDeere is back in the latest saga involving our favorite lawyer! The Exchange picks up 15 years later in New York where Mitch is now employed by Scully and Pershing, one of the largest law firms in the world. Mitch is working on an international case in Lybia when one of the Scully associates is kidnapped and held for ransom. Throughout the case, Mitch revisits some old haunts like Memphis and Grand Cayman and is forced to relive some memories from his time with the Bendini Law Firm. The Exchange is an entertaining mystery that fills in some gaps regarding what Mitch and Abby have been up to during this time. If you were a fan of The Firm, you will enjoy this one, too!

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for the advanced ecopy of this book.

I was really looking forward to this one but was a bit disappointed. I was looking for the courtroom trials and suspense that I so love. Thanks to NetGalley for the privilege to read and review this book.

This was a good read! I love how the McDeer's tackled their problems together and how Abby is a totally kick-ass and take-names type of woman who did what she needed to do to help get things resolved.

#TheExchange
#NetGalley

The premise had a lot to live up to, and plenty happened, but nothing felt especially urgent.

The beginning did a very good job of reminding us of Mitch’s past in Memphis, without having to have read The Firm before. We also get an update on what had happened to everyone involved.

I did appreciate that Mitch and his fellow lawyers stuck to what they did well and didn’t try to be part of any action taking place. Unfortunately, their wheeling and dealing couldn’t exactly be described as thrilling. This book was a good study into the cumbersome bureaucracy of government and large corporations. The most interesting part of the book was Abby’s job.

The writing mostly felt as if I was reading a report. And the ending was about as disappointing as Mitch must've felt at that point. I just couldn’t get into it.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Firm belief that everything was resolved after Mitch left Memphis and his former law firm? Think again as Mitch is back and already in hot water with his next case. Luca has Mitch oversee a death row inmate when he's swept away to Libya by an abduction. Will Mitch be able to save her in time?

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the early edition of #TheExchange in exchange for an honest review. I fell in love with Grisham's writing after reading The Firm. I'm glad to hear how Mitch and Abby ended up and enjoyed revisiting their relationship.

The Exchange takes place fifteen years after the events of The Firm and shows what Mitch and Abby have done in the meantime. Mitch is now a partner at a global law firm and Abby is a senior editor at Epicurean. Though it seems like life has settled down for them and their two sons, Mitch gets asked by his close friend and colleague Luca to handle a case for him in Libya and to work with Luca's daughter Giovanna, another lawyer. However things go sideways in Libya, when despite being assured multiple times that everything is under control, Giovanna is kidnapped and held for ransom. Thus begins the long process of negotiations and Mitch on the hunt for the funds to release Giovanna. Overall, a fast paced sequel that seems more like a thriller than a legal drama, especially with the focus on finding money to cover the ransom.

Mitch McDeere is back, and this time he’s matching wits with international terrorists. The Exchange dives in with a gripping, gotta-keep-reading-this start. But the middle descends into lawyers being stereotypical lawyers with greed as their primary motivation. The ending was dramatic but left questions unanswered. An interesting read, especially if you loved The Firm and wondered whatever happened to the McDeeres.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

15 years after Mitch McDeere and his wife Abby exposed a Memphis law firm, we find Mitch in Manhattan at one of the largest International Law Firms.

A chance hire, a new project in Libya and a hostage situation with a colleague fuels this novel which has Mitch globe trotting trying to secure the ransom funds needed to get Giovanna and her daughter back.

John Grishom is a seasoned author, one from my early 20’s that has kept me flipping pages no matter what book of his I pick up. This one was decent but despite its binge-worthy ability, I like it just ok. I suspect it has more to do with what is going on in the world that I found my mind wandering to that instead.
I’ll chalk it up to wrong book for this month.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy in return for an honest review.

3.75 stars from me