The Broker: A Novel

If you are a reader of Grisham novels, you know what I mean by this header. He has a style of writing that brings you back time after time to his books. I had missed this title (2005) when it was first published because of a topsy-turvy year in my life. Found the plot just as relevant in 2017. Politics, international spying, CIA, FBI, cyber and digital age events. Fast moving plot that kept you hanging on till the end.

After spending 6 years of a 20 year federal prison sentence, Joel Backman, a former major player in DC's political circles is granted a sudden, dramatic pardon. He is then quickly and secretly flown to Italy where he is transformed by CIA handlers. Why the sudden pardon, why the handlers, why Italy and why all this intrigue? All this comes to light in this unique, John Grisham page turning thriller. Fast paced, beyond the usual Grisham attorney/client norm, the storyline keeps the reader involved with interesting characters throughout. If you've enjoyed Grisham novels in the past, you'll definitely find "The Broker" an excellent read.

Whenever I'm disappointed from reading boring books, I select one of Grisham's, knowing that he would revive my pasion for book reading. Grisham has never disappointed me and I've read so far more than 10 books of him. This one wasn't a bad one but it wasn't great either. Grisham knows how to tell a story in a compact and conscise language that keeps you connected until the very last page. Same with this book. However, the plot didn't seem that realistic. Many elements in the plot didn't seem reasonable. The broker could have avoided 20 years in prison if he had surrendered the software to the CIA in the first place. The idea that the CIA would send him to Italy just to see who would kill him is far fetch. The Israelis would never kill a US citizen, especially not on US soil and so forth. Lastly, the ending seems so sloppy that you hardly could believe that it is Grisham's. It looks as though the author was in a rush to happy end the book so that he searched for the shortest route that would get him there without much bother. This easy, happy ending makes the entire plot, which wasn't the most realistic to start with, totally unreliable. I did expected more from Grisham.

It’s been awhile since I read one of his books, but I remembered them as all being good. This one is a travel guide to parts of Italy with a backstory that is incomplete, hard to follow, never had any steam to run out of. The ending sounds like whomever wrote the book just got tired of it and just wrapped it up with a period.Worst book I’ve read all the way through in a long time.

Kept my interest all the way through. Enjoyed the setting in an ancient Italian city. The presidential pardon added interest: did the lead character bribe his way out of the penitentiary; was he set up to be assassinated by one of the foreign powers that he had offended in his financial schemes? The protagonist's struggle to learn Italian will resonate with any reader who has tried to master a second language. The Italian language is but one element of establishing an entirely new identity for the lead character. Not merely name change or wardrobe adjustment. Interesting story and a "free trip" to Italy.

Five stars because I love the novel and UNABRIDGED audio CD I checked out from the public library long ago. Because I searched for John Grisham UNABRIDGED audio CD's, I assumed this was unabridged when I ordered it. Unfortunately, I also ordered a couple of John Grisham only to discover after they were received that they too were abridged. I'll not order ANY audio book CD's again from Amazon unless it's clear that the CD is UNABRIDGED.

This story is unique; you end up liking the lead character who is the broker. That isn't the case in the beginning but his character is fully developed and he evolves as a person because of his situation (on the run), realizing several people want to kill him. It gives you an insight to how the CIA and respective organizations like them in other countries operate. It feels very real and you get a travelogue view of Bologna, Italy. It's not about the law or the courtroom but is a story about politics, influence, lobbyists and Washington.

As a longtime Grisham fan, I do not know how I missed reading this earlier; but, I totally enjoyed this book. The plot was absolutely believable meaning that it was timely for the lives we are living now. The workings of our government espionage agencies are always a wonder to me and this novel gave me another view of their work as it unfolds. The idea of a presidential pardon for a prisoner who has settled into his sentence for the long run was the first contemporary idea; but, the way he was smuggled out of the prison and set up with another identity along with new residences, name, experience, and the life was beyond puzzling. The complexity of the undertaking was amazing. Grisham develops his characters to the point that the reader feels that this could be a neighbor is demonstrated again. The human side of the characters demonstrated in their choices of food and drink as well as clothing is most interesting. The fact that our government would undertake such an exhausting endeavor with the intention of having another government take over just blew me away. I came to hate the director of the agency and his having to be bundled in blankets, drinking tea all of the time! He knew his business alright. But, he was not a favorite of mine. The ending was one I would never have predicted as the plot wore on, but it was most satisfying. Once again, Grisham comes through with a unique story and an issue that deserves our attention.

This book is the typical brilliance of John Grisham that only an author of his calibre can deliver. He writes in his research notes at the end that he knows nothing about technology or espionage but that only goes to prove the amazingly inventive mind of Mr Grisham! The story is absolutely gripping, this is a real page-turner and an excellent plot. It has a really good, satisfying ending too unlike the most recent book I read by Lynda La Plants where the ending left so many unexplained things that I felt really angry but this whole book was absolutely brilliant and very believable.

Having read The Firm, The Rainmaker and Pelican Brief all of which I enjoyed, I bought this one after reading numerous reviews here.To be honest it drags in the middle of the book, but I kept going. The action speeds up towards the end.I really don't see why we need to know the name of every street alleyway and square in Bologna, nor why he was especially sent to Italy (except to show off local knowledge?). Why tell us the names of the Chinese hitmen when they never feature in the action? What was the point of the fat woman in the train? But the two references to the hero getting the "Eurostar" from Bologna to Milan are absurd and unacceptably sloppy editing. Eurostar does not go anywhere near Italy and never has done. Where did he get the hundreds of euros to buy a completely new outfit when his bag had been stolen, with money inside? Did he put more hundreds of euros in his pockets every morning? If yes, why put more hundreds in the bag? I couldn't be bothered to trawl back through the book to find out.Wouldn't a cutting edge piece of defence software be out of date after six years?It's ok. I won't be reading it again, so it's another one for the charity shop along with Camino Island.

Rubbish, very little plot and what there is pops up here and there in the book with no real continuity. It should have listed in the travel section as most of the book is padded out with Italian phrases and touristy information and totally inane trivia. Real disappointment as i have enjoyed other Grisham books, this one feels like it was written to order for a cheque over a weekend.

When I bought this first as a paperback, I thought it was another John Grisham book that had been recommended. I kept waiting for it to turn into the book my friend had described....and it didn't. Instead it became something I liked far more. I've visited Bologna - before I read the book unfortunately - and I've tried to learn Italian. And no, it isn't the usual John Grisham book at all, though the tesion and fright is still there. I loved it so I told folk about it, let someone borrow my paperback....and it was gone... And then, there it was in the Kindle listings, just like magic! Yaay!If you like John Grisham as a writer, you could try this? Something a little bit different. Gelato instead of ice cream might be fun?

'It's a call I've been WAITING ON'. Is this US grammar? Shouldn't it be WAITING FOR? waiting ON suggests a waiter, doesn't it? Waiting for suggests that something is about to happen.Apart from nit-picking US grammar, the book was fabulous. Of course Bologna is the most wonderful city in Italy, set quite apart from all the others. The story line - well, it reflects so much corruption and immorality of Washington BT - Before Trump; now, the DC mafia are like tits in a trance which is no bad thing apart from the fact that it's more dysfunctional than usual and the diplomats have gone to ground.