The Exchange: After the Firm by John Grisham

My book for December was The Exchange: After the Firm by John Grisham. I finished the book on the flight from Boston to Phoenix coming home from the Army/Navy game. Somewhat unbelievably, this is the 38rd book by John Grisham that I have read in the last thirty-two years. I am not sure that this is something that I should be proud of...

The book is a sequel to Grisham's legal thriller The Firm. It brings back the protagonist Mitch McDeere. Fifteen years after escaping the clutches of the Bendini, Lambert & Locke law firm, McDeere is a successful partner at a prestigious New York firm, living a comfortable life. After a trip to Libya, he finds himself entangled in a complex web of international intrigue.

I enjoyed the book, but felt like the plot was a little outlandish; although not as outlandish as the plot of The Rooster Bar! Nevertheless, I will continue to read Grisham novels as filler between more ambitious books. They serve as a nice mindless break.

I read the The Firm in 1993; it was the first Grisham book I read. I had driven she-who-will-not-be-named to a class in San Francisco. Waiting for her, I spent the day running in Golden Gate Park, reading The Firm and then buying some software at an Egghead store on Market Street. Driving back to Sacramento, she and I went to Hunter's 40th birthday party!