"The Exchange," by John Grisham reunites us with Mitch and Abby McDeere 15 years after the events of The Firm. Now living in manhattan, Mitch is a partner at the world's largest law firm, and Abby is an editor of cook books. With 2 children in tow, the 2 seem to have found the ideal life. Things take a turn for the worse when while in Libya, Mitch's colleague Giovanna is kidnapped and held for ransom. Mitch and Abby now run around the world to raise money and communicate with the kidnappers in order to save Giovanna's life.

As with any John Grisham novel, the Exchange is a fast-paced, well written and enjoyable read. Although Mitch is a lawyer, this novel is not a typical Grisham legal thriller. The novel focuses largely on Mitchs efforts to raise and deliver the ransom money. Unfortunately, the twist, turns and suspense is less than one would expect from a Grisham novel. Also, threads at the start of the novel are quickly abandoned and have no impact on the story.

Overall, The Exchange is still an enjoyable read and a nice way to spend a few hours. Thank you Netgalley and Doubleday for the ARC.

In the end I was let down, I held out hope, but The Firm shouldn’t be apart of the name of this book. My disappointment comes from knowing John Grisham is way better than this.
This story takes place 15 years later with Mitch and his wife Abbey living in New York with their twin boys. Mitch is a lawyer, (how did that happen?) and a partner to boot in an international firm (wait, how did this happen too?) The story revolves around the kidnapping of a colleague in Libya and Mitch has to facilitate the ransom and release of his friend/colleague. I finished with the thought of, go figure………
Thank you NetGalley for this review copy in exchange for an honest review.

It was a nice follow up to the Firm with some of the same characters. However not much legal drama just a lot and I mean a lot of meetings for ransom money and Mitch spending time traveling on planes. The ending left it open for perhaps more of Mitch and Abby in future stories.

Oh gosh - where do I start with this "The Firm" follow up by John Grisham? "The Firm" is the second book I read by Grisham more than 30 years ago and I was entranced. I've since read it at least two more times. I was so excited to delve back into Mitch and Abby's lives to see how they ended up. This sequel, of sorts, felt so dull, almost like Grisham had no interest in it and was only writing it under pressure to deliver a sequel to one of his greatest hits. The story could have been so exciting but it felt lifeless. It was mostly just a lot of international flying and so. many. meetings. Mitch McDeere once again becomes disillusioned by the firm he works for, although this time, it's not because of illegal activity. Simply because of how they handle an emergency situation. The writing was flat and there was absolutely no character development at all. It started. Some stuff happened. It ended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for providing me with an eARC of The Exchange in exchange for my honest review!

As someone who enjoyed The Firm back when I read it a few years ago (I have yet to see the Tom Cruise-starring film adaptation), I was surprised and interested to learn that John Grisham was publishing a sequel. Unfortunately, The Exchange has turned out to be nothing more than a shallow and unnecessary follow-up. The first act had me invested, but then I gradually realized this wasn't going to focus on the legal and underworld crime thrills that had compelled me throughout The Firm. No, no, The Exchange instead becomes more of a political thriller—not even a taut and suspenseful one at that, but rather a hollow and generic tale that leaves me just flipping through the pages and wondering when this will truly rivet me. But it never reaches that point, and when it ends, it concludes on such a whimper. If Grisham wants to bring back Mitch McDeere, this isn't the way to do it.

Overall, I'm officially rating The Exchange 1.5 out of 5 stars, which I'll round up to 2 stars. I suppose I'm feeling generous for some reason.

Review of The Exchange by John Grisham

I was absolutely ecstatic to get this book as the firm is my second favorite John Grisham book ever (A Time to Kill is my favorite). It was a wonderful to be back in the world of Mitch McDeere and his wife, Abby. I loved that they were living in New York City, and I love the international travel in this one. The story was solid, and it held my interest for the whole time. My expectations were sky high and they were almost met. I did really enjoy this one, but it wasn’t quite what The Firm was to me. But it’s a must read for John Grisham lovers and especially for people who liked The Firm. Fun fact, John Grisham lives in the town where I went to college and I saw him quite a few times during my time there.

Synopsis:

What became of Mitch and Abby McDeere after they exposed the crimes of Memphis law firm Bendini, Lambert & Locke and fled the country? The answer is in The Exchange, the riveting sequel to The Firm, the blockbuster thriller that launched the career of America’s favorite storyteller. It is now fifteen years later, and Mitch and Abby are living in Manhattan, where Mitch is a partner at the largest law firm in the world. When a mentor in Rome asks him for a favor that will take him far from home, Mitch finds himself at the center of a sinister plot that has worldwide implications—and once again endangers his colleagues, friends, and family. Mitch has become a master at staying one step ahead of his adversaries, but this time there’s nowhere to hide.

Readers of The Firm who were captivated by the perils and adventures of Mitch McDeere will pick up where they left off in John Grisham’s riveting sequel, The Exchange. Fifteen years have passed since Mitch and Abby fled Memphis, and at 41, Mitch is once again established in Big Legal and his star is in the ascendant.

What begins as a sweet and prestigious assignment involving international travel and a connection with an old friend quickly leads to the kidnapping of a colleague and a threat to the McDeere family.

Abby plays a prominent role in this unfolding drama, and her own career as a cookbook editor added real interest to the plot. Readers will enjoy rooting for her and for Mitch as they take on a sinister band of adversaries in a race against time. With multiple international settings and a light touch on the legal and courtroom scenes, this was an engaging adventure tale.

Many thanks to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.

I loved The Firm and was excited to see a follow up for Mitch and Abby. Mitch is working for a high powered NY law firm and gets sent to Rome to help a dying partner with a lawsuit with Libya and a bridge built there by their client. The partner, Luca, asks Mitch to include his daughter, Giovanna. Mitch and Giovanna head to Libya to look at the bridge in question, but Mitch gets food poisoning and when Giovanna goes alone with security, she is taken.

The rest of the story is working to get her released. Lots of meetings and travel, but I kept waiting for the big AHA moment and it just never happened. Very anticlimactic and disappointing ending. The beginning of the book is also odd because it involves Mitch going back to Memphis for a case that doesn’t materialize and then it’s never spoken of again.

Nice to catch up with Mitch and Abby, but I did wish for a little more surprise and intrigue to the main plot.

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Loved getting back into John Grisham. This book made me remember why I had so enjoyed those early novels like The Firm and The Pelican Brief!

I’m impressed that we got a sequel well after the first book! I found this to be a bit drawn out, but yet faster than the first book. It was all over the place and I had a difficult time believing the chaos of the story. It made me realize that maybe I didn’t care about what happened next to the characters from The Firm, after all.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review "The Exchange" by John Grisham.
It has been many years since "The Firm" was published, and many years since I read the book. Mitch McDeere is back and thrown into another suspenseful situation where lives are at stake and the players aren't pulling any punches.
Brought in to work on an international lawsuit between a Greek construction company and the Libyan government, Mitch makes the fateful decision to visit the site; which leads to kidnapping and murder.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one; the writing was taut and the action non-stop. Even if you don't recall "The Firm" there are character reminiscences to remind the reader.
But you don't have to have any prior experience with those events to enjoy this one.

I really enjoyed this. Only slightly related to The Firm - the same main character and some references to the story from The Firm but you wouldn't need to read that first.

It was an interesting thriller that kept me engaged to the end. Mitch works for the largest law firm in the world. While on a business trip, a colleague is kidnapped and Mitch is pulled into a desperate race to save her. With trips all over the world connecting with security consultants, politicians, lawyers and others trying to save the colleague.

Overall an interesting, fast paced read.

It was great to revisit Mitch McDeere and his family after all these years. This was a great read, with characters dealing with current world issues. But like in the Firm at the base is greed.

Ugh! Another meeting! Meetings in this country. Meetings in that country. Meetings in this hotel. Meetings in that office building, jet, conference room, etc. You get the picture. Plan after failing plan. Alas, this story dragged on way too long. About halfway through the book, I didn’t care if the hundred million dollars was raised or not; I didn’t care if Giovanna was rescued or not. I lost interest. But then, with about 10% left to read, the story picked up. Did I like the ending? I’m not sure. Maybe. Not exactly. You’ll have to decide for yourself.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Exchange. Sadly, however, it was not an enjoyable read.

The Exchange is the story of Mitch and Abby McDeere after they fled Memphis and The Firm. They bummed around the world for several years. Then settled in New York where Mitch was hired by one of the largest law firms in the world. Abby is settled in as a cookbook editor. They have twin sons. Life is good, until it isn’t. An associate of Scully & Pershing is kidnapped in Libia. She is the daughter of a partner. Mitch was supposed to be with her on the trip but was taken ill and spent time in a hospital in Libia instead. The storyline boils down to will they be able to meet the kidnapper’s demands and free Giovanna before time runs out on the ransom demands. The book consists of bloody murders, meetings and Mitch on a lot of airplanes. Grisham books are usually a quick read for me. I struggled with this one because it was so repetitive. Mitch had a meeting. No that person won’t help with the ransom money. Another meeting to decide what to do next. A meeting with whomever they came up with this time. It wasn’t the book for me. I received an advance review copy for free and am leaving a review voluntarily.

I was really excited for this one as I love JG!

This one has great heist vibes & held true to the fast paced heart quickened of the first. I feel the entire story was very realistic & loved all the legal stuff throughout. I enjoyed Mitch & Abby's characters & how they were involved at the perfect times. There was a lot of moving parts that had me hooked throughout it was hard to put it down!

Mitch is back! 15 years later and at a different point in his life of being settled down, Mitch is once again drawn in by a friend on a case that is more than meets the eye. As Mitch goes to inspect 'the bridge to nowhere', events unfold, his lawyer partner has been kidnapped, and all of a sudden Mitch is on the run for a life, Giovanni's life. As Giovanni is kept hidden away, Mitch has to use his critical thinking skills to stay ahead of the kidnappers and bring along friends and countries in negotiating for Giovanni's life. I personally was hoping for more of a courtroom drama, but this is still classic Grisham. Go Mitch!
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my own opinion*

I have read many John Grisham books, so I was excited when I got this uncorrected proof from NetGalley for a preview read, but I was VERY disappointed in this sequel to The Firm. Mitch McDeere would've been better off following his original plan and abandoning the law, and Grisham would've been wise to not try to follow-up on the McDeere's story. Honestly, if I hadn't felt an obligation to finish this book because I'd been chosen to review it, I would've quit long before the story finally got interesting at about 55% through.

It's hard to explain exactly why it's so disappointing. It wasn't because it was uncorrected, unless they plan to also do a whole lot of editing and revising. It was just boring. There's a lot of merely telling what happened instead of showing it. Worse, I didn't really care about the McDeeres or poor Giovanna who spends most of the book held hostage by evil terrorists--which ones? I don't remember. She seemed nice enough, and it's sad that her dying father has to go through this, but we are not given enough of a character to make us care about her plight. Maybe that's the central problem, because it is the main focus of the book--rescuing her from almost certain death and probably torture. Mitch flies back and forth around the world and back to New York and then to Abby and the kids' hideaway. I expected them to be endangered at some point. That might have added to the action, but there were only threats, never any real danger. Generally, the book has a lot of movement but no exciting action, too many characters who are so skimpily written that we really don't care what happens to them very deeply.

This might make a decent movie, but as a book, it's a fail and a huge disappointment for me.

I wanted so badly to like this book, but I found myself really struggling to finish it. I did eventually finish it but am a bit disappointed with the book. The plot didn't have a lot of thrill or suspense to it, and I just couldn't get pulled into the story as much as I'd have liked. Thanks to Netgalley, John Grisham and Doubleday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was waiting, just like everyone else to see what was going to happen happen with Mitch and Abby after the events of The Firm. Why did it take so long for this to happen? 15 years SMH. I am glad to see that Mitch and Abby got married and have kids. HOWEVER....

-Yes, there is a kidnapping
-Yes, a very expensive ransom
-Yes, Mitch does some BADASS stuff

BUT....

Nothing really happens and there is a lack of a real plot, suspense/thrill to this.

Disapponted.

Cannot recommend this. Other books were better.

Thanks to Netgalley, John Grisham and Doubleday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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