The sequel to “The Firm” sees Mitch McDeere now working at one of the top law firms in the world. When his latest case takes him to Libya at the behest of a Turkish construction company currently at loggerheads with the Libyan Government he ends up in the midst of a hostage situation that quickly becomes personal.
“The Exchange” was my airport purchase when I flew to Dublin recently and I’m gonna blame the early flight for the fact I didn’t notice the big sticker telling me it was a sequel to a book I haven’t read!
To be fair the fact I haven’t read “The Firm” didn’t actually cause any problems. The key points are refreshed during the story and I didn’t feel I was really missing anything.
It’s an odd one. There was a really intriguing case at the start of the book and I was really keen to see where it would go and then suddenly it’s just dropped and Mitch goes to Libya and then becomes some kind of international hostage expert; flying around the world and trying to raise money to pay the ransom.
I don’t think anyone would find any complaints with Grisham’s writing. He has an engaging style and it kept me reading but the plot was definitely lacking for me. The early case was hinting at a conspiracy and cover up by a Government agency, which I was really interested in seeing where it would go but the sudden switch to the hostage drama felt a little jarring to me.
The characterisation wasn’t great for me either. Some of the supporting characters just didn’t feel fully fleshed out to me and the hostage storyline could have done with more detail.
I liked Mitch as a character and could maybe be persuaded to give “The Firm” a go to see where he has come from.
Overall, the writing was good but the plot could have been better. I gave it ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
thebookwormery 