Way too long as usual,and another one set in Italy.Even as a tour guide to Italy,it isn't particularly interesting.
The one thing I remember about it is,that for the first time,he used Pakistani characters,as scientists.They aren't the good guys.But the names he gave them don't sound Pakistani.Other than that,I've forgotten it.

The Broker was imprisoned for accessing secret government information. His clients had developed a software program and that program revealed spy satellites no one knew existed. The CIA director obtains a pardon for the Broker to see who kills him. They take the man to northern Italy. Obviously, Grisham discovered a way to take an Italian vacation while making it tax deductible. He dives into the culture, the history, the people and probably most importantly the food. Reading this makes me want to return to Italy. The story is a good one, but his description of Italy is a classic.

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I’m always in such awe at John Grisham’s writing. Even though he’s labelled as a legal thriller author, every book is remarkably different, always landing on a new branch of law. The Broker is no different.

This book finds Joel Backman, pardoned from prison and on the run from some dangerous people in a foreign country.

At times, it felt like an Italian lesson, as Joel learns of his new country of Italy. Not much happened, but it was still intriguing.

I was hoping for more of an exciting ending, but was a little letdown on the “thriller “aspect of the book.

Overall, Joel is a likeable character, and Grisham‘s writing always sucks me in.
4.5⭐️

Another that I don't think was the most popular Grisham book, but I enjoyed it. I especially liked the parts in Italy and how our main character (Joel) had to learn Italian and fit in, trying to hide. Lots of tension and great moments in this one.

"Waiter, waiter! Bring some more tortellini and ricotta, will you, I'm doing research for my new book...".

Ok, I read the negative reviews below. Many readers are disappointed and say this is a slow book that Grisham wrote just to have an excuse to spend more leisurly time in Italy, and that he spends far too much time describing details of Italian towns and Italian language that are totally irrelevant to the plot.

I adore Grisham, but it's all true: after the first few chapters, that I found gripping and intriguing as ever, Grisham's fast, punchy writing comes to an almost complete halt, when the main charachter arrives in Italy and he starts taking in all things Italian so that he can blend in as much as possible. Pages and pages of details on how wonderful Italy is, the life there and the food and the people.

Well, I am Italian, so all this is very flattering. Yes, a little too much of an idealized Italy, especially an idea of Italy that very much exists in the minds of tourists, but nonetheless, flattering. And yes, a pleasure to be reminded of the beauty of my country, as I don't live in Italy anymore.

But these pages where Grisham takes us through the main charachter's Italian lessons and his wonderings in Bologna are just so useless and so far removed from the plot, written with a completely different pace and mood, that they seem like those weird candies that you sometimes find in a piece of chocolate: they have nothing to do with it, and they actually end up ruining the experience of eating that piece of chocolate.

Maybe he was trying to write something a bit different, something like a mix of espionage thriller and romance, but there is just something that doesn't quite work out with the two parts of this book. For this book to be as strong as most of his other books, he should have stuck to the initial plot, and driven it relentlessly to its end. I loved the idea of the secret satellite system, and oh my God I sincerely loved the idea of having the Chinese burn an entire forest in order to launch these satellites without being seen by other countries. The Russians did it for real, I think, but I'd have to google that and i cant be bothered now.

Anyway, overall a nice read, but what Grisham is asking his loyal readers, in this book, is a little too much.

He was the one who had the most fun with this book, that is for sure!!!

So, not his best one, but I still love him.

My reading of the Grisham library continues in my hopes of finding a book I love. The 2 stars I give this one means it didn’t happen again.



This is an unique book. The ‘hero’ of the book is downtrodden and put upon and barely makes it out on top in the end. The ending was not as successful as it could have been.



The author spent hundreds of pages working up the litany of assassin groups after the broker and then the end has one called off. What about the Chinese hit man?



Not a strong finish to a book that didn’t appeal to me. I would have liked 3 chapters of the Broker getting all the people who had treated him badly and torturing them for 6 months. I detest bad people getting away with being bad.



Again, 2 stars and I am giving my hard cover copy away.



My Rating: 2 stars



This review first appeared: https://princessofthelight.wordpress....

A serviceable spy thriller. Bit boring, nothing much happens. The descriptions of Bologna are nice, I guess.

Oh well... another Grisham snack. Always an entertaining, quick read inbetween books and in stressful times....

I grabbed some John Grisham off the shelf for a bit of fiction, knowing I can usually count on him for a bit of solid storytelling. This work, however, was unusually ... well ... bad.

Perhaps this is because the brilliant author failed to follow the good advice to "write what you know;" unlike his Southern law sagas, The Broker takes place largely in Italy, telling a story of high-level political powerbrokers rather than Grisham's usual attorneys. The plot simply broke down.

More accurately, perhaps, it was sidetracked by Grisham's vivid descriptions of what he did know. In the author's note, he mentions having enjoyed visiting Bologna for the superficial purpose of researching his novel, and perhaps that's why the resulting book reads more like a travelogue than like intrigue fiction. There's no shortage of vivid descriptions of excellent meals taken in lovely little restaurants, of cathedrals and other tourist attractions, and of Italian phrases explored lovingly by the author even as his protagonist learns the language under duress.

I'm glad Grisham enjoyed his Italian vacation, but this really wasn't the best way to write about it. I'd have rather read an actual travelogue. Or, better yet, another gripping drama set in a Mississippi or Tennessee courthouse ...

The beginning was exciting and so were most parts of the book but there were times that I lost interest in the book only because it felt more like a tourist guide for Italy. Personally, I like fast paced mysteries and thrillers and this book can somehow make it to that category but I need more action in the book than this one.

I definitely must be spouting off too often and too much about the undercurrents and underbellies of political world. This is the second time since the first of the year that a "friend" has passed along a Grisham book to me. Early on I read quite a few of Mr. Grisham's novels, but I grew weary and frankly just bored. This one had a little more strength to it. I didn't hate it, nor did I love it (or even really like it). I can read the newspapers these days and get more action and espionage and dirty politics. But it was a free read and though I skimmed far more than I'm inclined to do most of the time, I'm not suddenly going to become an avid Grisham reader.