This is not a pick-me-up story. The Partner read to me like a tragedy. Patrick Lanagan accomplished an incredible triumph over his enemies, over the government, and over the legal system. He masterfully faked his own death and disappeared with ninety million dollars. When he was caught, he had a plan that roiled them all. But for all his scheming, he only wins despair and loneliness.


If you enjoy courtroom intrigue and legal drama, I think you’ll find this book an engaging and fast-paced thriller. Much of the action is in the legal realm. There are many chapters of lawyers and judges in discourse and verbal conflict, many pages of scheming and explanation. But the book is excellently written with an important theme.

Wow that was simply awesome. And the ending? That totally made this book five stars. It is an amazing fast paced read and there was not a dull moment in the book. Even though I am not from a law background and have very little knowledge of it, I found the book quite easy to understand all thanks to Grisham's wonderful way of spelling every little thing out so effortlessly and effectively. A must read, undoubtedly.

Picked this one up in a charity shop for my unexpected section. It's really not what I'd normally read, what with all the crime and lawyers and being terribly terribly sneaky, but it's easy to read and I could appreciate the sneakiness. It's a pretty clever plot, I think, with a sting in the tail which actually made me say ouch aloud.

The weird thing about it is that the main character isn't innocent. He pretty much deserves what he's getting, and it's really weird that everything comes up roses for him -- at least legally, and in terms of his plot all going to plan. Maybe not personally. But he's done something really awful -- even once the 'murder' is explained -- and yet people still like him, still do what he needs... it's weird and it's hard to really root for him.

The story overall is a bit dry, but it is kind of interesting trying to follow all the twists and turns. It's a little unrealistic that something could turn out so perfectly, and the sting in the tail doesn't really change that, but it's fun enough. I have a couple of other Grisham books to read. We'll see how they go.

I didn't find this one as entertaining as The Client or The Runaway Jury. Like Pelican Brief and The Firm, I felt it started strong but petered out. For starters, Patrick Lanigan is, to me, Grisham's least likable protagonist I have read thus far. He is really just an arrogant wise-ass, his development is lacking, and his "midlife crisis" motivation was less than compelling. There is no suspense in the final two-thirds of the book; just extended dialogue, legal procedure, and backroom dealing. The premise on the back of the book suggested a bomb shell and there was none. Subplots were established and simply forgotten. It took me longer than usual to finish because I honestly wasn't interested at all to see how it would end. Overall, I was disappointed because I was led to believe that this was one of his best books, and I didn't find it that enjoyable.

I like John Grisham as an author, and though this is not Grisham at the top of his form, it is still a good read. I enjoyed it. As usual, the novel has something to do with the legal profession. It is about a man captured in Brazil, who we learn is actually Patrick Lanigan, an American lawyer who everyoe thought was killed in an automobile accident. The plot goes through many twists and turns and includes a mysterious girlfriend who helps him navigate a complicated web of legal maneuvers. I am no lawyer but it all sounds authentic and (remotely) possible.
I was not thrilled by the ending. I was left with a tiny doubt as to what happened and it seemed a bit out of character. I would probably rate it 3.5 stars, but since I did enjoy it, I rounded up.

I just love the way Patrick handled Trudy and Lance, never felt boredom in any scene and that's what I like about Grisham books

I kinda expected happy ending but it never occurred and I'm upset about that

The detail in this book is impeccable. If there ever was a movie remake it wouldn’t do justice to this stellar novel!! One of my favourite books read in 2021.

Първи сблъсък с Джон Гришам с романа му "Партньори". Очарована съм. Цялата книга е подредена, всички факти се изясняват постепенно с педантичност и яснота, разкривайки една цялостна картина на големите измами в света на акулите. Авторът разкрива един свят на алчност, където парите са издигнати в култ, а измамата е навсякъде. Показва умело как може да се манипулират медиите за собствена изгода. Възмездие обаче има за всички. Чудесен съдебен трилър!

THE PASSENGER


”The Firm – Il socio” è il primo film realizzato da un romanzo di Grisham. Era il 1993 e a dirigerlo uno dei miei registi preferiti, Sydney Pollack, qui impegnato col protagonista Tom Cruise. Antagonista quello splendido attore, uno dei miei preferiti di sempre, a nome Gene Hackman.

Credevo d’aver letto almeno un Grisham, forse due, parecchio tempo fa, senza particolare entusiasmo.
Ma mi sbagliavo, lo confondevo con Scott Turow: entrambi avvocati convertitisi in scrittori di legal thriller.

Questo mio primo Grisham è stata proprio una sorpresa: storia decisamente originale, piena di fatti e nomi e personaggi e luoghi e passaggi di tempo, che si riesce a seguire con piacere e precisione grazie alla scrittura di Grisham – essenziale, sobria, senza fanfare ad annunciare o sottolineare i colpi di scena, senza effetti effettini o effettacci, senza scene di sesso voluttuoso, senza gore e senza splatter (chapeau alla lunga toccante scena di tortura), senza divagazioni o diramazioni, pochissima psicologia – sul pezzo, molto concreta, quasi un elenco di accadimenti enunciati con secchezza e semplicità e chiarezza, ma anche piacere di lettura e sapiente suspense.


Il secondo film tratto da un romanzo di Grisham esce nello stesso anno del primo, 1993. Si tratta di “The Pelican Brief – Il rapporto Pelican”. Protagonisti Julia Roberts e Denzel Washington. Alla regia altra firma prestigiosa, Alan J. Pakula. Ma tra tutti io ricordo l’uomo nella foto, Sam Shepard, che fa una piccola parte, solo qualche scena all’inizio, e poi lo fanno saltare in aria: la sua bella dolente intensa faccia per me è rimasta indimenticabile.

La storia viene così riassunta dallo stesso Grisham a pagina 124:
La storia dell’avvocato americano che aveva messo in scena la propria morte, aveva assistito al proprio funerale, aveva rubato novanta milioni di dollari dallo studio per il quale lavorava ed era stato catturato quattro anni dopo in Brasile, dove conduceva una vita modesta sotto falso nome.
L’avvocato simula la sua morte in un infuocato incidente d’auto, e mai l’aggettivo rovente è stato più appropriato, nello scontro brucia tutto. Si nasconde su un albero e segue col binocolo il suo funerale: ma quindi qualcuno sta venendo sepolto al posto suo, la bara è vuota oppure contiene il cadavere di un altro?
I novanta milioni che ruba – e che nei quattro anni di fuga e latitanza trascorsi perlopiù in Brasile fa fruttare e moltiplicare con sapienti investimenti – sono frutto di una truffa: li sottrae allo studio del quale è partner, ma i suoi soci stavano comunque per fregarlo e silurarlo alla grande.


L’anno dopo, 1994, diretto da Joel Schumacher arrivo “The Client – Il cliente”, col dodicenne Brad Renfro protagonista, (Renfro è morto di o.d. a soli 25 anni). Ma per me a rubare la scena due attori strepitosi: Susan Sarandon e Tommy Lee Jones.

The Passenger è il titolo di uno dei film magnifici realizzati da Michelangelo Antonioni, quello (1975) che mi fece innamorare di questo grande regista. Nel film Jack Nicholson è un reporter in crisi (il titolo italiano è Professione: reporter) che durante un servizio con interviste nel Sahara si accorge per caso che il suo vicino di stanza è morto di cause naturali, nessuno se ne è accorto, il cadavere ha una certa somiglianza con lui, somiglianza che si rafforza invertendo fotografie sui passaporti. E così il reporter in crisi assume l’identità di uno sconosciuto. Ma soprattutto, abbandona la sua precedente. Cambia nome e cambia vita.
Perché tutti sognano di svanire. A un certo punto nella loro vita, tutti meditano sulla possibilità di abbandonarsi ogni cosa alle spalle. La vita è sempre più bella su una spiaggia o in cima a un monte. Senza problemi. È un desiderio innato.


Ancora Joel Schumacher nel 1996 dirige un altro adattamento da Grisham, “A Time to Kill – Il momento di uccidere” con Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey.

Solo che ahinoi, un piano B così radicale i problemi se li porta dietro eccome. E se il reporter Nicholson scopre troppo tardi di aver assunto l’identità di un trafficante d’armi – lo spettatore ne comprende le conseguenze drammatiche nel magistrale piano sequenza finale che ancora si studia nei corsi di cinema – qui, Patrick Latigan diventato Danilo Silva trascorre quattro anni a nascondersi, fuggire, spiare chi è convinto lo stia spiando, fino a desiderare di essere trovato e catturato. Riuscirà a chiudere davvero col suo passato?

PS
E nonostante Grisham sia amato dalla settima musa, il film, più volte annunciato, con Mark Whalberg protagonista, non è mai stato realizzato.


Nel 1997 tocca niente meno che a Francis Ford coppola cimentarsi con un film tratto da Grisham: “The Rainmaker – L’uomo della pioggia”, con Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, Jon Voight, Claire Danes.

Never thought I'd be entertained by a 'legal' thriller, but here we are. Another addictive read!

The plot begins with the capture of 'Danilo' - an ex-lawyer who stole 90 million bucks from his partners and fled.

First and foremost, I LOVE that I spent this entire book rooting for the crafty lawyer who stole a ridiculously excessive amount of money. That's great writing, right there. Patrick was a fantastic protagonist and I wanted so badly for him to get away with everything.

This book really plays on that fantasy we've all had of running away from all our problems; of having more money than we can dream of; of pulling off the perfect crime. It banks on our sympathy for Patrick, who only did what we all have wished we could do at some time in our lives. It succeeded.

The story of Patrick's perfect crime unravels over the course of the book, and it's the slow leak of details that keeps the tension taught throughout. We're dying to know how he pulled it off, but we're also secretly waiting to find out why we're totally okay with it.

A cleverly composed story with fantastic character development to tie everything together. Highly recommend.

I read the hardcover version.
Iam writing this review in 2021.
What a read it was.
From the first page I was intrigued, however the book deserved a slow read, because there were so many plot twists, that reading it in one go was simply an impossible task.
If you are familiar with the storyline of money heist, then this is the father of money heist.
Would you believe me if I said that you can steal 90 million dollars, mutilate a body, fake your death and sabotage your life insurance and still get away with it?
Would you get a happy ending after the escape?
Well if you don't believe my words then maybe you should give this book a read and decide for yourself.

There is a reason that this book is considered the best book ever written by John Grisham. You will not find a lot of action scenes, but lover of suits, every chapter is a netflix ride.

This had one of those endings I could see coming but surprised me anyway because I was interested in seing how the main character covered his ass and got off (which was also obvious would happen.) One of my favorites from Grisham because it was pretty believable and if there's a moral, it's that crime doesn't pay for anyone (well, almost anyone) in this book