Rating: 3 stars

I liked The Partner by John Grisham. I really enjoyed the plot and the execution of the story. It was well constructed and the secrets were all revealed in a good point along the storyline that fitted in with the past and future events.

One thing that I found frustrating though, was that Grisham has this habit of going in a deep analysis and description of so many people in the story, which have no relevance to the plot at all.

The other thing that made this book a 3 star instead of 4 was the ending. **MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD** Everyone talks about how poorly constructed and written the ending is, and I have to agree. While the disappearance of Eva was indeed a huge shock, I could see how it could somehow fit into the story, but then, we see Patrick crying over her absence. He had absolutely no plan in the event of her leaving. I find this hard to understand, that he could plan this elaborate way of disappearing, through another body; a freaking car crash (!); creating it look like he committed murder, even giving a potential victim of murder; and on top of all of that, managing to steal 90 million dollars from a law firm - from his own law firm - without raising any suspicion! Who then went on to literally plan his arrest, and all the events that followed in such excruciating detail. I do not find it plausible that a man with his legal experience and success in his schemes would fail to plan a solution for every possible situation, even one so far fetched as his lover running away with the money that she had fought so hard to protect and give back. Surely, Patrick didn't trust Eva that much, when he couldn't even trust his lawyer to know the full story upfront?

As well as this, Patrick instructed Eva to hide the money somewhere that no one, not even he, would know where it was. So, Eva was the only person in the story, that we know of, that actually physically knew where the money was. If anyone was going to steal it, it would without a doubt be her. And, the police didn't even know her identity until she was caught at the airport, so she had several chances to dessert Patrick and leave, and he never thought about this?

Either Patrick is not the criminal mastermind that he is made out to be, or the deadline was looming and Grisham had to create an ending in minutes.

I flew through this one, couldn’t put it down. I’m reading through Grisham’s book in chronological release order and this is the first book in that order not to be made into a movie. So I couldn’t remember the story very well from when I read it 20+ years ago. I really enjoyed the story, fast moving, smart, and a great little twist at the end. It was unique reading a book by him about law without much of a courtroom scene at all. But the story was fantastic and a big courtroom dramatic scene wasn’t really needed. Terrific, fun read.

Creo que los thrillers jurídicos no son lo mío.

Karma! Not everything was thought out perfectly ;)

Wow. Did not see that one coming.

This book reminded me of why I was hooked on John Grisham as a teenager. A thrilling courtroom drama with lots of cliff hangers and a totally unpredictable plot twist at the end.

An extraordinary read! very compelling,legal thriller...well written and recommend to all (paperback!)

I'll give this one a grudging "check it out" rating. It's the tale of a lawyer, Patrick Lanigan, who had faked his death and then swiped ninety million dollars that his law firm had gathered in a settlement. As the book opens, it is four years later and Patrick is discovered. The rest of the book details how he attempts to escape the civil and criminal cases against him, intertwined with the details of how he pulled off the scam in the first place. Like the other Grisham novels I've read, the characters are well done. This is the first novel, though, where the hero of the tale is an honest-to-Ghandi bad guy. Well, mostly bad guy. Mr. Grisham does a good job of gaining sympathy for the character. Throughout the book, I found myself rooting for Patrick, feeling guilty all the while. Anyway, though it is an entertaining read, this has to be my least favorite of the Grisham novels I've read. While the caper is intricate, it's a bit too flawless. At the end, I have a hard time believing that it could really happen.

I finished reading this book within 3 days, a gripping story which full of twists and the unexpected. Here’s my 5 cent review...

Luck was always on his side, his plans were well thought out, and they turned out to be perfectly schemed, and he finally succeed in buying his way out of jail, the punishment he always wanted to avoid, a nightmare to him. Started with how brilliantly he faked his death, ran away with his ex-firm’s USD 90 million and lived on the run for four years in Brazil, fell in love with and had a loyal companion in Eva, and finally when knowing that the people after him someday will be able to capture him, taught Eva meticulously how to vanish and what to do with the money and how to keep in touch with him when they had him in their custody. As the plots developed, Eva turned out to be a lovely wife-to-be, faithful friend, brilliant and dependable partner. But you have been warned, read until the last word...

I feel something awkward about the ending. Never did it come across his mind even once that it would happen to him, that she would do that to him? True, that he had found his love in her, that they’d both had a wonderful feeling to each other, but how could he ruin his brilliant plans ever since he decided to part with his former life and begin a new one by putting so much undivided faith on her, and how could the shrewd master of scheming fell foolishly to his partner? Hemm, but that twisted ending certainly will give readers a great surprise, as it did to me...

The climax is absolutely brilliant and and neat little twist. A very good plot. After the 400th page it would seem to be predictable but the last 5 pages make up for the previous 60 predictable pages. Confused, huh ? Read it !!

2,5*

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I had read The Partner by John Grisham years ago and have just recently re-read. I believe I am more impressed today with the novel than 15 years ago when first published. The way Grisham is able to tell a story is, of course, entertaining, but Grisham’s descriptions of attorneys, their behaviors, and their egos are absolutely hilarious and spot-on! If you want some insight into how our justice system behaves look no further. Here is an entertaining story that will provide all the fun of a great storyteller and the insight to the mechanics of a justice system fraught with egos, ineptitude and downhome stupidity. Enjoy!