John Grisham processes a great writing style that instantly pulls you into the story and keeps you there until the very end.
Loved this book, great plot, great characters and the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was that I saw the end coming and maybe a little disappointing. Back to his best.

Un thriller espectacular, de la década del 90,entre los primeros libros de Grisham. Como siempre, juega con las lealtades del lector, quien transita entre la identificación con el protagonista y el rechazo por su descaro. El mundo de los abogados desnudado, al menos de los abogados gringos, aunque siempre sorprende la universalidad del mundillo judicial y sus corrupciones y trampas. El romance aquí se lleva con maestría. Un genio John, que bueno que abandonó la abogacía para escribirnos estás novelas geniales. Eso sí, como por ésta época empezó a modificar su estilo de finales, así que nadie espere un cuento de hadas judicial. #johngrisham #elsocio

Lawyer and critical thinker Patrick Lanigan almost got away with it; he faked his death and stole 90 million dollars from his own law firm that he was a 'partner' in. The money was from a deal in which essentially an organised crime lord defrauded the US Government. The faked death cover included an unidentified corpse in his car wreck, so a murder charge was also raised when Patrick Lanigan, living the good life in Brazil was finally caught! As the criminals, FBI, press, courts and his one-time widowed wife all gun for him, Patrick tries to work through his meticulously put together plan of seeing if he and his Brazilian female lawyer confidante can find a way out to free them from all of his antagonists.

I really enjoyed this Grisham jam as I love a detailed plan and execution of said plan. This one's a doozy and would make a great TV series. Like most of his early books this is set in the Grisham universe where the FBI and its head Haynes are the common factor. This is clever battle of wills and law between a well researched lawyer and multiple personal interests and is yet another Grisham tale of effectively an individual fighting the system and doing it with some aplomb. A firm (no pun intended) 8 out of 12, Four Star read,

2024 read

Disappointing book. It has the requisite guilty pleasure moments of bad guys getting their comeuppances and a smart main character bobbing and weaving his way around the system, but Grisham also makes an attempt at a morality play and this portion of the book never seems fully fleshed out.

The fun and strength of the book comes from the detailed telling of Patrick Lanigan faking his death and stealing a large sum of money in one fell swoop. The telling is mostly done through Lanigan recounting his exploits to friends and associates and this seems to dull the action and tension a bit, as it is limited to his point of view. Lanigan comes off as a bit too omniscient having taken everything into account from the get go and planning accordingly. Save for his incarceration and treatment at the beginning, he doesn't seem to go through any significant trials.

The major shortcoming of the book stems from the supposed guilt that Lanigan should feel for his actions and the people he affected through those actions. It is brought up, nominally discussed, then stops short. There is a debate of whether the ends justify the means, but only peripherally. There are several characters who question the integrity of Lanigan's actions and its effect on the justice system, but none of them seem to pursue it with any vigor. It's as if they just let Lanigan be Lanigan; they are in awe of him to do or say anything substantive. The book tosses out its own version of karma and it is supposed to be ironic, but these karmic moments wrap themselves up a little too neatly and just comes off disappointing the reader; there is not enough balance.

Really enjoyed this book, but hated the twist. I didn't believe the u-turn by a major character, to whose thoughts we'd been given access throughout the book. Also what she did doesn't make any sense: she could have easily split the money with him and still been rich without condemning herself to a lifetime on the run. I'd believe this far more if it was hinted that she had conspired with Stephano in order to grab a bigger share of the loot. But there was no evidence of that. I suspect the author threw this twist in late in the day to spice things up, but it spoiled the story for me, which ended on a sour note. Still love the writing though, and despite this misstep I liked the book overall.

An extra star for the final plot twist

Sometimes, John Grisham gives me 'forced' endings. Sometimes, I would imagine him going:
"When's the deadline again? Holy sh*t, there's only a week left!"

or

"I'm already near my page limit, let me just squeeze everything in the last remaining pages."

or

"Let me just finish these in 2 chapters so I could go back to *insert hobby/party/gathering/person here*"

Quite juvenile thoughts for a well-published writter but just humor me here okay.

That being said, this is the first John Grisham book that didn't feel like he was simply trying to end the story in a few pages or so and trying to tie whatever loose ends in whatever way possible. I didn't expect the ending too and made me go "Oh."

It is because of books like this Mr. Grisham (or would you prefer John?) that makes me want to pull your book out of anyone's bookshelf if I just want to pass the time.

Now, would you be kind enough sir and tell me what happened?
Was she kidnapped?
Or simply ran away?
I have think Stephano got her.
Maybe this is her way of making Patrick pay.

Am I suppose to loose sleep now?

4 Stars for the novel though the end shocked me because i liked the romantic line between Patric and Eva
It is my first reading in english for John Grisham (in general too) whose i read translated novels in arabic before (The Firm - The Client - The Street Lawyer - The Rainmaker) and it won't be the last
My detailed review is in arabic

اول قراءه دسمه باللغه الانجليزيه لروايه تعدت 400 صفحه
الحافز موجود جون جريشام اللي حمسني لقراءه المزيد من اعماله بعد استهلاك الروايات المترجمه القليله عنه واللي قدمه احمد خالد توفيق في روايات عالميه للجيب : صانع الامطار - العميل - محامي الشوارع وتكفلت مكتبه جرير السعوديه بترجمه 3 روايات اخري ليه : المؤسسه - استئناف - القاضي الاخير
خلصت الروايه بعد اسبوعين من القراءه القصيره شبه يوميه في اوقات الفراغ كنت بقرا كل يوم حوالي 3 فصول
الروايه دسمه ودي من عوامل الجذب اللي شدتني ليها ولكن .. زياده في عدد الصفحات بسبب الاستطراد وتكرار سرد الاحداث كان ممكن اختصارها الي نصف حجم الكتاب
القصه عن محامي اسمه باتريك لانيجان متزوج وعنده طفله بيشتغل في مؤسسه قانونيه فيها اربع شركاءوكان علي وشك الوصول لدرجه شريك ، المؤسسه كانت موكله من قبل عميل لرفع قضيه تعويض ضد شركه بتشتغل مع الحكومه الامريكيه بسبب فساد مالي وكسبت القضيه مقابل 90 مليون دولار تلتهم لصالح المؤسسه توزع بالتالي علي الاربعه شركاء والاتفاق كان علي تحويل المبلغ كامل في احد البنوك ثم توزيعه بين العميل والمؤسسه في الوقت اللي مات فيه باتريك متفحم في حادثه عربيه وبعد ما اتدفن وابتدي الشركاء في حساب الغنائم والاستعداد للثروه المستقبليه اكتشفو ان المبلغ 90 مليون اتحول بالكامل من البنك بحساب مزيف لاحد الشركاء وبعد فتره ابتدت الاشاعات في الشركه والمدينه بتلقي اصابع الاتهام علي باتريك وبتشكك في وفاته
تحت صدمه الافلاس بيتم الاتفاق بين العميل والمؤسسه وشركات التامين اللي بدورها دفعت مبالغ لاسره باتريك للتامين علي حياته وللمؤسسه للتامين ضد الاحتيال والسرقه علي البحث عن باتريك عن طريق شركه تحري بيديرها ضابط سابق في مكتب التحقيقات الفيدراليه وبعد 4 سنين من البحث بينجحو في الوصول لباتريك في البرازيل وخطفه وتعذيبه وبتدخل الحكومه الامريكيه في الاحداث عن طريق بلاغ من حبيبه باتريك البرازيليه وشريكته عن الاختطاف فبيتم نقله للولايات المتحده وتقديمه للمحاكمه بتهم فيدراليه الاحتيال والسرقه وتهمه القتل العمل لشخصيه القتيل المجهول في حادث السياره ويبتدي الصراع علي اكتر من محور مش هحرق الاحداث بس النهايه قفلتني رغم اني كنت شبه متوقعها

I'll give credit for the amount of details and brain juice needed to string all those massive strategies together for the main character, Patrick Laningan. But the ending was totally predictable from the very beginning. It's not a twist if it is a predictable one. It's just a long journey of showing off how one can get away with many things when planned well.

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.

Se spune ca fiecare om are pretul sau. V-ati gandit vreodata care ar fi suma pentru care v-ati vinde sufletul? Dar trupul? Dar totul?
Patrick Lanigan are raspunsul pentru toate aceste intrebari: 90 de milioane de dolari. Pentru aceasta suma el renunta la identitate, familie, cariera si prieteni. Inscenandu-si moartea reuseste sa incaseze banii si sa-i transfere in diferite banci din Panama si Elvetia, apoi sa se faca nevazut in Brazilia.
Trecutul insa ii bate in mod insistent la usa deoarece fostii sai parteneri influenti socotesc ca nu e de prisos sa mai cheltuiasca niste milioane in plus pentru a-l gasi.
FBI-ul il cauta de asemenea si romanul incepe chiar cu momentul in care identitatea sa este descoperita si cade pe mana unor mercenari care incep sa-l tortureze pentru a dezvalui locul unde sunt banii. Ceea ce ei nu stiu este ca Patrick are o complice avocata, brazilianca, sexy si desteapta care are grija de ei. Pe o plaja din Franta, intr-un bikini minuscul are foarte mare grija de bani.
Romanul mi-a placut foarte mult datorita ritmului alert, personajelor interesante si de care te poti atasa si mai ales a intrigii cu tematica juridica foarte inteligenta si captivanta. Consider ca planul lui Patrick este foarte bine elaborat si pentru un plan de o asemenea anvergura este si realist, chiar realizabil pentru anul 1992 cand are loc actiunea.
As vrea sa amintesc si de Thiopental de Sodiu - adica 'serul adevarului', ce este folosit pentru marturisiri, in special de psihologi si anchetatori. Este bine de stiut ca acesta este un barbituric cu efect rapid, insa, care trebuie administrat cu foarte mare grija si atentie pentu ca pacientul sa ajunga la nivelul de constienta potrivit, la care sa poate fi supus unui interogatoriu. Daca doza este prea mica nu are efect iar daca este prea mare subiectul cade lat.
M-a amuzat faptul ca in roman toata lumea bea cola dietetica ca si cum s-ar face reclama produsului si consider ca, daca tot consumi asemenea bauturi, atunci s-o faci ca lumea, nu la modul dietetic.
In ceea ce priveste autorul, Grisham este unul dintre preferatii mei datorita experientei sale vaste in domeniul juridic, a mintii sale stralucite cu care tese aceste intrigi si mai ales a plot-twist-urilor de la final. Si romanul acesta are unul senzational, insa pe care l-am prevazut datorita, ati ghicit, braziliencei sexy. Nu e bine niciodata sa lasi banii pe mana unei femei atat de frumoase si atat de destepte.
Trebuie sa amintim si de romanele lui Grisham care au fost ecranizate:
"The Rainmaker" 1997 - un film senzational in regia lui Coppola, unde recomand intai sa cititi cartea si apoi sa vedeti filmul.
"Runaway jury" 2003, cu Dustin Hoffman si Gene Hackman.
"The Pelican Brief" 1993, cu Julia Roberts si Denzel Washington.
"A time to kill" 1996, cu Samuel L. Jackson si Sandra Bullock.
"The Firm" 1993, cu Tom Cruise si Gene Hackman.
In incheiere subliniez ca atunci cand vreau sa citesc o carte buna mereu mizez pe John Grisham si daca vreodata doriti sa fugiti de nevasta, de facturi, de creditori, banci sau orice, atunci cititi mai intai acest roman ca sa stiti cum se face ca la carte.

9 of 10 stars