Before he was sent to federal prison for treason (among other things), Joel Backman was an extremely powerful man. Known as "the broker," Backman was a high roller--a lawyer making $10 million a year who could "open any door in Washington." That is, until he tried to broker a deal selling access to the world's most powerful satellite surveillance system to the highest bidder. When caught, Backman accepted prison as the one option that would keep him safe and alive, since the interested parties (the Israelis, the Saudis, the Russians, and the Chinese) were all itching to get their hands on his secrets at any cost. Little does he know that his own government has designs on accessing that information--or at least letting it die with him. Now, six years after his incarceration, the director of the CIA convinces a lame duck president to pardon Backman, and the broker becomes a free man--and an open target.

The Broker marries the best of John Grisham's many talents--his ability to immerse himself in the culture of small town life (in this case, Bologna, Italy), and his uncanny mastery of the chase. The first half of the book focuses on Backman's transformation from infamous power broker to helpless victim in his own game. Upon his release from prison, Backman is taken into "protective custody" and whisked off to Italy where he is assigned a new identity, and a tutor to help him blend in. Sure he is on the run, but some readers may feel that Backman's time spent in Bologna is a bit too leisurely--readers join him on an almost cinematic tour through the Italian town, complete with language and history lessons. Impatient readers will be happy to know that the final half of the novel is classic Grisham--a fast-paced, thrilling cat and mouse chase pitting Backman against the numerous agencies that want him dead--as the broker makes a move to take back his life. --Daphne Durham

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Grisham: The Books

A Time to Kill, 1989 The Firm, 1991 The Pelican Brief, 1992 The Client, 1993 The Chamber, 1994 The Rainmaker, 1995

The Runaway Jury, 1996 The Partner, 1997 The Street Lawyer, 1998 The Testament, 1999 The Brethren, 2000 A Painted House, 2001

Skipping Christmas, 2001 The Summons, 2002 The King of Torts, 2003 Bleachers, 2003 The Last Juror, 2004 The Broker, 2005

Essential Grisham
Amazon Editor Favorites

A Time to Kill	The Firm	A Painted House
The Client	The Rainmaker	The Pelican Brief

Bestselling Grisham
Amazon Customer Favorites

The Last Juror	Skipping Christmas	Bleachers
The Testament	The Partner	The King of Torts

If You Like Grisham, You'll Love...

John Lescroart Richard North Patterson David Baldacci

Lisa Scottoline Robert Crais Michael Crichton

Harlan Coben Dennis Lehane Ken Follett

Best Grisham Books on DVD

A Time to Kill	The Pelican Brief	The Client
The Firm	The Rainmaker	The Chamber

Where is the ending...

I listened to this on an audio book and kept looking for the next CD. I could not believe that it just ended. I was hooked! Everything was going good couldn't wait to see what happened next and I was left hanging. Overall it was a good book until the end, where I felt I had just wasted 5 hours of listening.

Fun to read by ultimately unsatisfying

I loved how much Grisham loves Italy. It infused his writing with a passion and grace that made the "travelogue" sections great fun to read. But the plot and the characters? Yawn. I completely missed the part where our hero falls in love with the mysterious and sad Francesca. When did that happen exactly? And what of American ex-patriate professor, Luigi and Hermano? We're introduced to them at length and then there is no resolution to their story line. The action? What action? So while I enjoyed turning the pages as I was actually reading this book, now that I'm done I feel as though I wasted my time.

Better than the last few

I think "The Broker" is an improvement from the last few Grisham's titles which gave me the impression that he was already past his prime. On the other hand, considering the number of titles that he "produced" within the last few years, sometimes I was even questioning whether some to the books were indeed written by him, or maybe they were just bearing his name to help the sells.

In some way "The Broker" brought us back the old Grisham . I was again spending a few sleepless nights with the book in bed... Last time that this happened to me, it was with the book by M. Tombak "Can We Live 150 Years?" Interestingly it was not a novel at all...