Scott Moss

I love John Grisham. I reread many of his novels over again and enjoy them as much the second time. "The Exchange" is one book I will not be rereading! Ever! Hyped as the return of Mitch & Abby McDeer, the only thing that makes "The Exchandge" a sequal to "The Firm" is the name of the story's protagonist. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being bamboozled by the marketing behind the book. OK...with the above said, even if I didn't get what I was expecting, at least I could hope for a gripping legal thriller that is Grisham's hallmark. Unfortunately, no! The plot line that begins the book that takes Mitch to Memphis on a pro Bono assignment to represent a death row inmate dissappears after chapter 4. The rest of the book concerns a convoluted attempt to ransom a colleague taken by Lybian terrorists. So many poorly developed characters and locations (Rome, London, New York, Geneva, Istanbul, Maine, Morocco, the Sahara Desert). Even the primary story contains plot threads that remain dangling. Only one brief courtroom scene barely qualifies "The Exchange" as a legal drama. If you are compelled to read every John Grisham book, I would suggest you reserve a copy from your local library and wait a few weeks until it becomes available. I certainly would not pay the $20+ dollars to buy ir.