Editorial Product Review:

Item Description:
With fourteen years left on a twenty-year sentence, notorious Washington powerbroker Joel Blackman receives a surprise pardon from a lame duck President. He is smuggled out of the country on a military cargo plane, given a new identity, and tucked away in a small town in Italy. But Blackman has serious enemies from his past. As the CIA watches him closely, the question is not whether he will be killed, but rather who will kill him first.

Amazon.com Review:
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

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Customer Rating: - Disappointment
Most of John's books are good. I loved the Firm. This one was a huge disappointment. Slow moving. I read the whole book waiting for something exciting to happen and it never did. Totally anti climatic.

Only good part was the experience of seeing the character adapt to Italian life.

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Customer Rating: - Italian Ticket Broker?
In the waning days of an unpopular presidency, the director of the CIA makes an unusual request. He seeks a pardon for a much-hated former Washington insider who went to prison without revealing important secrets related to a mysterious spy satellite system. The pardon is not recommended because the pardonee has finally shared his knowledge, successfully worked his political network or regained use of his former millions, it's to see who ends up putting a bullet in his head. Joel Backman is the former broker and he's the bait. The mystery is not only whether he'll figure out what's going on before he gets executed, but whether his life is worth saving.

The Broker, while supported by a decent blurb of a storyline, is probably John Grisham's least interesting novel - at least for those seeking a legal thriller. The story begins with Backman being whisked away to Italy for what he believes will be witness protection type program. Despite the promise of danger, the next several hundred pages, rather than moving the plot forward, read like an amateur travelogue. Through Backman and his tutors we spend the next several months learning about the culture of Italy and the beauties of Bologna. Maybe some would disagree, but I don't pick up a Grisham novel to learn about the more considerable care with which Italian men dress themselves or to read someone's Italian language practice.

Ultimately, the plot moves forward very slowly and without much in the way of interesting twists and/or turns. Likewise, the characters are never fully fleshed out, in fact several appear to be introduced only as plot decorations. A particularly egregious example is the President's right-hand man who is introduced and dispatched in several sections which appear to have no connection whatsoever with the rest of the novel. In terms of "legal thriller action," there's really not much here to like, other than the fact that, like all of Grisham's books, this one is easy to read. Grisham, as usual, gives us some local color, but in this case fails to deliver a story.

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Customer Rating: - Suspense si, Tortellini no
Joel Backman, a Washington power broker with a dangerous secret, goes to jail to stay alive. Unexpectedly pardoned by a discredited lame-duck President, he finds himself in Italy with a new identity and a new kind of prison, where he doesn't know who is watching him or why. As he uses his wits and his political skills to stay alive, his survival becomes entangled in the interagency rivalry of the FBI and the CIA, and draws the attention of Chinese, Israeli and Saudi intelligence. John Grisham still knows how to write a suspense story, complete with a high-speed chase and high-stakes international intrigue. Unfortunately, as Backman studies Italian and learns the local customs, Grisham finds it necessary to describe everything from grandfathers to toilet paper in both languages and linger over the menus in trattorie and elegant restaurants. There are even lectures on the major tourist attractions of Bologna. That the Asinelli Tower was built in the 12th century and is 97.2 metres tall has nothing to do with who is following Backman or why. If Grisham had omitted the difference between tortellini and tortelloni, this would be a better suspense story-and at least 50 pages shorter.

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Customer Rating: - I thought it was great!
From the first page I couldn't put this down! The whole realm of witness
Protection was very intriguing!