Tag: Law Firm

The Exchange by John Grisham

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller3 Comments

The Exchange Cover 2

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (Trade Paperback – 17/10/23)

Series: The Firm – Book Two

Length: 338 pages

My Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

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John Grisham presents an intriguing sequel to one of his best-known books with his latest release, The Exchange.

Grisham is a talented and well-respected author who needs very little introduction after wowing audiences for years with books (and their movie adaptations) such as The Pelican Brief, The Rainmaker, The Runaway Jury and A Time to Kill.  I personally came into Grisham’s novels a bit later than I probably should have, but I have had fun reading some of his latest releases such as The Judge’s List, The Boys from Biloxi and Sparring Partners.  I had a wonderful time with each of those books and I now make sure to grab the latest Grisham novel whenever they come out.  As such, I made sure to get a copy of Grisham’s new release, The Exchange, a fantastic legal thriller that serves as a sequel to one of his best-known novels, The Firm.

15 years ago, Mitch and Abby McDeere exposed the crimes of a corrupt Memphis law firm and its mobster clients, fleeing the country with a stash of the firm’s crooked money.  After spending years abroad in Europe fearing potential retribution, the McDeeres finally returned to America, taking up residence in New York, far away from their troubled past in Memphis.

Now, Mitch works as a partner in one of the biggest law firms in the world, sent to troubleshoot some of its most difficult cases.  A request from an old friend sees Mitch travel to Libya, where a Turkish construction company is suing the tyrannical Libyan government over failure to pay an extensive bill.  This is far from a routine case, and Mitch soon finds out just how dangerous that part of the world is when one of the firm’s young associates is kidnapped in a bloody attack.

Determined to save his associate before she is killed, Mitch desperately utilises all his contacts and legal knowhow to raise the ransom money needed and encourage governments to intervene.  However, the organisation that kidnapped the young woman is far more dangerous than anyone expected, and they soon launch a series of attacks against Mitch’s new firm while demanding an extravagant amount of money.  With his own family caught in the crossfire, Mitch must unwind the turbulent politics surrounding this event if he is to save everyone he cares about.

I must admit that I had some mixed feelings when it came to The Exchange, and it honestly wasn’t my favourite Grisham novel.  Let us start with what I liked about The Exchange, which for the most part was a pretty fun and exciting read.

Grisham wrote an intriguing and fast-paced narrative for The Exchange that is really easy to get into and proves very hard to put down in places.  There is a great set-up surrounding the Libyan deal, and it was fascinating to have a book set in Libya in 2005 during the Gaddafi regime.  Grisham ratchets up the tension early, as you know something bad is going to happen, and when it does, Grisham does not hold back with the brutality and violence.  The second half of the book, which primarily follows the protagonist as he uses all his contacts to try and negotiate for his colleague’s release, is also quite fascinating, and you can feel the fear and desperation of the characters, especially when Mitch’s family is brought into the situation.  Add into this the complex characters and the compelling, detailed and highly cynical examination of life in one of the world’s biggest law firms (in this case, a fictional law firm which has appeared in prior Grisham novels), and The Exchange has a lot going for it.

While I found it exiting and captivating to read, and I enjoyed a lot of how this story came together, most of my dissatisfaction came from the conclusion.  I won’t go into a lot of detail here to avoid spoilers, but frankly I found the end of the book to be rather underwhelming and a little lazy.  Despite setting up some intriguing storylines at the start that could have resulted in a great and engaging conclusion, Grisham instead chose to just resolve the storyline in a predictable manner and leave a lot of stuff hanging.  There are so many unanswered questions left over as a result, especially when it comes to the means and motive of the antagonists, and I was honestly surprised that Grisham did not tie it into the plot of The Firm somehow.  Frankly, this lacklustre conclusion put a damper on my enjoyment of The Exchange as a whole and I was a little disappointed about not getting a satisfying ending.

Another major element of the book that I am not sure hit home completely for me was its connections to Grisham’s previous novel The Firm.  I must admit upfront that I haven’t read The Firm, but I honestly don’t think The Exchange’s story really benefited from being a sequel.  While I am sure that some Grisham fans really appreciated getting a continuation of the McDeeres’s story, it didn’t do a lot for me.  For example, the first 50 or so pages are dedicated to Mitch returning to Memphis for the first time since the events of The Firm, which does serve as a good bridging element for new readers.  However, this opening scene had no connections to the main plot of the book, and it was just so unnecessary in hindsight.  I also never really connected to Mitch and his family throughout the course of The Exchange’s story, and it might have been better if Grisham had introduced an original protagonist instead.  Still, the author did do a good job of recapping the key events of The Firm to new readers, and I am sure dedicated Grisham fans will appreciate this interesting continuation after all these years.

While I did have a bunch of issues with The Exchange, I think overall it was a good book by Grisham and I did have a fun time reading it.  Much of the plot is very exciting and well set out, and there are some truly fascinating elements to it.  Probably best read by those fans of Grisham’s style and prior novels (especially The Firm), The Exchange is well worth a read, but I just wish it had a better ending.

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How to Kill a Client by Joanna Jenkins

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery, Thriller3 Comments

How to Kill a Client Cover

Publisher: Allen & Unwin Australia (Trade Paperback – 31 January 2023)

Series: Standalone

Length: 384 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Australian lawyer and debuting author Joanna Jenkins introduces herself in a big way with her fantastic first novel, the legal thriller How to Kill a Client, which takes the reader on a fascinating journey to the dark side of Australia’s legal profession.

As the in-house lawyer at a powerful international mining company, Gavin Jones oversees millions of dollars’ worth of legal contracts each year, including to the Brisbane office of the Australian legal firm Howard Green.  Using them to negotiate lucrative contracts throughout Australia, Jones has become one of Howard Green’s biggest clients and the money he controls ensures that everyone at the law firm treats him like a god.

But while everyone fawns over Jones and his power, no-one actually likes him.  A cruel, petty and vindicative man, Jones has messed with the careers and lives of everyone in his orbit, especially women, who he reserves a particular disdain for.  His actions ensured the suffering of everyone he has power over, including his wife, his employees, and the female partners at Howard Green, as he seeks to wreck lives, destroy careers and give himself the lifestyle he feels he deserves.

So when Jones dies suddenly and suspiciously, everyone he knew is a potential suspect; thanks to his dodgy dealings and underhanded tactics, they all had a motive to kill him.  As the police begin their investigation and the lawyers at Howard Green close ranks, it falls to partner Ruth Dawson, one of the few people without a motive, to protect her firm and its secrets.  However, when her investigation reveals proof of who killed Jones and other dark secrets her firm is hiding, will Ruth reveal the truth or will she bury it to protect her firm?

How to Kill a Client is a clever and tricky novel that really showcases Jenkins’s skill as a new writer.  Blending a fantastic and compelling crime fiction narrative with intense looks at the lifestyle of members of a successful law firm, How to Kill a Client was a gripping and interesting read that is really worth checking out.

I loved the cool story contained within this book which came across as part legal thriller, part personal drama surrounding high-level professionals, and part intriguing murder mystery.  The story dives into the chaotic world surrounding the legal firm of Howard Green and its clients and effectively introduces all the key players in this drama, who have their own views on the troubles to come.  Each primary characters is connected to the eventual victim, Gavin Jones.  Jenkins spends the first half of the book showcasing Jones’s terrible nature and the various ways they are messing with everyone.  Cleverly utilising multiple character perspectives, you are soon drawn into the various main characters’ lives and soon see all the various reasons why each of them may have wanted to kill Jones, as well as some of the suspicious steps some of them took.  Jenkins perfectly sets up everything in the first part of How to Kill a Client, and by the time you reach the halfway point, you are firmly enthralled by the narrative and want to see how the rest of the book unfolds.

When the eventual death happens (a real high point) the reader is left wondering whether it was an accident, a mistake, or a deliberate action, with the evidence pointing towards a murder.  However, due to the sheer range of suspects and motives, the story produces a twisty and fun range of plotlines that you need to navigate to get to the final conclusion.  Jenkins really produces an emotional and captivating second half as you try to find out who killed Jones and why.  There are some brilliant revelations unfurled here, and I loved how some cunningly hidden clues in the first half of the book were utilised in the final mystery.  I was very impressed with the final reveals around how the killing was committed and why it happened, and you will come away from this story very satisfied, especially as Jenkins builds in some excellent character moments and ensures that all the remaining characters get a fitting end to their arcs.  I found myself getting really caught up in Jenkins’ powerful and amazing story and I honestly powered through the last half of the book very quickly to see how everything ended.

Part of the reason why How to Kill a Client is such an effective read is that Jenkins introduces an excellent cast of intriguing and complex characters who are thrust into a variety of compelling situations throughout the course of the narrative.  Each of the main cast, who Jenkins effectively builds up and utilises in the plot, are quite damaged, desperate or concerned in their own unique way, while many of the supporting characters are notably selfish or manipulative for their own ends.  Characters like Ruth Dawson and Viv Harrison give some compelling and honest insights into how women are treated in this influential professional setting, while Anne Jones shows the harsh reality of a women trapped in an abusive relationship.  At the same time, there is a great collection of supporting lawyer characters who Jenkins uses to show off the range of people and personalities one is likely to experience in Australia’s legal services.

However, out of all the characters in this book, the one I must highlight the most is probably the murder victim, Gavin Jones, mainly because he is such a despicable figure.  Jenkins really goes out of her way to make Jones into one of the most unlikable and petty characters you are ever likely to find in fiction and boy does she succeed, perfectly capturing an insecure and manipulative narcissist who enjoys controlling people.  Not only does he go out of the way to try and ruin the careers of several characters just because they are women, but he also demands attention from the male characters to feed is ego, while also abusing and controlling his wife to make him feel good.  In a very short amount of time Jenkins builds Jones up into such an unlikable character that the reader finds themselves trying to reach into the book and kill him before the murderer does.  This naturally adds quite a lot to the mystery of the book, as his malicious professional actions, deceits, violence and puppy killing (seriously, that one really angered me), ensures that everyone he came in contact with had a reason to murder him.  The huge suspect pool around this unlikable character allows Jenkins to craft an impressive murder mystery and you’ll really get drawn into finding who finally snapped and killed this infuriating character.  This villainous figure, and other great characters, all added so much to the plot of How to Kill a Client and really got invested in their stories very quickly.

One of the other features of How to Kill a Client that I particularly enjoyed was the author’s detailed and intriguing examination of an Australian law firm.  Clearly utilising all her past experiences as a lawyer, Jenkins perfectly showcases how a firm would work and act in a variety of scenarios, and you really get the senses of the day-to-day chaos the individuals working there would experience, which adds a lot of authenticity to the story.  Jenkins also dives into the backroom drama and politics that surround such entities, as the various lawyers cut deals and fight for control over various projects or clients.  There is a particularly cynical edge to the book’s portrayal of legal firms in this novel, and Jenkins shows it to be a dark and unfulfilling practice at times, especially in some of the more elite firms.  The author really showcases just how bad these companies are when it comes to the treatment of women as two of the book’s central characters are female partners in Howard Green who have to constantly deal with their male colleagues’ condescension and manipulations, and there are several pointed scenes where the arrogant male managers fail to listen to the women even when they are right.  There is also a focus on the way law firms sycophantically woo potential clients, bending over backwards to get hired, and this adds some intriguing angles to the drama.  Finally, there is also quite a dark look at the demand for profits over people, as there is a constant fear of firings and layoffs, even for the best employees.  This critical presentation of a professional law firm is pretty striking and it results in some powerful scenes throughout the course of the book, especially as the people stuck in these firms often refuse to escape it, no matter how bad it gets.  I felt this examination of the profession in Australia added so much to the outstanding story and it helps to make How to Kill a Client really stand out.

Overall, How to Kill a Client was an outstanding and captivating debut from new Australian author Joanna Jenkins and one I had a wonderful time reading.  Blending compelling legal elements with a fascinating, character-driven mystery, How to Kill a Client has a brilliant story that takes the reader on a powerful and twisty journey.  Slick, emotionally rich, and filled with exceptional characters, How to Kill a Client is one of my favourite debuts of 2023 so far, and I cannot wait to see what epic reads Jenkins will release in the future.

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Sparring Partners by John Grisham

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Short Stories, Thriller5 Comments

Sparring Partners Cover

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (Trade Paperback – 31 May 2022)

Series: Standalone/Short Story

Length: 306 pages

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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In the mood for more legal thriller awesomeness from the mind of legendary author John Grisham?  Then make sure to grab a copy of his new short story collection, Sparring Partners.

John Grisham is an author who needs very little introduction, especially after dominating the thriller field for over 30 years.  However, I must admit that I only recently checked out his work with the 2021 book, The Judge’s List.  The Judge’s List was an extremely captivating novel that saw a determined investigator dive into allegations that a sitting judge was also a devious serial killer.  I really enjoyed this fantastic book and it definitely convinced me that I needed to read more of Grisham’s books.  Well, I recently got the opportunity to do so when I picked up a copy of Grisham’s latest release, the short story collection Sparring Partners.

Sparring Partners is an intriguing book that contains three of Grisham’s compelling short stories.  Made up of Homecoming, Strawberry Moon and the story Sparring Partners, this collection was an awesome and fun read that will really appeal to established Grisham fans.  I personally had a great time with it, and I ended up getting through it in three short intervals, knocking off one story at a time.  All three stories are quite entertaining in their own right, and together they prove to be an excellent and awesome exploration of Grisham’s style and love of the legal thriller.

The first of these stories is Homecoming, which takes the reader back to Ford County, which has served as the fictional setting of many of Grisham’s novels.  This story follows a small group of lawyers who find themselves in a unique situation when a disgraced former colleague returns to the fold.  Homecoming starts when small-time lawyer Jake Brigance suddenly receives a letter from long-lost friend and fellow lawyer Mack Stafford.  Years ago, Mack suddenly and unexpectantly fell off the grid, taking a stack of money from his clients and vanishing to parts unknown.  Considered a legend by the local legal community, Mack left behind a wife and two kids, and no one has ever understood the reasons for his disappearance.  Now, Mack is determined to return to Ford County and wants Jake and his friend Harry Rex Vonner to help navigate the waiting legal difficulties.  But as Jake and Harry work to secure Mack’s return, some members of Ford County are less than eager to see him come back and will ensure that retribution is waiting for him if he does.

Now I must admit that the first entry in this book is probably the weakest, as Homecoming does not have the most gripping narrative of the three short stories in Sparring Partners, mainly due to its low stakes.  However, it still proves to be a very compelling and interesting narrative that sees a disgraced fugitive lawyer who went through a major mid-life crisis attempt to return to the scene of the crime.  Loaded with characters with big personalities, this proves to be a very entertaining entry, and I enjoyed the unique and character-driven narrative that it contained.  Grisham provides some intriguing insights into small-town lawyering, while also taking the time to dive into some of the more significant characters.  There is a great focus on the character of Mack, especially around why he did what he did, and I really enjoyed the moving moments that looked at the impact his actions had on his family.  However, I did think that the story, while fast paced and interesting, was a bit bland and it never really went anywhere.  Still, this was a great introduction to the sort of stories you can expect in Sparring Partners and I had a wonderful time reading it.

The next entry in Sparring Partners is the powerful and intimate story, Strawberry Moon.  Set inside a death row of a prison, Strawberry Moon follows Cody Wallace, a young inmate with only three hours left until his execution.  Waiting for his final moments while his lawyer tries and fails to save him, Cody reminisces on his life and the poor choices, tragedies, and an unfair system that led him there.  But as the last minutes of his life tick away before him, Cody has just one request to the guards around him, one that will make all the difference in the world to him.

Strawberry Moon was the most powerful and heartbreaking of all the three stories contained within Sparring Partners and it serves as the emotional heart of the entire volume.  Grisham paints a grim and realistic picture of a young man who is about to be executed, by examining this remarkable figure’s remaining three hours.  Grisham has produced a deeply compelling and concise narrative that reader will swiftly get drawn into.  The story of Cody Wallace is beyond tragic, and the slow reveal of what he did and why he is about to die really gets to you, especially as it is interposed with scenes from his current existence and mentality, which has resulted in spending half his life in death row.  Watching Cody take pleasure in some of the little things he has as he waits to die is extremely moving, as are his final interactions with some of the more important people in his life, even if they are only passing acquaintances.  This story also serves as a rather blistering indictment of the death penalty system, and Grisham really got his point across extremely well, showing a mostly innocent person get killed for reasons outside of his control.  Easily the best of the three stories contained within Sparring Partners, I had an incredible time with Strawberry Moon, and you will get hit hard in the feels when you read this one.

The final story is the amusing and fast-paced story Sparring Partners, which shares the name of the volume.  Sparring Partners follows the unusual firm of Malloy & Malloy, a storied, family-operated law firm that is going through its greatest challenge.  With the Malloy family patriarch currently in prison for murder, the two remaining Malloy lawyers, brothers Kirk and Rusty, attempt to manage the firm in his stead.  However, the two brothers are polar opposites of each other and have very different ideas about how the firm should be run.  With their feud reaching an all-time high, the firm is in dire straits, and only their neutral colleague, Diantha Bradshaw, seems capable of saving it from ruin.  But Diantha has very different plans, and the firm of Malloy & Malloy may be in some real trouble.

This final story is a great entry as well, and it is definitely the most entertaining piece in the entire book.  Following a law firm in crisis, this was a fantastic and fun blend of legal thriller and family drama, as the entire lawyer family goes at each other trying to win.  Grisham sets the entire scenario up extremely well and shows the multiple conflicts, manipulations and twists in an awesome way.  None of the characters in this story are likeable, and it proves quite enjoyable to watch them fight and bicker throughout Sparring Partners, especially as many of them get what they deserve at the end.  While this entry did feature an extremely convoluted murder and investigation, which was a bit silly, there were a lot of good elements in Sparring Partners, and I had an awesome time getting through it.  A fantastic concluding story for this excellent book!

Overall, Sparring Partners was an interesting read to get through, and I quite enjoyed the various snapshots into Grisham’s imagination and writing style.  All three stories have some excellent merits, and while they aren’t the author’s best work they were very entertaining and compelling.  I loved the mixture of legal scenarios and interesting characters featured within this book, and Grisham’s ability to craft together a concise story even in shortform was on full display.  While Sparring Partners is very accessible to readers unfamiliar to Grisham’s previous works, this is probably best enjoyed by those fans of the author who are hankering for more of his unique stories in between books.  I had a great time reading it and it gave me some more insights into an author I am still not amazingly familiar with.

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