The Broker

written by John Grisham

I've been out of the Grisham scene for a couple years. Not because he fell out of favor with me, but because I ran out of his books to read. I thought I had read all of them except the newest one (the one based on a true story). So when I ran across this one at the library I was surprised I had missed it. John Grisham novels are like an old shoe - sometimes overworked and weary but always comfortable - so I couldn't not pick it up.

Portions of the book are formulaic Grisham: he builds sympathy for a crooked but amiable protagonist, and drops him in an unknown place where he (and you) have to get to know the town (in this case, Bologna, Italy) and the culture in order to fit in. There's a little bit of legal and political stuff thrown in, because that's what Grisham does best. But most of the book is about espionage and an American man trying to reinvent himself in another country after a sudden and inexplicable release from prison and a presidential pardon for the treasonous dealings he engineered in Washington six years prior. Several covert agents from four different countries want his head on a platter, and the CIA (who also wouldn't mind him dead) leaks his whereabouts to these enemies, so the poor guy's on the run from the get-go.

Of Note:

• At times throughout the book, you almost get the feeling you're reading about Grisham's notes from an Italian vacation. There's a lot of travelogue-type stuff in here that you won't necessarily appreciate if (like me!) you've never been to Italy. There's also a fair amount of annoying insertions of Italian phrases as you observe the main character, Joel Backman, trying to learn Italian.
• At a few points in the beginning of the novel, you get a glimpse of the bumblehead president who pardons Backman. Something familiar about that...
• Unlike other authors in this genre, Grisham is pretty tasteful when he chooses to blend in romance with his plots. In this book, Joel Backman has an Italian language tutor, Francesca Ferro, who ends up helping him escape Italy. You get the feeling there could be a nice little little happily-ever-after brewing, but then he abruptly leaves Italy on the lam and at first it doesn't look like he'll be returning. On the last page, though, Grisham brings Francesca back into the picture. I like the way he did that. No raunchy side plots were needed.
• The book could've gotten a lot more mileage out of the relationship between Backman and his son Neal, who helps him escape the foreign villains who are out to get him. Neal was a very flat character.
• The action really cranks up in the last hundred pages or so. If you can bear with the Fodor-esque tour of Italy in the middle 25 chapters, you'll like the ending.