Book Review / The Broker by John Grisham

 

 

 In his final hours in the Oval Office, the outgoing President grants a controversial last-minute pardon to Joel Backman, a notorious Washington power broker who has spent the last six years hidden away in a federal prison. What no one knows is that the President issues the pardon only after receiving enormous pressure from the CIA. It seems Backman, in his power broker heyday, may have obtained secrets that compromise the world's most sophisticated satellite surveillance system.

Backman is quietly smuggled out of the country in a military cargo plane, given a new name, a new identity, and a new home in Italy. Eventually, after he has settled into his new life, the CIA will leak his whereabouts to the Israelis, the Russians, the Chinese, and the Saudis. Then the CIA will do what it does best: sit back and watch. The question is not whether Backman will survive, there is no chance of that. The question the CIA needs answered is, who will kill him?

 

 

Published:     10th January 2005
Publisher:  Delta
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:   Stand-Alone
Source:  Owned

 

MY REVIEW

Having decided to read all of John Grisham's novels starting with his first published and working my way up, I have thoroughly enjoyed the journey each and every book has taken me on.  It has also been very interesting to follow his writing, from book to book, and see his growth as an author.  This book was one of those that I had not picked up yet, so I was reading this for the first time and it definitely did not disappoint.  

I have to admit that I do struggle with stories based on political themes, especially if those are not in the country I am living in, but with this novel it really didn't matter too much.  Everything was told in a way that explained to me what was going on, without being preachy, and made it easier for me to understand what was going on.  

What I loved about this story was the main character Backman, following his story and watching him as he navigates his way through situations that he was being placed in.   You also have the character of Teddy Maynard who while I was reading this I was thinking that I recognised this characters.  Once I had finished reading, I checked out the character and indeed I had come across this character before in The Brethren!  I love it when you have things like this occur in books.

A intriguing and thrilling suspense that I would certainly highly recommend, especially if you like political thrillers.