Product Description

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?


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12814 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-26
• Released on: 2006-09-26
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Amazon.com
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

From Publishers Weekly
Readers will find an amiable travelogue to Italy and its charms in Grisham's latest. What they won't find are the suspense and inspired plotting that have made the author (The Last Juror, etc.) one of the world's bestselling writers. Yet Grisham remains a smooth storyteller, and few will fail to finish this oddball tale of what happens to ruined D.C. powerbroker Joel Blackman, 52, when he's suddenly released from federal prison after six years. Teddy Maynard, legendary CIA director, has engineered the release in order to put Joel into a variant of the witness protection program and then see who kills him. Many want him dead—the Saudis, the Israelis, especially the Chinese—because of his role in trying to sell a global satellite spy system that would alter the world's balance of power; that was what got Joel imprisoned, and the CIA hopes that whoever kills him will clue them in to who may have access to the satellites. Joel is relocated to Bologna, and much of the narrative consists of his touring that city, its historic sights and its many restaurants, and learning Italian ways from his male handler, Luigi, and his language tutor, Francesca—a middle-aged woman with whom he falls in love. A major subplot concerns Joel's secret dealings with his stateside son to prepare for escape from Bologna if necessary. Eventually, the CIA leaks Joel's whereabouts to his enemies, who dispatch killing teams. Can Joel broker his way to safety? There's some depth to the troubled relationship between Joel and his tutor, but otherwise the novel reads like a contented afterthought to a memorable Italian vacation, with little action or tension, plastic characters and plot turns that a tricycle could maneuver. Still, anyone wishing to learn how and why Bologna built its famed porticos, why to be wary of most Italian desserts and how to send an encrypted wireless message using a global cell phone will find that information cheerfully given here. (Jan. 11)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
Grisham's latest novel is the story of Joel Backman, a lawyer and international deal maker who went to prison for trying to broker satellite spy software to the highest bidder. At the urging of the CIA, Backman is pardoned and whisked to Italy, where the Agency sets him up to see which country will murder him. Of course, the plan goes awry. Grisham's plot is thoroughly entertaining, and Michael Beck's reading is equally engaging. Beck captures Backman's fear at knowing that no one can be trusted and excels at his seamless transitions to and from English and Italian, the language Backman must learn to survive. Although this is not a legal thriller, Grisham's fans will be pleased, and listeners will enjoy the chase. D.J.S. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Fun for lovers of Bologna
I was pretty disappointed with all the fictional elements of this book. There was an unbelievable plot, terrible dialogue, and characters that never develop or interest the reader. It would have been less stars but I lived in Bologna for a year and I have weakness for anything of the kind.

Fine as far as it goes
I'm not an avid reader of Grisham's - I might have read a couple of his early books in high school - so I can't really measure this against previous work. As a suspense/thriller type book, it's fine as far as it goes. The plot isn't terribly complicated and it is difficult to get very involved...at the end of the book, I was left with a feeling of, well, not much. Still, it is a fun read and has inspired me to visit Bologna!

It built and it built... for what?
This is the only John Grisham book I have read, and I was very disappointed.
Basically, the plot takes the standard ingredients of a spy novel (foreign countries, powerful Washington players with hidden motives, secrecy, scary technology, etc.) and throws them in a bowl, expecting a great thriller to automatically come out. The plot keeps hinting at intrigues, keeps building up to a big climax, but never reaches it.
For instance (spoiler alert, but it shouldn't matter because I don't recommend the book to anyone), it introduces the character of this great Chinese assassin, builds him up to be the deadliest, most effective assassin in the world, shows him closing in on the target, and then -- nothing. He's completely dropped with no explanation!
I actually liked the whole sub-plot of the protagonist having to learn Italian in a hurry. But it was all for nothing, because he never had to use it in the end. Use that in another book, it would be great!
This book was a waste of time! I'll give Grisham another try, with something more well-liked by his fans, but for anyone considering this book, I wouldn't recommend it at all.