⭐⭐⭐
The Exchange picks up fifteen years after The Firm, but don’t expect the same crackling suspense. Mitch McDeere is back, now a globe-trotting lawyer knee-deep in international legal drama—but the story spends more time in airports than in courtrooms. The constant hopping from city to city slows the pace and muddies the plot.
It opens in Memphis, a nice nod to the original, but quickly abandons that thread and never really looks back. Instead, we’re tossed into a convoluted rescue mission that feels more like a spy novel than a legal thriller. The characters are flat, the villains generic, and the lawyers? Let’s just say if you disliked them before, this book won’t change your mind.
Grisham’s writing is smooth as ever, but the story itself feels unnecessary—like a sequel no one asked for. Mitch doesn’t grow much as a character, and the stakes never feel real. There’s nothing egregiously bad here—it’s just kind of blah.
Fans of The Firm might enjoy the reunion, but this one doesn’t come close to the original’s caliber. If Grisham wanted to reignite the magic, he may have needed more courtroom and less first-class travel.
** Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for a review copy. The opinions are my own.