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The Broker By John Grisham ( Delta )
Release Date: 2006-09-26
Average Customer Rating:
List Price: $13.00
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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.
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Amazon.com Review
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 Exclusive Video Interview with John Grisham 
Watch the interview (high bandwith)Watch the interview (low bandwith) |
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 |
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 A Good Grisham Novel
I thought this was one of his better books. It has the elements of a Grisham novel that I like. A well developed main character who isnt exactly squeaky clean but finds himself in much more trouble than he probably deserves. I read another critic who stated Grisham was trying and failed to write a "Jason Bourne" type novel but I don't think thats true here at all. Grishams character is fairly normal person, with some flaws who's life became out of control and he inadvertanly got in trouble way over his head.
The only minor flaw was the tutoring learning Italian was a little drawn out.
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 Author justifies his Italian holiday ( bobpieters2000 )
What a disappointment! Sadly it feels as if Mr Grisham went to Italy on holiday and kept a diary which loosely has the novel based around it. Perhaps he got some kind of tax break but one feels it from about one third into it. The story hangs on some long credulity stretches which feel terribly forced. Not recommended unless you are a Grisham and Italy fan.
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FUN BUT IMPLAUSIBLE ( cscottdavis )
The Broker by John Grisham is a nice and fun read. In full disclosure, I must admit that I have a soft spot for Mr. Grisham's writing. Having said that, this book had some real issues. Mostly, The Broker is a good fun read but you must keep your hand pressed firmly on the "I Believe Button" for most of the book.
Like many Grisham books, The Broker is about a fish out of water in an impossible situation. Joel Backman is a former lobbyist who must now face the full fury of the Federal government at its most devious. Without money, reputation, or high powered friends, Backman must start over with a new name, language, and identity. It is a good story.
However, there are some real problems with this book. First, the entire plot is driven by the inability or unwillingness of the CIA to kill an American citizen. Yet, one of the early sequences in the novel is one where the CIA kills a former political advisor to the President. Second, the book has a Major as the head of the DIA. A Major is a relatively junior officer. Normally, the DIA is led by a three star General or Admiral.
Overall, this is a good book for the beach or a plane ride. Don't expect it to be realistic, accurate, or great literarature.
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 A Struggle to Read
As previous disappointed readers before me have stated, (for a summary of the plot any one of the 500+ descriptions from reviews prior to mine will do) The Broker was not John Grisham's best work by a long shot. The story was flat and definitely not a legal thriller and the ending was boring. I struggled to finish the novel, hoping it would somehow get better toward the end of the story, sadly, that was not the case.
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 'The Broker' by John Grisham.
I have read all John Grisham's books. I have enjoyed his 'lawyer' books, though not his other offerings. However 'The Broker' stroke a cord with me, too such an extent that I read the book several times in the first year. Something I have never done with any other book.
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Addiction
