The Broker
(John Grisham)
It?s President Morgan?s last day in office, he has been ousted by a huge margin and thinks of doing something sensational in his last few hours. So when the CIA pressurizes him to grant a pardon to a controversial power broker, he gives in. Joel Backman has been indicted for a scam and has been in federal prison for the past six years. He is carrying a powerful secret involving the world?s most sophisticated satellite system Neptune and the software JAM required to run it. The CIA decides to set him free, give him a new identity, and then sit back and watch who kills him first. Joel Backman is pardoned fourteen years before he is due to leave prison. He is whisked off to Italy and given a new name, Marco Lazzeri. He has to quickly adapt to his new surroundings and also learn a new language, in order to survive. He is helped by Luigi, who is from the CIA and whose job it is to keep an eye on him. In the process, Marco also gets attracted to his sympathetic Italian instructor Francesca Ferro, who has a dying husband and who, ultimately helps him to escape.
The first half of the book is very slow paced. It contains detailed description of the city of Bologna and innumerable Italian lessons. It begins to pick up speed only towards the second half, when Marco is on the run. He manages to fool the Americans, the Chinese, the Russians, the Saudis and the Israelis all at once, even though he is an amateur, up against professionals. Marco uses simple methods like changing streets, buses and disguises to evade his pursuers. He finally manages to reach the US and decides to come clean.
This book, like all of Grisham?s previous novels involves a lawyer in trouble as the central character. But it falls short of the expectations of his fans. It does not involve any courtroom sequences, which are Grisham?s specialty. It is more like a spy thriller and a not so good one at that. The master of thrillers, sadly, seems to be losing his touch.
Resumos Relacionados
- The Broker
- The Broker
- The Broker
- Abstarct On The Broker - A Suspense Novel
- The Broker
|
|
