The Broker: A Novel - Hardcover

Grisham, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385510454 ISBN 13: 9780385510455

Publisher: Doubleday, 2005

Synopsis

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?

About this title

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

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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

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A Time to Kill	The Pelican Brief	The Client
The Firm	The Rainmaker	The Chamber

About the Author:

John Grisham is the author of Skipping Christmas, The Summons, A Painted House, The Brethren, The Testament, The Street Lawyer, The Partner, The Runaway Jury, The Rainmaker, The Chamber, The Client, The Pelican Brief, The Firm, and A Time to Kill. He lives with his family in Mississippi and Virginia.

About this edition

• Publisher: Doubleday
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0385510454
• ISBN 13: 9780385510455
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 368