The Broker by John Grisham (2005)
John Grisham is known for his legal thrillers. With The Broker, he decided to try his luck with a political thriller. He should stick with what he knows best.
The story begins when the outgoing president makes some last minute pardons, thus Joel Backman is sprung from a federal pen. He had been imprisoned for trying to broker a billion-dollar deal over some software that could control a secret spy satellite system. The rationale, as explained in the book, was somewhat fuzzy.
The aging CIA agent arranges for Backman to be released from prison and sets the scene for him to be assassinated by someone else ~ the Chinese, Saudis, the Israelis, the Russians ~ it wouldn’t matter, just so long as the deed was accomplished. Again, why?
Backman, who had been a powerful attorney on the Washington scene, does not have the background to be a spy, so how does he know how to go about all this business, specially since his had been in prison for the past six years. Furthermore, his new life as a spy trying to stay alive, requires him to use sophisticated computers and telephones ~ something that he had his secretaries deal with in his pre-prison life.
After his release from prison, he is given a new name and ostensibly a new life in Italy. The CIA sits back to wait his assassination. He quickly realizes that he must trust no one, not even his handler. He has a beautiful Italian tutor, who has a dying husband. But of course, how convenient.
The book is a fast-paced read, but is a bit like eating too much cotton candy. At the end, I was left unsatisfied.
Read: April 26, 2010
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