Thursday, March 24, 2016

The Partner- John Grisham


Though I have not reviewed any Grishams in my blog ( My heart and the diary has a different tale to tell ;) ), the partner is not my first book by the writer and definitely not going to be my last.

A captivating read. The story moves like fluid with mysterious twist and turns, revealing the secrets in its own pace and leaving the readers yearning for more.




Patrick S Lanigan- alias Danilo Silva - a junior partner in a firm in Mississippi in his past, is kidnapped in Ponta Pora, Brazil.

He is supposed to be dead (A victim of car accident four years back, leaving his beautiful wife and daughter alone). Six weeks after his death, $90 million disappears from offshore accounts of his firm. His partners become rattled and slowly the story unfolds- the chase begins.

Lanigan realizes his partners were going to cut him out from his share of profit from the firm, which is involved in defrauding the government through overcharging schemes in a ship building contract. Fed up of his life with a cheating wife, a daughter who wasn't his and double tongued partners in his firm he brilliantly devises a plan and waits to collect evidences. He feigns his own death. After the funeral, he goes into hiding with all the money. As time unfurls, he becomes close with Eva Miranda, an associate in a firm in Rio. Later, she ends up being romantically involved with him and also becomes his partner in crime. 

After his arrest, the trial begins and weirdly enough he is able to manipulate every evidences and circumstances in his favor, but does he succeed? 

Go read the book!

The book has got a perfect amalgam of the law thriller. Government; senator; feigning own death; embezzlement; law suits; theft and ways covered brilliantly using the loopholes of the law.

Immediately after completing the book, I was flabbergasted and my first reaction was - "someone tell me this book has a sequel. It can't end this way. Eva cannot just vanish. She is too good a character to do such a lowly thing. Totally chafed by the ending." But as I re-evaluated the end deeply, I was satisfied with the twist of fate. 

I think Eva stood up for herself at last. She was fed up of being a puppet and pawn of someone else's desire. She wanted to live life on her own terms. At least she had a huge heart to get Patrick off the hook and set him free. I still feel bad for Patrick though. So much brilliance; clockwork like mind; baffling plans; so much physical and emotional assault but ended up all alone, penniless. 

But again, if every sleazy man like the protagonist (yes! sleazy because what the firm did was wrong but his method of revenge was not holy either.), his partners, the senator gets his way unscathed; I would have to start questioning karma. 

Brilliant brilliant work.

A must read by Grisham.

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