The average user rating for this Book is 5.1 out of 10 (based on 52 Votes).
Gaurav G gave it a7: Second half was very good
Roger V gave it a3: I am a French reader and fan of Grisham books. Unfortuanteley, this novel is a continuation of non sense situations. All the end we are a little bit disappointed. John, please work more before wiritting mistakes. The Eurostar does not run through Italy, nor Swizerland. Where are your editors ?
te et gave it a10: Best book EVER
Tan C gave it a3: John Grisham has lost his touch? I really don't know what he wants to tell us, except several new terms in Italian..Dissapoinment from a fans.
Doug gave it a7: Thought overall book and plot was great. Hated the neding though. However if there is a sequel, the ending would make a lot more sense.
Alan I gave it a3: This is the first Grisham book I've read and if this one is typical, probably the last. The book was little more than an Italian lesson. The Italian phrasing followed by English translation became very tedious. Some good historical information about Bologna. However, the ending was a cop out. There was no tension, plot arcs unresolved. It just kinda wrapped in about 10 pages. Boring book where nothign happens with a poor ending.
adrian gave it a5: Whats up with the ending? The story started strong but when it came closer to the resolution, it became less interesting. Hey, at least i learned some Italian :)
Amit K gave it a4: Agree with most other readers - the buildup was awesome and got me hooked, but the end was kind of a let-down. Maybe I just expected a much more exciting finale after the fairly unique start. Definitely not Grishams best.
Cathal O'R gave it a3: If I wanted to learn Italian I would have bought an Italian tutor book. Disappointed in this very padded "Thriller"! Core Idea good but the rest seems rushed together.
Matt C gave it a4: I felt that the book started out reasonably well, but an inordinate amount of detail was spent on Marco's Italian lessons. Grisham introduced several interesting "bad guys" (don't want to spoil the "suspense") but then abandoned every single one of them in the final 40 pages of the book. The ending appearered to very rushed and any sense of credibility was thrown out the window. Overall, a promising beginning, but ultimately a very, very disappointing read.
Mary-J B gave it a4: The Broker had all the potential for being a great read but it was raggedy and disorganized. I hate seeing that interesting reseach fall so flat. Where are his editors?
paul k gave it a4: Gumchewing and throwing stale bread to the gulls, as literary canon. Chicken soup for the soulless.
[Anonymous] gave it a3: Grisham is my favorite author!! Was surprised with this horrid effort! Waste a Time!!
carlos g gave it a5: Definitely, not one of Grisham's best. The story-telling is just OK. Too much time spent on teaching Italian lessons, drinking coffee…. - and the end of the story was a knock down. I, personally, do not recommend it.
drew B gave it an8: I thought Grisham did a good job changing up his style for once, i thoroughly enjoyed this book because it was different than his usual court room thrillers. I liked the plot and connected to the main charactors.
Ben S gave it a3: Somewhat even, But is overall weak NOT suspenseful like other Grisham's DISAPOINTING!
Mike B gave it a2: Very weak effort. I suspect this book was written in less than 6 weeks. Little in the way of research - which to his credit or discredit, depending on your viewpoint- is admitted in the prologue.
Brian T gave it a2: A very tedious, pointless effort. Most of the novel concerns drinking coffee in various cafes and learning Italian. Grisham has never been a particularly accomplished writer but at least many of his novels were pretty well plotted and suspenseful. My personal favorites were "The Firm and the Rainmaker". This is by far the worst of his novels. I felt ripped off and I took it out of the library.
[Anonymous] gave it an8: Not his best, but a good overall book I was hooked from the begining. As always i couldnt put it down for the last 100 or so pages.
L. L. Reed gave it a10: I found the book very entertaining. I think Grisham is a master storyteller and I cannot wait until his next book comes out.
Jeff G gave it a3: I wish I had looked at the reviews before reading The Broker. In a post-script, Grisham admits to having little technical knowledge, but the repeated use of the word "hacker" to describe someone capable of retrieving email was more than a little distracting given this was a novel involving high-tech espionage. Many of the characters were abandoned in the midst of development, and the conclusion seemed hastily prepared and disappointing. Still, Grisham’s story-telling ability shines just often enough to prevent abandoning the book altogether. Overall, The Broker is a fine example of a talented writer going through the motions and cashing in on his significant name equity.
John W gave it a1: This was a terrible book. Grisham has written two, maybe three good books: The Firm, The Pelican Brief, and maybe The Client. Everything since then is pedestrian at best and not engaging in any way. This book is so thoroughly unbelievable and even silly that I only finished it because I usually hate to stop in the middle of a book. I think Grisham was just going through the motions to get another source of royalties from people who have been seduced into thinking that anything Grisham writes is worth reading. If you want a really good thriller, try Peter Spiegelman's Black Maps. He really knows how to write and to tell a story. Skip this one.
Harold F gave it a1: Terrible book with a very disappointing ending. How many cups of coffe can one drink...I know I needed quite a few to keep awake while reading it. This book took no effort whatsover to write...very disappointed...Grish should stay with the subject matter that he knows best.
Rei R gave it a6: It was like "Lost": A lot of things can happen, but nothing happens. Too much learning italian. Anyway it was fun and the characters are very nice.
Brent T gave it an8: Reading other user and critic reviews, wanted to chime in. This isn't explosions and gunplay -- much less like Alistar MacLean and more like LeCarre. Grisham is great to read for the same reasons Robin Cook is -- learning stuff while a story entertains. It was clear this book was going to be a lesson and tribute of Italy. For that I'm grateful because otherwise this is a spice in life I'd miss. Books are for escape and learning -- and I commend Grisham for painlessly educating his readers. Might I also recommend the audio version my wife listened to of this book. Hearing bits of it was impressive!
Levi D gave it a6: Very interesting book - felt like it was "just another Grisham novel" but I really like how he took it out of the court room for a change. It was a cool direction for a Grisham novel to go in, but didn't develop enough for me. Imaginitive storytelling, but only gets a six. Reminded me of some books I've just read: Company Man (Joseph Finder) and Manhook (Ken Ratcliffe) - both of which are corporate thrillers you might like if you enjoyed this new one from Grisham!
TENNY T gave it a6: The book has definitely a good beginning and a thrilling climax, the mid portions look like a forced travelogue. Grisham has tried unsuccessfully to be a Forsyth and he should stick to what he writes the best.-law. the story besides has a lot of loopholes especially the character of CIA director Terry Maynard and the absence of Aaron Lake (as seen in Brethren)..the plot simply doesnt sum up....
Tom S gave it a2: Weak and predicable. Not one of his better works. Grisham should take a long break before writing his next novel.
Elizabeth W gave it an8: Another great book by my favorite author, not his usual style, but still a great read. Any military person can see that what happens in the plot could actually be true!! Great book, but like the ciurtroom drama better.
John P gave it a10: One of the best Grisham books i have ever read. This book commands respect in everyway. A real page turner.
Steve S gave it a1: This is not a Novel, it's garbage. My 13 year old could have written a more entertaining book. If Grisham is that hard up for money let's do a phone-a-thon. That's my last Grisham purchase
William P gave it a7: Typical Grisham, except with a little more "high tech" thrown in. A page turner from beginning to end. Not much new for Grisham but t;hat's better than most fiction writers.
Ivan C gave it a3: This novel is painfully predictable and rudimentarily crafted. Grisham's persistent reference to the Italian cuisine and Backmans' desire to master Italian turns naggy after awhile. Quite a disappointment.
Ryan M gave it a2: I really felt as though this book was not good at all. Grisham is probably my favorite author, but this one was not good.
Jacqueline T gave it a7: More a travel book than the usual action-packed Grisham. However, in the light of the recent USA elections, a very interesting angle on the shenanigans that might go on in high places, of which I have little doubt. As the Upanishads say: "God gives power to those He wants to destroy".
Tom K gave it a3: The Broker is simply implausibe. We are asked to believe that the CIA have released a power broker who was jailed for possession of software that has jammed a sattelite system that nobody will admit to owning. The permise is that, once released, the CIA will let other countries know his whereabouts and the one that kills him will be the owner of the sattelites. As any of the four countries could have got to him I fail to see how this would tell them anything. For example, the Chinese would have interoggated him before killing him ... but why should they share this intelligence with the Americans? It´s nonsense. The CIA could (and were it real would) have ´brokered´a deal with Blackman to retrieve the JAM software after he´d been softened up in prison - or even before he was jailed. The question of why he was sent to Italy is never adequately explained and the preparation for his new life is long, tedious and what might have been the more interesting deal he reached after coming back to America was rushed because of the pages used up to describe his time in Italy. Stick to what you know Mr Grisham ... and get a better editor!
Andrw P gave it a4: My first impressions of this book was built on the hype before it was released. I thought it was going to be a fantastic spy novel with a Bourne Identity feel but, alas I was dissappointed. This was my first Grisham novel and I was not that all impressed. The book felt dead. To many ideas were re-iterated and too much italian filler. The background of the characters are vague and the many questions that are not answered. But I do commend Grisham for stating that this type of novel is not usual write, and no doubt I can see that. Stick to legal matters Grisham.
Tim R gave it a7: I thought the 'The Broker' was very good, but the ending left alot to be desired. I was very interested until that point. The ending also left alot of unanswered questions. So, I'm thinking Grisham had a sequel in mind.
Declan C gave it a3: Im giving it 3 because someone went to the trouble of printing it. Very disappointing effort from Mr G. If I knew the Italian I'd write the translation here. If I wanted to learn Italian I'd buy a tape. The Da Vinci Code was threadbare but not as bare as this. Microphones of super sensitivity that can pick up the sound of a hair are placed in Mr Backmans room but they cant pick up the sound of two agents whispering later on in the book. Nonsense!
Nate W gave it a2: What a miserable read. Perhaps one page of content for every 50 pages of boring copy. Needless development of characters with no bearing on the story. No climax and no resolution. It was obviously Grisham's travel journal spilled into another disappointing novel with a title beginning with "The..."
Bob Radowiecki gave it a5: He really used to much filler. Like page after page of translations. Why ? For what ? We got the point Joel was trying to learn Italian. What became of the "Tin Man ?"
Daisuke S gave it an8: Though I can see the efforts that John Grisham portrays in this novel, I can see him selling more novels by writing legal thrillers.
Terri G gave it a6: Grisham has written much better works. The ending was anti-climatic and rudimentary.
joe f gave it a6: Felt like an Italian travelogue.
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