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The eclectic Grisham The excellent writing style and expertly paced plot in THE BROKER reminded me of some of Jackson McCrae's writings-----his CHILDREN'S CORNER comes to mind, as does the writing in some of Elmore Leonard's book. Once again Grisham proves he is the master of intrigue. Joel Backman is our character attorney for this new thriller. He had a foot in every door in Washington DC. He attempted to broker a deal for a satellite spy system that caused ripples everywhere, went sour and he got himself some jail time with the deal held in the balance. He spends six years in prison before the director of the CIA takes up the cause for a pardon and the President has Backman released. He is now a target of several agencies that want him dead and the weave of the plot that follows as he is hunted is the tastiest nugget of the book. When Backman is released he is taken under protective custody to Bologna, Italy where Grisham takes some time to describe some of the surroundings and convey some of the different aspects of learning to live in a different culture. I thought it was similar to the direction he took in THE LAST JUROR where he went into detail about the aspects of a small Mississippi town and got some criticism for it but here as there, I don't think it detracts from the appealing pace of the book at all. The book is as usual for Grisham easy to follow and very fast to finish. A fantastic read, one of his better books.