The Firm (Paperback)

The Firm tells the story Mitchell McDeere - Mitch, practically the best that Harvard Law School has to offer, is in demand. All the big boys want him, Wall Street, you name it. After the interview he passed before he got there, he starts work, as a tax layer for Bendini, Lambert & Locke, a small Memphis firm that are apparently more of a family than a firm. The trouble starts hear.

What started out as a very rosy beginning for Mitch, a new BMW, house and student loan paid off by the firm not to mention a huge salary, begins to turn into a nightmare. The firm is not legit. Their crooks. Now Mitch has to get out.

This book, I think, was once described as a compulsive page turner, and man, thats so right. Comfortably within my top five books of all time. And something you need to read! Very strongly recommended to the first time reader of the fantastic and brilliantly talented Grisham.

If you've never read a Grisham - you've never read.

However, as the book progresses it begins to lose its way. Mafia characters appear who are lifted straight out of ganster central casting. The plot get more and more far fetched and the whole thing is let down by the authors attempt to have it every possible way with the ending. Which is a shame because it started so well.

However what he didn't expect was an offer from a smaller company in Memphis called Bendini, Lambert and Locke who are ready to beat the highest offer of any of the New York of Chicago Firms exceeding Mitch's wildest dreams and fantasies.

The Bendini firm charms the pants of Mitch and it's not long before him and his beautiful wife are heading south to their beautiful new house and BMW, a far cry from the student digs and broken down heap they have been driving while Mitch slugged his way through law school.

'The Firm' is much more than meets the eye, and as they begin to swamp Mitch with work for the bar exam and renovations for his new house, he is approached by an FBI agent early on who informs him that no one has ever left his firm alive! Some have tried and all have ended up dead, for his new employers are none other than the mob itself, and unbeknown to him Mitch has just bought into a life in the mafia, whether he likes it or not.

His only way out is to steal files and hand them over to the feds, thus exposing the corruption, however in doing this not only will he be disbarred for breach of the lawyer client privilege, but he will also face a certain death sentence and a life on the run in the witness protection program. Mitch has a decision to make.

I loved this book, much more so than the film version, which i must say is also a very good adaptation matching the book stride for stride except for a few minor details and ending totally different, which was refreshing and enjoyable.
I felt the book also gave more food for thought and allowed for better plot and character development as so often is the case. I would highly recommend this book as an enjoyable thriller that you'll find easy to get into and hard to put down, enjoy!