Literary slugger John Grisham's The Partner is a story about--surprise!--a lawyer in trouble. Patrick Lanigan had been a young partner in a prominent Southern law firm. He had a beautiful wife, a new baby girl, and a bright future. Then one winter night Patrick was trapped in a burning car; the casket they buried held nothing but ashes.

A short distance away, Patrick watched his own burial then fled. A fortune was stolen from his ex-firm's offshore account. And Patrick ran, covering his tracks the whole way.

But, now, they've found him. --Peter Ducasse

2008-05-11 Portrait of a Flawed Legal Genius

A great lawyer is meticulous, calculating, aggressive, relentless, and prepared for anything. John Grisham lovingly shares an intricate plot to provide you with an unforgettable portrait of those qualities in action. In the process, you'll also see a man whose soul is offended by his profession.

Ultimately, this book is about a dream . . . a dream that may be more dangerous than an addictive drug. What will you do to capture your dream? That's what you'll be asking yourself after you read The Partner.

The beginning of the book seems like an international espionage thriller. A group of private detectives track down a fugitive to a little town in Brazil near the border with Paraguay. They pounce, and the fugitive is in for his worst nightmare . . . remorseless torture aimed at getting him to tell something he doesn't know.

Soon, an unlikely intervention creates a whole new vector for the story. The fugitive has to face the music from a lot of angry lawyers . . . including his former partners.

Like many legal thrillers, you'll be getting no more information than you need to know to follow the action. Pay attention to the questions that occur to you: Thinking about what might have happened is half the fun of this book.

If you aren't interested in the ins and outs of how lawyers think about criminal issues, you won't like this book as much as I did. I was impressed at how well the legal issues were displayed without being too technical. Remember that lawyers usually spend a lot of time thinking through how the opposing attorney will respond to various probes.

Watch out for the unexpected!