Before I start this review, I have to tell you something funny. Three weeks ago, I read and reviewed The Edge, a thriller by David Baldacci. The novel is set in modern-day Maine. Last week I read and reviewed The Frozen River (so good!) by Ariel Lawhon. This was also set in Maine, in the late 1700’s. This week, I just finished The Exchange, by John Grisham. Although the story is set primarily in NYC, the main character, Mitch, travels to many locals, and during the dangerous series of events, he must hide his kids from harm on an island off the coast of…you guessed it….Maine! I am from New England and I’ve been to Maine numerous times, and it’s lovely. However, I think I’m going to look for my next books to be set anywhere, except that most northeastern state!
Review of The Exchange by John Grisham
Now, to the review. The book was a solid four stars (out of five). John Grisham burst onto the scene fifteen years ago with The Firm, in which he and his girlfriend Abby are caught up in a seriously intense mess when he takes a job for a law firm in Memphis. He soon learns that jis new employer is laundering money for the mob. It goes downhill from there, but they eventually manage to elude the bad guys and are forgiven by the good guys, the US government agents who are trying to follow the money as well as round up the crooks.
Now, fifteen years later, Mitch is a partner in one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious law firms. He and Abby are married, and they have twin sons. Living a quiet life with little excitement in NYC has suited them, until a colleague’s kidnapping upends their world. Mitch becomes involved in a lawsuit for $400 million against Muammar Gaddafi’s government, and as the suit comes nearer to trial, Giovanna is captured and held for ransom. Mitch and his colleagues frantically try to plot their next steps, following the instructions that have been made crystal clear: do not involve any authorities, or Giovanna will meet with a swift and brutal death. Meanwhile, Abby becomes embroiled when a stranger approaches her with a cell phone that will keep her in touch with the bad guys as her husband frantically attempts to arrange for a $100 million dollar ransom. The action is non-stop in this intense thriller that will keep the pages turning until the very end.
I read The Firm years ago, and I loved it. The Exchange is every bit as good, and well worth the read. I give it four (out of five) stars.
Recipe for Tabouli (Tabbouleh)
Tabouli is one of my favorite salads. It’s a mix of parsley, tomatoes, bulgur wheat, and onions, all chopped and tossed with olive oil and lemon juice. I could eat it every day, and when I make it, I wonder why I don’t do so more often. It’s a change from my every day cuisine, it’s easy, and it’s so good!
Classic Tabouli
- ½ cup bulgur, cooked according to package directions, cooled completely
- 1 cup diced cucumber (1 small-to-medium)
- 1 cup diced tomato* (1 large)
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 3 medium bunches curly parsley
- ⅓ cup (⅔ ounce) chopped fresh mint (optional but recommended—you can chop it in the food processor with the parsley)
- ⅓ cup chopped green onion
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 to 4 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste
- 1 medium clove garlic, pressed or minced
Chop the cucumbers and tomatoes; put them in a bowl and sprinkle with ½ tsp. salt; let this sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients; drain just before stirring into the cooled bulgur; chop the parsley, mint, and onion, either by hand or in the food processor; add all the ingredients into the bulgur, stirring gently; cool for at least an hour.
Comment: I like to garden, and I always grow parsley and mint; I’m in a very cold climate, Zone 4b, yet my mint is a perennial (meaning it comes back every year). If you like tabouli, why not grow these two simple ingredients so you can enjoy this wonderful salad any time you wish during the summer months? Plant a mint plant from your local garden center, and watch it multiply. For the parsley, buy a packet of seeds and sew into a pot or directly into your garden.
Did you like the book? The recipe? I’d love to know! Please leave a comment.
Thank you.
Pin this for later!
Leave a Reply