Rating: 
Summary: Nothing New
Review: Grisham has descended from the rank of sometimes-decent author to that of bland, predictable, and often obnoxious executor of 1000 cliches. The Partner is a quick read, but not because it's innovative or engrossing. Unfortunately, there is nothing here that hasn't been sampled from countless other formula-driven pieces of pop-culture. The fact that this book was written backward is utterly transparent. Every little plot "twist" is immediately met with a convenient little solution so that we could move swiftly along to the next twist. And as the story unfolds, the writing is unbearably trite and witless, offering identical characters who all speak with unrelenting sarcasm and leaving valuable literary devices such as inference and allegory utterly out of the picture. I'm sure many have and will enjoy this as a flippant read, but please, please, PLEASE don't call this good writing! It is the literary equivalent of a big, flashy summer movie that entertains us, but is appropriately forgotten in a year's time.
Rating: 
Summary: Good and Bad
Review: Though the book was a bit predictable, I liked the writing style and the simplicity of it and loved the plot. I always learn something more about the legal profession when reading Grisham's books. However, he doesn't provide enough character development about co-leading good-guy characters (Eva, Sandy). The way Patrick got out of all his legal troubles was not very realistic but fascinating escapist fare nonetheless. The ending seemed as though he couldn't come up with something better or couldn't decide how to end the story, so with no clues whatsoever along the way, he severed the story abruptly before it was due to end. A clue or two along the way would have made the same ending satisfying and believable, but to have a character suddenly become a totally different person in the last two pages of a book or else to have the character disappear altogether left me feeling duped and pissed off at the author for his lack of planning and feeling like he didn't really do his job all that well after all. With all the thought that went into this book to set up the elaborate plot, I think Grisham could have put a bit more thought into either creating a believable ending or leaving clues along the way. I don't think any reader likes to be 2x4'd at the end of an enjoyable book, which is what the lack of clues makes this out to be.
Rating:
Summary: Good Until the End
Review: Grisham handles this story with characteristic strength and vividness and winds it up with a disappointing and ineffective ending, which is, unfortunately, becoming equally characteristic. Patrick Lanigan, bilks his law firm out of an exorbitant amount of money, then races away from his unhappy life an even unhappier marriage with gazillions of dollars to hide himself in the wilds of Brazil. With the foresight and calculation that are the hallmarks of any self-respecting Grisham hero, Lanigan plans and plots to avoid detection and punishment for his behavior and formulates a plan to hide the money should anything happen to him -- which it does, of course, when he's caught by parties interested in reclaiming their money and figuring out the particulars of his escape. Lanigan is an interesting hero, one who reveals information on his own time schedule, not the schedule of his fellow characters or the schedule of his audience. This strategy makes for compelling storytelling. It's fascinating to watch this particular yarn unravel, and the characters in Lanigan's life -- his barracuda of an ex-wife, his mysterious and exotic Brazilian co-conspirator, his good-ole-boy American former friends, the ruthless snakes out to make Lanigan suffer to achieve their own ends -- create a sense of immediacy and intrigue since they're just as interesting as Lanigan himself. While the majority of the book is terrific, the end (which occurs suddenly within a few pages) is a real letdown. Despite its brevity, the end was enough of a disappointment for me to revoke a star. When you read the story, write me and let me know if you agree!
Rating: 
Summary: John Grisham writes a better ending.
Review: I must say that there are no heroes here. Grisham's earlier books featured clean-cut individuals placed in awkward positions that required difficult decisions and great effort to resolve. By contrast, in this story everyone around has an ethical blindness regards theft and covetousness. Somehow, none of the main characters seems to think that taking fraudulently obtained money is wrong. That said, Grisham has finally begun to write novels that end as well as they begin. Many of his earlier books featured heroes and heroines predictably flying off to a fabulous future with vast sums of money at their disposal. This one has a much better-crafted ending that makes it worthwhile reading it to the end.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly recommended!!
Review: I bought the book when it was first released but never got around to reading it. Finally, the dust was shaken off as I turned the pages wondering what would happen next. Full of twists and surprises, I would say this book is one of Grisham's best work. It's a slow read in the beginning until Patrick starts to unveil morsels of truth about his rumored convictions of theft and murder. I soon found myself frustrated with curiosity and ultimately impatient. Nevertheless, my frustration peaked when I read the last page.
Rating:
Summary: A World of Misconception
Review: John Grisham used this exploratory novel to dazzle the minds of all readers who dare enter its pages. The Partner captivates the audience at the first turn of the page. The wild adventures of Patrick Lanigan are filled with detail to the very end. If you like adventure, torture, theft, deception, betrayal and all those other things that make a seat-grabber novel, this is the book to read. John Grisham is definitely a master in the art of thriller literature.
Rating:
Summary: Great Writing
Review: I loved this book. There were times when I wasn't sure who was good or bad. It made me think and concentrate, really got the brain juices flowing. The ending is perfect, I loved the twist! That was a very smart move Mr. Grisham. Keep cranking 'em out. I love it!
Rating:
Summary: The way you expect a Grisham book to be
Review: Loved the whole book. It is hard to put down and I found that I was holding my breath in a number of places. I did not like the ending though. I do not want to give too much away but the ending looked a bit forced. Excellent otherwise!
Rating:
Summary: The best!
Review: This is simply his best book. In matter of characters, plot, twists, story, and entertainment, I must say this is definitly John Grisham's best. I don't want to describe anything about the book, because I would just deminish the greatness, I would spoil the fun of reading it. Words are short to describe how good this book is. I place this book as my all-time favorite. Ok, I will tell you just a little bit. The book tells about a lawyer who steals 90,000,000 dollars from his own lawfirm. He then plans his own fake-suicide so no one suspects of him... The story then tells us the story of how he runs away, etc... I won't say anything else, now go buy it or if you own it, just read it again!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: One of Grisham's best
Review: This book gets off to a fabulous start. We meet Patrick Lanigan, a southern attorney who ripped off his corrupt law partners for [a large sum of money]and escaped the country, started a new life and found true love. After year's of being tracked, he is caught, tortured and returned to America to face justice (in many forms). The story of his original escape (including committing murder...or did he?) is fascinating, and the book hums along for a long time. His secrets are slowly revealed, and we grow in sympathy for him as we grow in our dislike for his opponents. Grisham keeps things moving along nicely, and the first 75% of the book zooms by enjoyably. But towards the end, we realize Lanigan has planned things SO carefully that virtually all suspense is drained. We sense how things are going to turn out, and all we get to do then is watch our expectations play out quite predictably. Much like Grishams THE RUNAWAY JURY, Grisham drains too much suspense from the proceedings by stacking the deck so highly in favor of the hero. And there really isn't a true climax for that reason, so we don't get to expel any pent up tension, and the book leaves us with a dissatisfied feeling. I still recommend it, though. It's short enough that we don't actually feel "cheated" by the less than thrilling conclusion, we just wish it could have been more. The characters are still enjoyable, and we get to genuinely like some of the players, especially Lanigan and his attorney (and old friend), Sandy. Don't expect this book to be the "be all and end all" and you'll be fine. It's also easy reading and pretty clean (except for some extramarital shennanigans by Patrick's wife), and might make a nice book for a youth (15 or so) looking to make a foray into adult popular fiction.
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