The Firm

I listen to every book Grisham wrote over and over again. At my age, I can safely hide my own Easter eggs, so my favorite books become new again in 7 or 8 months. Every Grisham book except this one. Scott Brick's narration style just does not sit well with me. His voice lilts like a Sunday School teacher's in a class of 6 year olds. Is he singing or narrating? However, other Grisham narrators like Michael Beck and Frank Muller are without peer, so I am jaded. Not about the talent, rather the story, you might say? Not so in audio books. Narration makes ALL the difference. I guess Ed Herrmann can't read 'em all, and John Boutsikakis, perhaps the best ever, left us way too early. Brick had the deck stacked against him before I hit play button. I am forever spoiled by favorite talent that I have come to enjoy immensely.

The movie was very good, and departs from the novel more than most scripts do. I liked the book just fine, but not better in this case. When I read, or the one time I listened, I saw in my mind Cruise & Brimley and the others. The story transports the reader very well, and the addition of side trips like McDeere's brother Ray, and the PI Eddie Lomax really enrich the plot. The reader FEELS the gradual swing of the pendulum as Mitch McDeere goes from exuberant new hire at the Firm, to a realization that all is not as it was represented to him, to fugitive from both the law and the mob. The action never ebbs, the story never bogs down, and the reader finds himself hanging on for dear life and loving every minute of it. The one somewhat less than believable character is Mitch's wife Abby. Her inner resolve and strength seemed to evolve from out of nowhere.

It is a good read, and the movie is very good, which is a rare thing in the inevitable "translation" give and take, but in audio it is not up to par. Still, I must recommend the book rather than the audio. Grisham’s “The Testament” is my all time favorite and listened to often.

I read The Firm in the 90's. it's always stuck with me, even the the movie wasn't very good. I decided to listen to the book that I read in 2 days 15 years ago, and I was hooked. I would sit in my car listening, take my Zune around and listen, it's just fantastic.

After reading this addictive mystery-thriller many years ago, I decided to revisit this story through the audiobook. This audiobook was amazing. Great reading. Riveting plot. Mitch McDeere, a Harvard law School star, takes a too-good-to-be-true job with a law firm in Memphis. Questions arise as the body count builds, and Mitch and his wife need to figure out what's going on and how to stay alive. Unlike so many thrillers these days, there is one plot, and it is strong enough to keep me glued to this story from start to end. I've read or listened to hundreds of books of this genre, and this is in a small handful of the most fun and very best. It is up there with Finder's "Paranoia" and Baldacci's" Absolute Power." If you are looking for the best escape-reading thriller, listen to or read "The Firm." I won't say more. I don't want to be a spoiler. If you haven't read or listened to "The Firm," do it!

As most fans know, John Grisham writes about 3 or 4 stock stories over and over again with only slight variants. If you like them (and I do) this is OK. I don't know how Grisham does it, but even though you know exactly what's going to happen as soon as you finish the first chapter, you still hang on as if you didn't to the very end. The Firm is 100% vintage Grisham and a real page-turner. Scott Brick is one of the best readers in the business IMHO.

The story comes to life under the fantastic narration of Scott Brick. Much better than the movie. The details are amazing. One of my Grisham favorites and well worth the money. Enjoy.

top 10

no first one

great read kept me interested the whole time looking forward to more fro this author

Out of a couple of dozen I've listened to on Audible and as an avid reader all my 83 years it is a 8
Remember that I was not a Grisham fan. I chose to listen because Scott Brick is an exceptional narrator and I have chosen other novels because he has been the narrator.I never saw the movie but remember that it was a great hit at the time of its release.

The plot did keep me wanting to listen and not put the book down but near the denoument it started to weaken and become more implausible. I found the ending trite after all the excitement and excellent building of suspense. But as we all know reading is very subjective and another reader/listener may feel entirely different about my last statement. Mr Brick made it sound almost plausible with his excellent reading but I felt that the writer was struggling to please his audience.

As I have said earlier I have chosen to read an authour who is new to me or who I have not been to excited about simply because Scott Brick was the narrator. Sufficeth to say he is superb as always and I rate him #1 amongst his field.

Not particularly but as said before it held my attention while I was listening.

My favourite authours are David Baldacci, Stuart Woods, and Jeffrey Deavers Lincoln Rhimes series.
I had not seen the film The Firm and will not spoil my enjoyment of the book by seeking it out now. The only book I ever read and the movie industry didn't foul it up in some way was The Hunt for Red October!

I kept thinking, "Oh no, watch out for that guy you can't trust him"..."It's no good, Mitch, you're smarter than that...no, no!" I was with him all the way!

I loved Mitchs' creativity! No wonder he was 5th in his graduating class! I loved how he handled Them. And he was cool in every sense of the word.

That was the only part I didn't care for about the story. He tried to be so slick and he came off sounding "smarmey". His accents were all off. Sorry, couldn't do it in '3 words'.

When Abbey confronted the Fibbie on the bus and relayed to him so much info about the operation.....he was confounded that she knew so much and wasn't even aware of who she was. And then when she told him just how many files they had copied ...... Wow! He was amazed. He knew he wasn't dealing with just any lawyer.

Once I knew this Bendino Law Firm had thier hooks into Mitch, I couldn't put my mp3 down. I had watched the Firm on tv last year, so I had him in my mind.......mmmmm.

I have long wanted to listen to the audiobook of The Firm but Audible only had an abridged version. When I saw that they had added an unabridged version, read by my favorite narrator Scott Brick, nonetheless, I jumped on it. The book is very good but winds up deviated significantly from the book. The story is definitely entertaining, but I have to admit, this is one of those rare cases where I think I preferred the film. That being said, it is an excellent audiobook that was engrossing and kept me engaged. As such, I am happy to give it four stars.

It's a matter of person to person. Some enjoy print better, it seemed more personal listening to it.

Yes, it always ended with a type of cliff hanger. Every chapter ended with me wanting more.

I haven't listened to any of Scott Brick's performances, but based on this I will most definitely.