The Partner by John Grisham

If only I had not been told of this novel’s ending months before I started reading it, I could have thrown away the book in frustration after finishing it.

I’d say this is one of the best Grisham books with one of the most heart breaking endings in the world, even more tragic than Nicholas Sparks’ “Message in a Bottle”.

Why? Read on. Whether I've given spoilers or not, I can't decide. 

Meet Patrick Lanigan. The smart-ass lawyer who fakes his own death to escape from the life he has had, stealing away with him 90 million dollars from the firm he used to work for. For four years he is on the run, living under the shadows, always looking over his shoulder. Then he carefully plans his capture, tipping those who are looking for him about his whereabouts, and ultimately walks his way free from the trouble he created.

Meet Eva Miranda. Lanigan's partner in crime and lover who would go the mile, whatever it cost, to save Lanigan from the ordeal he found himself in. A lawyer herself, Eva is smart, cunning, beautiful – she’s everything a man could want for a woman. Until the day comes when she does the unthinkable, leaving poor Lanigan the burden he never thought of having.

Meet Sandy McDermott. Lanigan’s lawyer and friend who serves as his arm in the outside world, acting out the plans Lanigan weaves in his mind while he is under hospital arrest. Sandy has the air and sarcasm of a lawyer common to most of Grisham’s characters.

For me, Patrick Lanigan is the smartest protagonist among the books I’ve read from Grisham. Imagine, he is detained at the hospital for the burns he got from torture, but still he is able to control the things around him. He meticulously plans everything – from his disappearance to his capture to his freedom – and he ends up successful, though a lot has to be attributed to luck.

Nonetheless, he never runs out of ideas to manipulate people and get them do what he wants. A scheming, devious bastard, as Sandy puts it – but he wins in his game, and there’s no denying his brains are what keep him alive. 

The intensity of the plot escalates in each page – giving you revelation after revelation while your jaw dropped in disbelief and awe in its ingenious plot.

But the best part of it all, and the most unexpected and heart breaking, are the last two pages of the book. Reading it felt like climbing a 100-storey building and having someone push you down just when you've reached the last step.

When Lanigan finally regains his liberty and is about to meet Eva, his ladylove suddenly vanishes without a trace. Not a call, not a note. NADA. He has taught her the art of vanishing, and now Lanigan reaps the seed he has planted in his dear lover.

Breathe. Spell TREACHERY.

Lemme share a few lines that made Lanigan the most wretched of men:

“The city has lost its romance. Alone in his room, he wept from a broken heart, and alone on the streets he cursed the woman he still madly loved. “

“No longer the prey, he was now the hunter, and such a desperate one at that. Her face would not be seen, because he’d taught her how to hide it.”

It’s mind-blowing because the last part showed us the greatest downfall of the brilliant Patrick Lanigan. In a heartbeat, he turned from the rich, confident man he once was into the broke and broken-hearted man Eva made him.

Women. How they inspire you one moment and ruin you the next.

As to why Eva left, we never know. And that’s what made the book amazing, and yes, hateful. I’d give it a 10.5 out of 10 stars!

Blimey, The Partner has replaced The Firm in the number one spot of my all time fave Grisham books. The Firm now holds the top 2 spot, while The Pelican Brief and The Rainmaker share a narrow space somewhere in the third place.

A piece of advice: read it before someone else tells you how it ends! Oops, I think I just did. :)