The Partner

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The Partner
Author	John Grisham
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Legal thriller
Publisher	Doubleday
Publication date	1997
Media type	Hardcover, paperback
Pages	466
ISBN	0-385-47295-1

The Partner (1997) is a legal/thriller novel by noted American author John Grisham.

[edit] Plot

Patrick S Lanigan, a junior partner in a law firm in Biloxi, Mississippi, gets wind of a scheme to defraud the US Government over a shipbuilding overcharging scheme. His firm is deeply involved in the scam, and they're planning to keep him out of it. He bides his time, secretly collecting evidence and then disappears in a fake death. A body is later found, identified as his burned in a car crash and is buried under his name.

Six weeks later, $90 million vanishes from the law firm's off-shore bank account, and he is suspected. The search is on...

Four years later, he is discovered living a new life in a small town in Brazil. He is kidnapped and tortured to reveal the location of the money, which convieniently, he doesn't know. Before he can reveal it, the FBI is informed and he is rescued and repatriated.

With the FBI and police eager to convict him on numerous charges, Patrick, whilst slowly recovering from horrific injuries, schemes with his lawyer Sandy McDermott, to defend the charges whilst revealing details of the scam.

The highlights of the plot are Patrick's foresight that one day he will inevitably be caught, and his immaculate preparation for such a situation. The FBI, the state authorities, his widow and even his lawyer are all at times amazed by the depth of his planning. The beauty of this story is that Patrick defends himself against all the charges, without going to trial, and without spending even a single day in jail. And in the most unexpected twist at the end of the story, the hunted becomes the hunter as Patrick's lover steals the money and runs away.

This was the first novel written by John Grisham that was not adapted into a film.

Preceded by The Runaway Jury

John Grisham Novels 1997

Succeeded by The Street Lawyer

v • d • e Works by John Grisham Novels: A Time to Kill (1989) • The Firm (1991) • The Pelican Brief (1992) • The Client (1993) • The Chamber (1994) • The Rainmaker (1995) • The Runaway Jury (1996) • The Partner (1997) • The Gingerbread Man (Unpublished) (1998) • The Street Lawyer (1998) • The Testament (1999) • The Brethren (2000) • A Painted House (2001) • Skipping Christmas (2001) • The Summons (2002) • The King of Torts (2003) • Bleachers (2003) • Mickey (screenplay) (2004) • The Last Juror (2004) • The Broker (2005) • Playing for Pizza (2007) • The Appeal (2008) Non-fiction: The Innocent Man (2006)