# The Exchange: After The Firm
**The Exchange: After The Firm** is a 2023 legal thriller by the American novelist [John Grisham](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-grisham) and a sequel to his 1991 bestseller *The Firm*, returning to the character Mitch McDeere fifteen years after the events of the original novel. Published on October 17, 2023 by Doubleday and JG Publishing, it is a #1 New York Times bestseller.[1](https://jgrisham.com/the-exchange) • [2](https://www.penguinrandomhouseretail.com/book/?isbn=9780385548953)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Author / publication | John Grisham; hardcover published October 17, 2023, 352 pages, $29.95[3](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/709324/the-exchange-by-john-grisham/) |
| Publisher / ISBN | JG Publishing / Doubleday (Penguin Random House), ISBN 9780385548953; cataloged as Volume 2 of The Firm Series[2](https://www.penguinrandomhouseretail.com/book/?isbn=9780385548953) • [4](https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Exchange.html?id=78KzEAAAQBAJ) |
| First printing | 1.5 million hardcover copies announced[5](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/newsbrief/index.html?record=4147) |
| Setting | 2005, fifteen years after *The Firm*; Mitch and Abby McDeere live in Manhattan, where Mitch is a partner at what the book describes as the largest law firm in the world[1](https://jgrisham.com/the-exchange) • [6](https://www.bamsl.org/?pg=StLouisBarJournal&pubAction=viewIssue&pubIssueID=37503&pubIssueItemID=217744) |
| Central plot | A colleague abducted in Libya; terrorists demand a $100 million ransom within 10 days[7](https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/john-grisham-4/the-exchange/9781399724821/) |
| Formats | Large print (464 pages, October 24, 2023); audiobook read by Edoardo Ballerini, with a 9-hour CD edition (November 14, 2023, $45.00); paperback July 16, 2024, $18.00[3](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/709324/the-exchange-by-john-grisham/) |
| Author's reported figures in 2023 | 49 books and more than 400 million copies sold as of October 2023, according to his publicist[8](https://www.npr.org/2023/10/16/1205827907/author-john-grisham-on-book-the-firm-and-its-new-sequel-the-exchange) |
## Background and development
Doubleday announced *The Exchange* as the follow-up to the 1991 thriller, with publication timed to a notable anniversary: 2023 marked 30 years since the film adaptation of *The Firm*, the 1993 movie starring [Tom Cruise](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-cruise) that became the highest-grossing R-rated film of that year.[5](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/newsbrief/index.html?record=4147) • [8](https://www.npr.org/2023/10/16/1205827907/author-john-grisham-on-book-the-firm-and-its-new-sequel-the-exchange)
The deal was handled on the publisher's side by Suzanne Herz, executive vice president and publisher at Vintage/Anchor, and by David Gernert of the Gernert Company on the author's side. The book appeared simultaneously in hardcover, e-book, and audio from [Penguin Random House](https://www.edgepedia.org/penguin-random-house), with a trade paperback edition from Anchor published on July 16, 2024.[5](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/newsbrief/index.html?record=4147)
Asked in an October 2023 NPR interview why he returned to Mitch McDeere after more than three decades, Grisham answered with characteristic bluntness: "Well, we're always trying to angle a way to sell more books."[8](https://www.npr.org/2023/10/16/1205827907/author-john-grisham-on-book-the-firm-and-its-new-sequel-the-exchange)
## Plot and setting
The novel picks up fifteen years after Mitch and Abby McDeere exposed the crimes of the Memphis law firm Bendini, Lambert & Locke and fled the country. At the end of *[The Firm](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-firm-novel)*, Mitch had handed the FBI the evidence it needed for indictments and pocketed $10 million stolen from the mob, and the McDeeres had ended up in the [Cayman Islands](https://www.edgepedia.org/cayman-islands).[1](https://jgrisham.com/the-exchange) • [9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/10/18/john-grisham-the-firm-sequel/)
In the sequel, the McDeeres live in Manhattan, where Mitch is a partner at Scully & Pershing, an international firm of 2,000 attorneys and, in the book's description, the largest law firm in the world. When a mentor in Rome asks Mitch for a favor, he is drawn into a sinister plot with worldwide implications: Giovanna Sandroni, an Italian associate from the firm's London office, has been abducted in Libya during the [Gaddafi regime](https://www.edgepedia.org/history-of-libya-under-muammar-gaddafi), and her captors demand a ransom of $100 million within 10 days. The firm is simultaneously suing to collect $500 million owed to its clients over the construction of a bridge in Libya, and the action carries Mitch as far as Istanbul and Tripoli, where his colleagues, friends, and family are once again targeted.[1](https://jgrisham.com/the-exchange) • [6](https://www.bamsl.org/?pg=StLouisBarJournal&pubAction=viewIssue&pubIssueID=37503&pubIssueItemID=217744) • [2](https://www.penguinrandomhouseretail.com/book/?isbn=9780385548953) • [7](https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/john-grisham-4/the-exchange/9781399724821/)
The UK edition describes the journey as running from New York to London, and Rome to Marrakech, under the tagline "TEN DAYS TO SAVE A LIFE. ONE SECOND TO END IT."[7](https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/john-grisham-4/the-exchange/9781399724821/)
## Characters
Mitch McDeere returns as the protagonist, now 41 years old and a moneyed partner at the mega firm. Abby is a cookbook editor, and the couple has 8-year-old twin sons, Clark and Carter.[9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/10/18/john-grisham-the-firm-sequel/) • [6](https://www.bamsl.org/?pg=StLouisBarJournal&pubAction=viewIssue&pubIssueID=37503&pubIssueItemID=217744)
The book also reaches back to the original novel's supporting cast. Early on, Mitch travels to Memphis on a pro bono assignment and reconciles with Lamar Quinn, a former Bendini associate who served 27 months in federal prison and regained his Tennessee law license. New characters include Giovanna Sandroni, the abducted associate whose captivity drives the plot.[6](https://www.bamsl.org/?pg=StLouisBarJournal&pubAction=viewIssue&pubIssueID=37503&pubIssueItemID=217744)
## Style and themes
The novel opens with a prelude in which Mitch returns to Memphis for pro bono work on a death-row case; before he can begin, the inmate dies, supposedly by suicide. NPR's review notes that this storyline is not resolved in the book.[8](https://www.npr.org/2023/10/16/1205827907/author-john-grisham-on-book-the-firm-and-its-new-sequel-the-exchange)
The sequel moves away from law toward finance and international intrigue, following a hostage negotiation and a $500 million commercial dispute across several countries. The St. Louis Bar Journal's reviewer describes the result as fast-moving, with intrigue, violence, and several shady characters, and notes the shift in subject matter explicitly.[6](https://www.bamsl.org/?pg=StLouisBarJournal&pubAction=viewIssue&pubIssueID=37503&pubIssueItemID=217744)
## Reception
[The Wall Street Journal](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-wall-street-journal) called the book "a breathtaking update on the McDeeres and the life they made . . . Grisham, in vintage form, ratchets up the suspense in this winning sequel." UK press was enthusiastic: the [Daily Express](https://www.edgepedia.org/daily-express) named it "the most eagerly-awaited sequel of the decade," and the Irish Independent called it "Enthralling."[2](https://www.penguinrandomhouseretail.com/book/?isbn=9780385548953) • [7](https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/john-grisham-4/the-exchange/9781399724821/)
The St. Louis Bar Journal offered a more reserved verdict: "While quite entertaining, *The Exchange: After the Firm* is not one of his best," though the reviewer expected Grisham fans to enjoy it.[6](https://www.bamsl.org/?pg=StLouisBarJournal&pubAction=viewIssue&pubIssueID=37503&pubIssueItemID=217744)
Any comparison with the original starts from a high bar. *The Firm*, Grisham's second book after *A Time to Kill*, has sold more than 7 million copies and, in the Washington Post's words, "set the standard for the legal thriller genre."[9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/10/18/john-grisham-the-firm-sequel/)
## By the numbers
The publication rollout ran through late 2023 and into 2024. The hardcover (352 pages, $29.95) appeared on October 17, 2023, with an announced first printing of 1.5 million copies. A large print edition of 464 pages followed on October 24, 2023 at $32.00, and a 9-hour CD audiobook at $45.00 on November 14, 2023, read by Edoardo Ballerini. The paperback arrived on July 16, 2024 at $18.00.[3](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/709324/the-exchange-by-john-grisham/) • [5](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/newsbrief/index.html?record=4147)
The book reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. For its author, it was the 49th book in a career totaling more than 400 million copies sold, figures attributed to his publicist.[1](https://jgrisham.com/the-exchange) • [8](https://www.npr.org/2023/10/16/1205827907/author-john-grisham-on-book-the-firm-and-its-new-sequel-the-exchange)
## What has changed since 2023
The paperback edition of 352 pages was published on July 16, 2024, completing the rollout that had begun with the simultaneous hardcover, e-book, and audio release and the planned Anchor trade paper a year after hardcover publication.[3](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/709324/the-exchange-by-john-grisham/) • [5](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/newsbrief/index.html?record=4147) A separate UK edition exists under ISBN 9781399724821, marketed with its own cover copy and route of settings.[7](https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/john-grisham-4/the-exchange/9781399724821/)
## Notes on the timeline
The publisher's description places the story fifteen years after the events of *The Firm*, while the Washington Post review states that the book begins in 2005.[1](https://jgrisham.com/the-exchange) • [9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/10/18/john-grisham-the-firm-sequel/)
## References
1. [The Exchange by John Grisham, official author site](https://jgrisham.com/the-exchange)
2. [The Exchange, Penguin Random House Retail](https://www.penguinrandomhouseretail.com/book/?isbn=9780385548953)
3. [The Exchange by John Grisham, Penguin Random House catalog](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/709324/the-exchange-by-john-grisham/)
4. [The Exchange: After The Firm, Google Books record](https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Exchange.html?id=78KzEAAAQBAJ)
5. [Doubleday Announces Sequel to Grisham's 'The Firm', Publishers Weekly](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/newsbrief/index.html?record=4147)
6. [The Exchange: After the Firm By John Grisham, St. Louis Bar Journal](https://www.bamsl.org/?pg=StLouisBarJournal&pubAction=viewIssue&pubIssueID=37503&pubIssueItemID=217744)
7. [The Exchange, Hachette UK](https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/john-grisham-4/the-exchange/9781399724821/)
8. [Author John Grisham reflects on 'The Firm' and its new sequel, 'The Exchange', NPR (October 2023)](https://www.npr.org/2023/10/16/1205827907/author-john-grisham-on-book-the-firm-and-its-new-sequel-the-exchange)
9. [Book review: The Exchange by John Grisham, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/10/18/john-grisham-the-firm-sequel/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Literature and written works › Creative written works and worlds › Prose fiction › Novel series and sagas › Crime, mystery, and thriller novel series*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license