I have always kind of liked Grisham for a quick, easy read - almost a palate cleanser- and he certainly didn't fail me with this one. Surprisingly, this wasn't a courtroom thriller - I may be completely off here, but I think that this is the first novel where Grisham isn't doing anything in a courtroom.
The very first people we meet are Paul and Chelsea Tanner - they have just gotten married and are headed to Paris for their honeymoon, the planning and itinerary of which are very public on social media thanks to Chelsea. The couple is kidnapped during a day trip to Normandy and what follows after is the thrill of how they're going to be gotten back (a feat which involves multiple federal agencies).I definitely enjoyed the novelty of a Grisham book about international intrigue but I also thought he did a masterful job in presenting the intimacy of what a kidnapping does to the families of the people involved. The families were clearly feeling helpless and without agency. They were sad and stressed and the kidnapping had wide ranging rippling effects that we tend to forget during the everyday course of hearing about these incidents. I also enjoyed, and really appreciated, Grisham's exploration of power, fear and justification.
The pacing was perfect for what I was looking for and the short chapters lets you get your reading in in short spurts. This was a solid 3/5 for me.
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