SOURCE: A review of The Firm, in West Coast Review of Books, Vol. 16, No. 2, February, 1991, p. 17.

In the following review, the critic provides a laudatory assessment of The Firm.

How many different ways are there to use trite phrases like "gripping," "compelling," and all those other overused adjectives that fit this wonderful novel of suspense to a tee? Quite simply put, [The Firm] is one of the best thrillers to come along in a while and, to use a couple more cliches, it's a "real page-turner," a "roller-coaster ride" of adventure. I wince to say it, but "you won't be able to put it down." If this review is cliche-ridden, rest assured the novel is not.

Mitch McDeere, a recent graduate of Harvard Law School, is being recruited by several top firms. But none of the firms can compete with Bendini, Lambert & Locke, a Memphis-based firm that offers...