It's another one. Or is it just another one? John Grisham's latest novel is one of intrigue, romance and a strange twist at the end that makes some readers respond that the novelist has finally found the right way to finish his extraordinary stories. Others have wanted to throw the book in the trash because of its conclusion. Patrick Lanigan was a partner with a Mississippi Gulf coast law firm when he was presumed killed in a car accident. His death became suspect when $90 million disappeared from an account that was to be split between some of his partners and a firm client. Starting with the premise that Patrick had not died but had manufactured his own death so he could take the money, the client and some insurance companies who had to pay Patrick's wife life insurance proceeds put together a consortium to hire detectives to find him.

He was traced to Canada and to other places on tips from an anonymous caller. They found him living in Brazil as Danilo Silva, but they could not find the money. They tortured Lanigan with electric shock and drugs, but he would not tell them where the money was because he could not.

Lanigan/Silva had an accomplice. A Brazilian lawyer named Eva Miranda would move the money from bank to bank, off-shore to on-shore and back again without Lanigan knowing where it would ultimately end up. He did not want to know where it was because he believed that he would be found, sooner or later, and he had plans.

The plans were so intricate that the reader gets to the real action only after Lanigan is caught and returned to Mississippi to be tried for murder. You see, there was a body in Lanigan's burned car that had been buried in a grave with Lanigan's name on it. When Lanigan appears live, if not so well after the torture, the authorities conclude that the body in the car must have been murdered by Lanigan as part of the cover for his disappearance.

Surprise after surprise awaits the reader as Lanigan implements facet upon facet of his plan to be acquitted, keep the interest from the stolen money, divorce his unfaithful wife and ride off into the sunset with the Brazilian lawyer. There are meetings with insurance company lawyers and disclosures of unscrupulous behavior on the part of almost everyone in the book.

The characters are interesting but most are not admirable. Perhaps the highlight of the lineup is Sandy McDermott, a friend of Lanigan's called on to be his lawyer. Sandy has to handle the details of carrying out the plan without knowing the whole plan. He becomes aware of bits and pieces of the agenda as Lanigan calls on him to carry out each successive piece of the puzzle intended to result in Lanigan's freedom from a bad marriage, jail and the poverty he will face if he has to return all of the money.

The southern Gulf coast comes to life as the action moves from Biloxi to Mobile and back again. Brazil and France come into the geographical mix as Lanigan's accomplice moves around to avoid being captured and questioned about the money. In an interesting sequence of events she is arrested in Miami for traveling under a false passport, but Lanigan's slight of hand frees her.

So, who is the partner referred to in the title? Initially, the title seems to refer to Lanigan, who was a partner in the law firm from which he stole the money upon learning that he would not be paid any part of the huge sum his other partners were going to receive as part of a settlement of a bogus claim by a client. He learned, in fact, that they were going to force him out of the firm, so he decided to steal the money.

As the novel progresses, it appears that the real partner is Lanigan's accomplice, a partner in his grand scheme to be found, cleared of the murder charges and to return to Brazil where he would live happily ever after. The ending provides the answer, and it is a surprising one. Find out whether you want to be a partner of Grisham's in the end. Even if you don't appreciate the destination, it is fun getting there.