Montaro Caine

March 18, 2013
This curious debut novel from the Academy Award–winning actor Poitier is a serviceable corporate thriller with a twist of religion and science fiction added to enliven its feel-good message. Montaro Caine, 54, the beleaguered CEO of Fitzer Chemical Corporation, is staving off financial ruin and a hostile takeover when he meets Colette Beekman and Herman Freich, two prospective investors. They show him an unusual coin resembling one that, 26 years before, the M.I.T.-trained scientist Montaro had found to be made of unknown elements. At their behest, he reanalyzes it and determines their coin to be slightly different from the one he originally tested. Meanwhile, obstetrician Howard Mozelle, owner of the first coin, discovers it has been stolen, possibly by Cordiss Krinkle, a former receptionist at his practice. Howard meets with Montaro and relates the bizarre tale of how Matthew Perch, a Bahamian “sorcerer” with some connection to the coins, cured Howard’s wife, Elsen, of her cancer. As the race to find and benefit from the mysterious objects heats up, further revelations emerge about the coins’ celestial origins. For an octogenarian first-time novelist, Poitier has delivered a surprisingly intricate, if idiosyncratic, tale sure to please his many fans. Agent: Mort Janklow, Janklow & Nesbit.

March 15, 2013
In his ninth decade, the legendary actor and civil rights activist Poitier adds novelist to his resume. It's an old story: A parent or relative dies, and a young person is inspired to go into medicine to find a cure. Not so, on the face of it, with Montaro Caine, Kansas City-born, whose father departs the planet unexpectedly. Fast-forward 45-odd years, and Montaro is now CEO of the Fitzer Chemical Corporation, "a multinational mining company based in New York," and fleetingly reflects on the fact that "he had lived nearly two decades longer than his father had." But only fleetingly, for Montaro is chasing after cosmic truth on a more ambitious scale--or at least after a strange object that is brought to his attention, a coinlike thing that is made of a metal unknown to humankind and that, as we learn, bears an astral view of constellations as seen from another part of the universe. Shades of Kal-El, Batman? Asks an MIT metallurgist, "[D]o you know of any civilization in which these objects could have been constructed?" The quest soon implicates a wide-ranging cast of characters, including a doctor who has delivered a baby girl in whose tiny hand one of the objects was found. Montaro is single-minded in his pursuit but also humane, unlike some of the corporate types who are onto the scent, and though he's a busy chap, he always has room for philosophical discussions on such things as "[p]redetermined behavior versus free will." Poitier occasionally wanders into mushy and preachy territory, but in the main, his story retains a detective-story feel with a satisfying and not entirely foreseen resolution. A pleasant surprise, elegantly written and keenly observed. Think of it, in a way, as a Little Prince for grown-ups, without the aeronautics.

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May 1, 2013

Montaro Caine was eight years old when his brilliant father died. Years later, he finds himself continuing his undergraduate research on a coin fashioned of a rare metal previously unknown on Earth, which is the beginning of an intricate, electrifying journey. Academy Award winner Poitier creates multifaceted characters, with Montaro in particular exhibiting a rare realism; Montaro's encounters with others are at once honest, intense, and mesmerizing. While the narrative has an urgency that will keep readers anticipating, it is also poetic: "At the party, Gina picked up his scent almost immediately, and with mild flirtatious glances, she let him know. Encouraged, he began to close in gently as the evening wore on. But soon he noticed that, with each step he took toward her, she drifted further away." VERDICT Part mystery, part science fiction, this book excites like Agatha Christie's Murder of Roger Ackroyd and will appeal especially to lovers of suspense. [See Prepub Alert, 11/25/12.]--Ashanti White, Yelm, WA

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2013
Montaro Caine, CEO of a large mining corporation, has hit a rough spot. Trouble in the field has made him an apt scapegoat for his company, while at home, his daughter faces legal troubles. Now, with the takeover sharks circling and his company on the line, a strange duo brings him a mysterious coin with properties unlike those in any element of the known world. Montaro has seen one like it before, though, many years earlier, and when he goes in search of this sister coin, the mystery deepens, morphing what began as a desperate quest to save his company into a journey of discovery that could change the world. A large cast of characters, ranging from the intellectual and corporate sectors to the rural world of the Bahamas, colors this captivating blend of corporate intrigue and science fiction. Not just another thriller, though, this debut novel, woven by the well-loved Poitier, is a thought-provoking tale of caution and hope that is as elegant and riveting as the legendary actor and director himself.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)