The Heir

The handsome, dark-haired hero on the cover of The Heir is a dead ringer for a current soap opera heartthrob. The story, set in the early 1800's, is a bit soapy, too, full of secrets and lust. Mainly, however, it's Romance, complete with an arranged marriage, a haunted mansion and a mysterious half-sister. Read in the crisp British accent of Steven Crossley, the unabridged version is absorbing listening--if you're willing to wait out the sluggish start. Although Crossley is an expressive reader, a female narrator would be better for this book's multiple points of view. Crossley is too squeaky as the heroine, making a character already presented as "spoiled" even harder to like. M.C. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

February 26, 2007
It's a familiar plot: the death of a filthy rich relative-who of course altered his will just hours before his sudden demise-results in instant wealth for an heir no one expected. In this debut novel from Robertson, a computer programming consultant, young mogul Jason Boyer discovers that his newly minted fortune is tainted by his deceased robber-baron father's legacy of corruption, scandal and power brokering in New England. Will Jason find the moral courage to clean his corporate house and do something meaningful with his millions? And was his father's fatal car crash really an accident? Pacing is a problem throughout much of this story, which doesn't hit its stride and become a bona fide suspense novel until the final 50 pages. Most of the characters are routine stock figures-the upwardly mobile wife; the corpulent and scheming attorney-with only Jason's innocent younger brother Eric breaking the mold. Robertson offers some strong observations on greed and human nature, and adopts a refreshingly soft approach to religious faith. The humor, which could work well in another context, feels adolescent in such a dark tale. Despite promising themes and a decent plot, this God-and-mammon novel would benefit from stringent editing and stronger supporting characters.