Last to Die

May 19, 2003
Dangle $46 million in front of six people and tell them the last one standing gets it all. From that shopworn yet undeniably tantalizing premise springs Grippando's latest thriller starring Miami attorney Jack Swyteck. The big pot of money comes from wealthy divorcée Sally Fenning, who leaves an enormous estate following her murder. Not only is her death suspicious, the terms of her will are insidiously cunning. None of the six heirs, all people Fenning despised, can collect until all but one has either died or renounced their share of the inheritance. The common denominator is that all were connected to the murder of Fenning's daughter five years earlier. There is Fenning's ex-husband, his divorce attorney, the prosecutor who failed to bring charges against any suspect, the newspaper reporter who wrote about the case and a mystery man who can't be immediately located. Swyteck's client, hitman Tatum Knight, is the only one not connected to the little girl's murder, though his tie to Fenning is odious in its own right: Fenning tried to hire him to kill her, but he steadfastly denies taking the job. As expected, someone starts knocking off heirs. Those who survive are brutally intimidated into dropping their claim on the estate. Swyteck, meanwhile, scrambles to find out who's behind it all while balancing a love affair on the side. Grippando (Beyond Suspicion) handles his eighth thriller, his third featuring Swyteck, with workmanlike dexterity. As a protagonist, Swyteck is likable, yet there is little to distinguish him from the current throng of attorney-heroes: he's white, refined but not prissy, fighting off middle age. Yet his adventures are comfortingly enjoyable. Despite including a pointless trip to Africa's Ivory Coast, Grippando's latest lives up to its promise as a $46-million game of survival. 8-city author tour.

The landscape of Sally Fenning's life changes violently when she is viciously attacked and her 4-year-old daughter is killed. Five years later, following a second marriage to a wealthy man, she walks into a bar to negotiate for a murder--hers. Her will leaves $46 million to six people whom she had reason to hate, with the stunning twist that no one can collect until the others have dropped out or died. It's no surprise when the heirs begin to show up dead. Nick Sullivan's comfortable voice is superb with every character, from the approachable Jack Swytek to an Italian goon, a Latino ex-husband, and the sophisticated Vivian. Sullivan's talented delivery and modulations of vocal characteristics create a believability that is flawless. F.L.F. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

March 15, 2003
Back after Beyond Suspicion, Miami lawyer Jack Swyteck is persuaded by sidekick Theo Knight to represent his shady brother, Tatum, one of only five people named in a will that stipulates that the last one alive will inherit a fortune. HarperCollins's efforts to build Grippando have paid off; Beyond Suspicion made the New York Times extended best sellers list.

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2003
In last year's "Beyond Suspicion" [BKL Jl 02], the attorney-turned-author dusted off Jack Swytek, the lawyer-hero of his first novel, "The Pardon "(1994), and repositioned him as a series lead. This time Swytek, who last year was accused of murdering his ex-lover, finds himself in another sticky predicament. Seems his partner, the ex-con Theo Knight, has a brother, Tatum, who used to be a contract killer. A woman recently tried to hire Tatum to murder her, or so he is claiming now that she has turned up dead. Tatum has been invited to the reading of her will, and he asks Jack to accompany him. There, they discover the woman has left her fortune, $46 million, to one of six people--whichever is the last one alive. Naturally, the potential beneficiaries promptly start dying, and Jack wonders if his client is a ruthless murderer or the next victim. Grippando, whose best thrillers have been full of imagination and out-of-left-field surprises, looks like he's found a winner in the Swytek series. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)