The Testament

Grisham, with his master-storyteller legal thriller form, always plays well on audio. His latest begins with a coyly playful opening scene. Elderly billionaire industrialist Troy Phelan is holding court from his corporate office headquarters in Virginia. He has just rewritten his will to ensure that his rogue heirs--six children and three ex-wives--will be cut off. Instead, he gives the bulk of his fortune to an illegitimate daughter, Rachel Lane, a religious missionary living among native peoples in the Brazilian jungle. This done, Phelan hurls himself out the office window, killing himself, leaving his heirs and their $500-an-hour lawyers to fight over his money. From here, the plot turns schmaltzy, as Nate O'Riley, an alcoholic attorney with a heart of gold, is sent to Brazil to seek out Rachel, where he summarily falls in love with her and finds spiritual redemption. Reader Leyva, a Shakespearean actor, is finely tuned as a professional narrator, making the book sound like a movie screenplay waiting to happen. Simultaneous release with the Doubleday hardcover. Also available unabridged and on CD. (Feb.)