The Heir Hunter - A Novel

Zusatztext "A page-turner." -- The Philadelphia Inquirer "Rapid-fire suspense." -- The Denver Post "Great pacing ... fascinating." -- The Washington Post "Original and cool .. .a masterly bit of suspense writing." -- The Denver Post "Engrossing ... tantalizing read." -- The Portland Oregonian Informationen zum Autor Chris Larsgaard, a real-life heir hunter with more than a decade of experience on the job, lives in San Francisco. The Heir Hunter is his first novel. Klappentext He's young. He's ambitious. He's got less than a week to find the heirs to a $22 million estate. Now everyone he sees is trying to kill him. Welcome to the world of Nick Merchant, heir hunter. Nick Merchant is in the business of finding heirs. As payment, the San Francisco-based private investigator gets a percentage of the estate. So when Gerald Jacobs is found dead in a creaky old house in upstate New York, Nick thinks he's about to score the payday of a lifetime. Unfortunately, he's got some pretty stiff competition. Working with his partner -- and former girlfriend -- Alex Moreno, Nick races against the clock, narrowly eluding his rivals, dodging bullets, and unearthing a history a lot of people would rather keep buried. Moving from San Francisco to New York, from Switzerland to Washington, D.C. -- and dozens of points in between -- they struggle to uncover the guilty secret behind a rich man's fortune. But as Nick and Alex close in on the truth, they are about to find out just how deadly this game can get....The pivotal moment of the negotiation had arrived, the point in the dialogue when pen was poised over contract. Nick Merchant studied his latest clients and felt his pulse drum at his temples. They were simple people, probably possessing no learning beyond the ninth grade, if that. They sat across from him -- Emma McClure in her faded floral dress and house slippers, and her son, a greasy, yellow-toothed biker named J.P. They huddled on their worn living room couch looking like two expectant parents. Nick expected their reaction to his forthcoming disclosure to be on a par with being told they held the winning lottery ticket. "Do you have any further questions, Mrs. McClure?" "I can't think of any." Nick leaned over the table and pointed to the blank line that read Client. J.P. looked over his mother's shoulder. "Sign it, Momma." "Quiet, J.P." "He wants you to sign it." "I told you to hush, boy!" she hissed. "Don't you be hanging over me like a vulture when I'm tryin' to think." Nick searched his mental data bank for the few properly placed words that would sway Emma McClure to give her autograph. Twelve thousand dollars hovered like the horseflies buzzing in the stagnant air of the McClure shack. He leaned forward and tried to speak soothingly. "You seem a bit unsure, Mrs. McClure. Is something unclear?" "Well, it's just that . . . well, things like this don't usually happen around here." "I understand," said Nick, with a smile. "I know this all seems a little strange. Do you have a copy of the yellow pages by chance? I'd like to show you something which may reassure you." J.P. rose from the couch at his mother's prompting and returned with the phone book. Nick took it and flipped through it till he came to the heading Private Investigators. "Here we are -- Merchant and Associates. Our firm is a completely legitimate, family-owned business. We've been licensed by the state of California as private investigators for the last twelve years now. Our reputation in the field is excellent. If you'd like to check into us, you can call the local Better Business Bureau. I'm sure they would be happy to tell you all about us. I encourage you to do that if it will ease your mind." "He's bein' honest...

Product details

• Authors: Chris Larsgaard
• Publisher: Dell Publishing Inc.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 09.01.2001
• EAN: 9780440234623
• ISBN: 978-0-440-23462-3
• No. of pages: 448
• Dimensions: 106 mm x 173 mm x 24 mm