Books : Next of Kin: A Novel
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780312539344
ISBN: 0312539347
Label: St. Martin's Griffin
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 368
Publication Date: February 03, 2009
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: February 03, 2009
Sales Rank: 1796002
Studio: St. Martin's Griffin
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Product Description:
The New York Times bestselling author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
It is 1936, and London is abuzz with gossip about the affair between King Edward VIII and Mrs. Simpson. Owen Montignac, the handsome and charismatic scion of a wealthy family, is anxiously awaiting the reading of his late uncle’s will. He must pay £50,000 worth of gambling debts by Christmas or he’ll soon find himself six feet under. In his desperation, he discovers that the royal scandal could provide the means for profit . . . and for murder.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
First Sentence: Many years earlier, when he was a lieutenant in the army stationed just outside Paris, Charles Richards had come across a young recruit, a boy of about eighteen year of age, sitting alone on his bunk in the mess with his head held in his hands, weeping silently.
Owen Montana is a charming young man with a big gambling debt owed to a demanding casino boss. He expects all this problems to be solved with the death of his wealthy uncle. He did not expect to be cut out of the will and the estate left to his cousin Stella. Owen is determined to get what he feels should be his, no matter who is in the way.
This should have been a really good book. It started out well; the characters were good, although two of them had no redeeming qualities whatsoever, the dialogue excellent, the setting against the backdrop of Edward VIII and Mrs. Simpson interesting.
However, I have one major requirement for the author of a crime novel. It's not possible for me to say what that is without spoiling the book but the author violated that requirement and the book went flying across the room. Boyne is a very good writer but, the biggest problem of an author doing such an ending is that I'll no longer trust that author or read anything else by them.
Rating:  -
John Boyne's "Next of Kin" is a unique form of mystery - neither a whodunit nor a how-did-he-do-it, but a will-he-get-away-with-it. And Boyne is just the writer to carry off such an imaginative approach. He has a good sense of place and a well-crafted style and is able to sustain an intricate and labyrinthine plot. Despite its slow start, my only complaint, I highly recommend "Next of Kin."
Part of the appeal of the book is the setting. Boyne recreates an aristocratic England of the mid-1930s of country estates, London townhouses, private clubs, and luxurious gambling dens. The people found in these venues are surrounded by impending change, although they steadfastly plod along as if nothing at all is different. Yet, Hitler is rising in Europe, and at home London is abuzz with rumors of the king's affair with an American divorcee. Society itself is permeated with ruthless people who are looking for opportunities to seize wealth and power, while the unwary refuse to admit anything is different. Into this seething cauldron come two young men: Owen Montignac is a disinherited amoral aristocrat who would do anything to pay his monumental gambling debts, and Gareth Bentley, a hapless man-about-town who would do anything to avoid work.
The two form a partnership that eventually involves an art theft, a murder (with two more to be revealed), a conspiracy to force the king to abdicate, and a sensational trial with a framed defendant. With the exception of the ... Read More
Rating: -
In 1936, Hitler is becoming the rage on the continent; in England, the public affair between King Edward VIII and the commoner widow Mrs. Simpson holds the public's attention, but not Owen Montignac. Instead he believes his prayers have been answered with the timely death of his wealthy Uncle Peter. Owen owes £50,000 to casino boss Nicholas Delfy that must be paid in full by Christmas or he will spend the New Year and beyond with his deceased relative. However, to his dismay Owen learns his prayers went unanswered as dear Uncle Peter left him out of the will as deserving cousin Stella got everything. Desperation calls for desperate measures.
Gareth Bentley's responsible father a judge is outraged at the irresponsibility of his son as he only pursues pleasure ever since Stella imitated him when she was sixteen and he fifteen. Dad, a lawyer, considers cutting off funds to his son. However, before his parents consider leaving him without a pound to his name, the police suspect Gareth killed Stella's beloved Raymond. Stunned he pleads with his father to help him; insisting he is a victim of a clever frame from someone who knows him intimately and took advantage of his escapades. Desperation calls for desperate measures, but who would go that far.
This is an interesting historical mystery that uses King Edward's final days on the throne as a backdrop to a fascinating murder mystery that has its roots back a decade ago. However, Owen and Gareth are ... Read More
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