The Testament (novel)

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The will is a 1999 with Doubleday titled The Testament published novel ( Thriller ) of the American author John Grisham . It's about a weary lawyer going on one final great adventure for his firm to find the only legitimate heir to a multi-billionaire.

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The multibillionaire Troy Phelan dislikes the idea that his three wives and six children are only waiting for his death to get his inheritance; he wants to deceive her in a final dramatic act: he has a psychiatric commission certify his ability to testify and signs a will in front of the cameras. After the psychiatrists and witnesses go except for his attorney Josh Stafford and his butler Malcolm Snead, Phelan signs a handwritten will and then throws himself off his rooftop terrace. The handwritten will only considers the heirs to the effect that they inherit an amount sufficient to cover their debts on the day of signing. The trick in this clause is that Phelan instructs the executor (Stafford) not to publish the will for a month. He wants to ensure that his heirs, who believe they will inherit a large sum, spend a lot of money. At the same time, a further clause stipulates that in the event of a challenge to the will, the inheritance for the respective heir lapses completely. The rest goes to an illegitimate daughter, unknown to all, named Rachel Lane, who lives as a missionary in the Pantanal in the jungle of Brazil.

The family members, who believe they have been betrayed, hire a pack of greedy lawyers to challenge this will. The corrupt Snead, who stood by the multibillionaire all his life, is said to be the main witness and confirm that the old man was insane. At the same time, the executor sends his partner Nate O'Riley, an alcoholic who has once again gone through withdrawal , into the jungle to look for the heiress. In view of the difficult search in the damp jungle, it is increasingly difficult for him to resist the bottle.

Finally he discovers the heiress. As a doctor and missionary, she lives a modest, selfless existence with the Indians. She doesn't care about the money she's inherited. Nor does she want to sign anything that identifies her as the heiress. O'Riley is fascinated by her person, also the environment in which she works, the sense of family, the originality, he even proposes to Lane. On the way back to the USA , he has almost something of a religious enlightenment in a church. During his stay in the jungle, Nate fell ill with dengue fever .

Although there is nothing signed to vouch for the heiress's claim, O'Riley and his partner defend the inheritance against the opposing lawyers. In particular, they dismantle their main witness, the corrupt butler. At the same time, O'Riley feels driven to come to terms with his family, especially his scattered children. In the face of his own misconduct, he senses the injustice the multibillionaire has done to his children by ignoring them and never letting them feel safe. A portion of the inheritance is given to the disadvantaged main branch of the family in a comparison with the other side's lawyers, enough to begin a carefree life. The main tranche, however, is to go to the doctor-missionary who is admired by O'Riley.

In the hope of being able to persuade her to accept this inheritance, O'Riley drives once more into the jungle. The heiress has since died there of a tropical disease. There is, however, a will. In this she declares herself ready to take over her inheritance. It is to be transferred to a foundation whose purpose is to spread the ideals that the heiress lived. She has appointed O'Riley as executor and trustee of the foundation.

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  • John Grisham: The Testament . Century Books, London 1999, ISBN 0-7126-7826-3 .
  • John Grisham: The Testament . Translated by K. Schatzhauser. 4th edition Heyne, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-453-19002-5 .
  • John Grisham: The Testament. Reading . Abridged reading version. Random House Audio, Cologne 2005, ISBN 3-89830-846-4 (5 CDs, read by Charles Brauer ).