The Legacy [Paperback]

Stephen W. Frey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1999

A hard-working financier on Wall Street is informed that his estranged father has died and left him the key to a safety-deposit box. What he finds inside is a videotape of the JFK assassination--filmed from the other side of Dealey Plaza. Before he can get over the initial shock of his discovery, the financier finds his life is in danger from a conspiracy dating back over thirty years...and a secret that was never meant to be told.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The central feature of this Stephen Frey novel is a fascination with the Kennedy assassination and the answer that conspiracy junkies have long believed: that the United States government has been involved in covering up the existence of a second gunman ever since that fateful day in November 1963. In Frey's world, while the government was not responsible for the assassination, the belief that evidence of a conspiracy would have pushed the Cold War into a hot one "forced" those at the top to keep that evidence to themselves.

The novel's prologue sets the stage as a struggling actress goes to Dallas and films the motorcade on a whim. Before she has even digested that she has captured one of the most memorable moments in American history, her camera is ripped from her grasp by a mysterious man. The chapter that follows jumps to 1998 as New York bonds trader Cole Egan receives a phone call telling him of his estranged father's death and of a package that awaits him in a safety deposit box. The package, of course, contains a video of the film stolen from the actress, and Cole realizes he is sitting on a gold mine: from the other side of Dealey Plaza, the tape shows the firing rifle denied by the Warren Commission.

Of course, the U.S. government has not gone to all the trouble of keeping such information secure for over 30 years just to let some upstart indebted bonds trader make a fortune selling the truth to the highest bidder. The novel takes flight as the dashing and resourceful Cole begins his quest to receive the benefits of his legacy while competently evading the knives, guns, and explosives of a super secret government agency. Not only is the government (portrayed as a surprisingly well-organized structure) intent on controlling the truth, so are those who might be accused of the assassination. Although Cole is initially confident about who the bad guys are, the suspense builds as the line separating allies and enemies dissolves, and our hero finds out quite a lot about himself, his father, and the lengths to which the government will go to keep its secrets. --Kimberly Crouch --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Cole Egan is watching a hitherto unknown tape of the JFK assassination, shot from the other side of Dealey Plaza. " 'God,' Cole murmured. It was shocking footage, so shocking he almost forgot the seven-million-dollar hit his portfolio had taken in the aftermath of the Fed announcement this afternoon." "Almost" is the key word here: the quote tells you almost everything you need to know about Frey's latest financial thriller (after The Inner Sanctum, 1997), a strange, lumpy, often ludicrous but finally addictive story that mixes historic tragedy with the personal problems of a would-be Master of the Universe. At 29, Cole is having a bad year as a securities trader for a powerful Wall Street brokerage firm. His bonus is in dire danger; the mortgage on his condo is killing him; he hears rumors that the gorgeous model he grew up with (and now wants to date) is a lesbian; and he owes some connected loan sharks a bundle. When a mysterious voice directs him to a safe deposit box and the JFK tape (a legacy from his reclusive secret agent father), Cole sees it as his chance to clean up his debts and finally find out something about his parents. What he gets instead is a tangled link to the White House, a cabal of hired killers determined to keep the tape secret and brisk action scenes on the waters of Minnesota. What we get is a compulsive, if essentially unbelievable, summer read.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Onyx (June 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451190157
• ISBN-13: 978-0451190154
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,137,712 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephen Frey is a managing director at a private equity firm. He is the bestselling author of fourteen previous novels, including The Fourth Order, The Insider, and The Takeover. He lives in Florida.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars big mistake, November 17, 1999

By 

Frey Stinks (Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Legacy (Paperback)

I dont really like Stephen Frey but decided to give this book a chance because the plot sounded interesting. BIG MISTAKE. Frey totally botched this one. How come all of his characters have to be gorgeous? The man has no range as a writer. I got about 150 pages into this book and ended up tearing it apart page by page in a fit of rage at my stupidity for believing Frey could put out anything that might actually be interesting and thoughtful.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Ughhhhhhhh..., October 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Legacy: A Novel (Hardcover)

All right, I've had it. I have officially had it. I have had it with Stephen Frey's repugnant dialogue, cliched characters, implausible plots, and refusal to research anything outside the financial world. All of which come into play in his latest offering, The Legacy. We are asked to believe so many ridiculous events and characters that it ultimately becomes far too much for Frey to ask of his readers. Even Frey's always interesting description of the high-pressure enviroment of a Wall Street trading company isn't enough to save this one.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great premise and not much more...., July 8, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Legacy: A Novel (Hardcover)

What a terrific first two chapters!! How did the rest of the book go downhill -- or was it nowhere?-- so quickly? I'm a fan of all Frey's other books but I was majorly disappointed with "The Legacy." For the first time, I didn't find too much sympathetic about the flawed hero; the female characters are still cardboard; and DAMN IT! The entire chase around the tape was built around vague, neverly fully defined or explained motives. If you read this book thinking you're really going to get an interesting "what if" tale about the JFK assassination, forget it. Go read all twenty-some volumes of the Warren Report, they'll be just as gripping. On the other hand, if you thought John Grisham's "Pelican Brief" was a terrific book you'll be sure to like "The Legacy." Please try again, Mr. Frey, I really enjoyed your other work.