Customer Reviews

The Will

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Henry Matthews--ambitious up-and-comer at a large, prestigious Chicago law firm--receives an unexpected call from his hometown of Council Grove, Kansas. The richest man in town, Tyler Crandall, has died, and Henry must go home and execute his will. The Crandalls pretty much own Council Grove, and all assume that the estate will pass to Roger, Tyler's son, and things will continue on as they always have. But to everyone's shock and surprise, Tyler Crandall leaves everything to the Birdman, a crazy, delusional homeless man who has lived in the town park for the last twenty-five years. Now, as the will is contested by the Crandall family, Henry is determined to find out what the connection is between Tyler and the Birdman and why he left him his fortune. And, as he digs into the past, Henry begins to uncover long-hidden secrets and truths that will change this small community forever. Reed Arvin has written a terrific mystery/legal thriller that will put you on the edge of your seat and keep you turning pages to the very end. This novel has it all: a suspenseful, compelling storyline, great characters with strong voices, riveting scenes, a climax that will knock your socks off, and a very satisfying ending. Mr Arvin's writing is true to life, crisp and spare, with a real ear for dialogue. So turn off the phone and lock the door, "The Will" is a winner and a book you will have to read in one sitting.

I bought this basically because of seeing a bunch of reviews that said it was better than my favorite author, John Grisham. I have to agree it's true, and I have a new fave. It rocks along like Grisham but Arvin has some poetry in his writing that Grisham doesn't, and I liked that. I never read a Grisham and thought, wow, that's a beautiful line. But sometimes you think that with this book - like it's on a higher plane or something. Anyway, I thought it rocked and the characters were amazing. Buy it - you won't be disappointed.

I thoroughly enjoyed "The Wind in the Wheat" (Arvin's first novel) and I really like legal novels -- two of my favorite authors are John Grisham and early William Bernhardt (before he started ham-fisting his political viewpoints into his books). So this combination seemed like a sure bet for "The Will". And I was not disappointed. The characters are real and fleshed out, especially the main protagonist, Henry Matthews. The plot had some nice twists and some good mysteries that unfolded over the course of the book (beyond the main mystery that it is built around).

One word of caution: This would be a fairly coarse book at times to some folks -- language alone would merit it a PG-13 were it a movie, and there is a half-page (unnecessary, in my opinion) sex scene as well. If neither of those bug you, have at it.

Henry Mathews left the seminary when his parents were killed in a head-on car crash with a drunk, who was also killed. His father had been a small-town Kansas lawyer. Henry left because he lost his faith, and entered law school instead, where he excelled, and eventually was hired by a prestigious Chicago law firm at a high salary, and became thoroughly involved with the highly competitive world of corporate mergers and take-overs, and was going with a beautiful stockbroker, Elaine, who was as upwardly mobile and ambitious as he, himself. He was swimming with the big sharks, and was good at what he did.

Then, Henry's world was transformed by the death of his home-town's leading citizen who owned most of the local real estate and businesses, Tyler Crandall. His father had written Crandall's will, and Henry was called back to Council Grove, Kansas, to read the will, which was a bombshell because it had disinherited the logical heir. Henry had inherited the case from his father. In it he was named executor.

The will left the bulk of the estate to the town madman, whom everyone called the "Birdman," because he was usually accompanied by a tame vulture whom he called simply "bird" when he preached fire and brimstone sermons in the park, which he did on a daily basis. The Crandall son, Roger, had expected to inherit the fortune and disputed the will

This is a captivating story of political intrigue, skullduggery, avarice, hatred and of course, love. It held my interest to the end. It is Reed Arvin's second novel His first was "Wind in the Wheat." He is a polished writer, and the story maintains a good pace.

Joseph Pierre

I wasn't aware of a lot of the comparisons to Grisham that many people have made regarding Reed Arvin. That's probably a good thing, since I'm one of the very few people on this planet that doesn't care for the king of legal fiction.

I found The Will an okay read; not earth-shattering, but not awful, either. Some of the characters, like lead man Henry and the Birdman are painted clearly and convincingly, although their motives are not always plausible. On the other hand, many of the secondary characters (Amanda, Elaine, Sarah...particularly female characters) exist mainly as cardboard cutouts. There's very little depth, and still less reason to care about them.

There were some fine points in the plot...great idea, the town eccentric suddenly all but owning the town...but far too much downtime in between. I found myseld losing the thread of the story while jumping from place to place, character to character. Often I think not knowing quite so much about what was happening behind the scenes would have increased the tension and bettered the pace of the whole novel. There are very few surprises, and all in all this book marches toward a fairly predictable ending.

It is evident that Mr. Arvin's first love is not writing fiction, but I must commend him on the lovely turns of phrase that are sprinkled throughout this work. Kudos for the creativity.

If you're looking for a new author to satisfy your thirst for top notch legal thrillers, then you'd be well advised to remember Reed Arvin's name. As far as legal thrillers go, this is a first class book, combining an intriguing mystery with the constant threat of deadly consequences. Add this to some excellent characters who are vividly brought to life and you have a book that is very difficult to put down.

Henry Mathews is a hotshot lawyer working for a prestigious Chicago law firm. When Ty Crandall, the richest man from Henry's home town of Council Grove Kansas dies, Henry is called and asked to return home to act as executor of the will. The will contains a major shock for the Crandall family when they learn that the bulk of the estate has been left to Raymond Boyd, known to the townsfolk as the Birdman. Boyd is a dishevelled vagrant of questionable sanity who sits in the local park preaching verses from the bible. The obvious questions are, why would a homeless man be made beneficiary of such a vast estate? What was in his past and how is he connected to Ty Crandall? Finding all this out makes terrific reading indeed.

Although the premise described above is interesting in itself, there is a lot more to the story than just a fight over a will. There are plenty of small town secrets, ego trips and power plays at work, as well as a significant amount of greed shown by the more powerful figures who have their own reasons for not allowing the Birdman to collect on his good fortune. There are also the ethical considerations caused by the pressure placed on Henry to return to Chicago and his high-paying job.

I found this to be a fast-paced thriller with a plot that contained plenty of drama and an interesting look at the place of ethics in the legal world. But most of all, it was a darn entertaining story.

Our book reading club in Houston read the reviews of this book in December and selected it for reading. None of us liked the book. We found the technical/legal content to be inaccurate and unconvincing, some of the characters not believable, and the writing style unimpressive. Although there were a handful of well crafted and memorable lines in the book, the vast majority of the book was a disappointment.

A departure from his first work "Wind in the Wheat" but a welcome one in proving Arvin's ability to craft an interesting and intelligent story and believeable characters. I understand movie rights have been purchased. An excellent movie for the making. I look forward to more books by this talented writer.

I found out about this author by being offered a preview edition of a book he will be coming out with after the first of the year. I liked it so much that I decided to read this work by him and I am so glad that I did. The Will is a tightly crafted mystery that keeps you wondering how it will unravel as you keep turning the pages. Henry Matthews is an up and coming associate in a prestigious Chicgo law firm which specializes in corporate takeovers and such. He is being groomed in the job by a wonderfully manipulative mentor when he takes a call from Roger Crandall, the only son of the richest man in Council Grove, Kansas, his home town. Tyler Crandall has died and Roger's father was the lawyer that drew his will. He is also deceased and Tyler Crandall has left written instructions that Henry is to be contacted concerning his will. The document is in an envelope which states it is only to be opened and read when all of the heirs are present.

Henry heads back to Council Grove to attend to what he assumes is a rather mundane piece of tying up loose ends and walks into a life changing event. While the will contains bequests to his widow, daughter and son, they are minimal considering the size of his estate. He has left the bulk of it to the town nut case, referred to as The Birdman. Roger is beside himself as he had expected to step into his father's shoes and run the town as his daddy had. This is not a result he is willling to accept and he undertakes to contest the will.

The defense of the will takes Henry into a fascinating maze of relationships which draw the reader deeper and deeper into the secrets that the town has been hiding for over twenty years. Arvin's characters are well drawn, his use of dialogue is powerful and as the mystery unravels like the peeling of an onion, the reader is treated to one of the best books of this type that I have read in some time. You will not regret buying this book.

I am not a reader of legal/mystery/thrillers but I picked up The Will because of Arvin's association with the music of one of my favorite (late) Christian singer/songwriters, Rich Mullins. This is not a "Christian" book in the sense that most people would use the term. In fact, many Christian readers would be offended by Arvin's story. It is not "clean" enough for the Bible Book store crowd. But, in my opinion, it is a Christian book in the best and truest sense. Arvin accurately depicts how we human beings must wrestle our angels and our demons to finally embrace the truth. And sometimes we must be dragged through the gutter into the light.
In The Will, Arvin demonstrates how the hand of God is at work in the events of our lives, invisibly weaving circumstances to bring about His "will". As I a Christian, I did not think the message was too heavy handed. The story was well written and engaging on may levels. But unbelievers should be forewarned of the explicit use and treatment of the "F" word: Faith