Next of Kin
A Novel
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3.8 • 19 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
From the bestselling author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and "one of the most imaginative and adventurous of the young Irish novelists working today" (Irish Independent) comes John Boyne's Next of Kin.
Boyne steps into the drawing rooms and private clubs of the prewar English aristocracy to offer an unobstructed view of a social elite driven by the conflicting desires to uphold tradition and to acquire vast wealth.
It is 1936, and London is abuzz with gossip about the affair between Edward VIII and Mrs. Simpson. But the king is not the only member of the aristocracy with a hard decision to make. Owen Montignac, the handsome and charismatic scion of a wealthy family, is anxiously awaiting the reading of his late uncle's will, for Owen has run up huge gambling debts and casino boss Nicholas Delfy has given him a choice: Find 50,000 pounds by Christmas or find yourself six feet under. So when Owen discovers that he has been cut out of the will in favor of his cousin Stella, he finds that even a royal crisis can provide the means for profit, and for murder.
Next of Kin vividly captures the spirit of 1930s London, revealing the secrets of the upperclass, complete with gambling, murder, an art heist, and a conspiracy to unseat the new king that could change the future of the country.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in 1936, this well-plotted thriller from Irish author Boyne (Crippen) links the fates of two flawed young Englishmen with that of their king who's soon to give up the throne for love in a cat's cradle of theft, blackmail and murder. Hedonistic Gareth Bentley stubbornly refuses to pursue a respectable career, to his lawyer father's dismay, while the embittered Owen Montignac, who's been cut out of his late uncle's will, must come up with 50,000 by year's end to pay off a gambling debt or pay the consequences. When Gareth winds up framed for murder, Gareth's parents, the book's most sympathetic characters, wrestle with their consciences, fearful that the other may learn just how far he or she would compromise his or her principles to save their son. The occasional anachronism jars ("plastic chairs" in a prison visitors area), but fans of JacquelineWinspear and David Roberts will be well rewarded.
