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    The Testament: A Novel
    Unavailable
    The Testament: A Novel
    Unavailable
    The Testament: A Novel
    Ebook536 pages7 hours

    The Testament: A Novel

    By John Grisham

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In a plush Virginia office, a rich, angry old man is furiously rewriting his will. With his death just hours away, Troy Phelan wants to send a message to his children, his ex-wives, and his minions—a message that will touch off a vicious legal battle and transform dozens of lives.

    Because Troy Phelan’s new will names a sole surprise heir to his eleven-billion-dollar fortune: a mysterious woman named Rachel Lane, a missionary living deep in the jungles of Brazil.

    Enter the lawyers. Nate O’Riley is fresh out of rehab, a disgraced corporate attorney handpicked for his last job: to find Rachel Lane at any cost. As Phelan’s family circles like vultures in D.C., Nate goes crashing through the Brazilian jungle, entering a world where money means nothing, where death is just one misstep away, and where a woman—pursued by enemies and friends alike—holds a stunning surprise of her own.

    Don’t miss John Grisham’s new book, THE EXCHANGE: AFTER THE FIRM!
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRandom House Publishing Group
    Release dateMar 16, 2010
    ISBN9780307576101
    Unavailable
    The Testament: A Novel

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    Reviews for The Testament

    3.5/5

    1,675 ratings43 reviews

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    • 4/5
      When billionaire Troy Phelan commits suicide just after signing a will, there is a surprise for his dysfunctional family. All of the three ex-wives and six adult children who had gathered for the signing, minutes after they left the room, were cut out with a new handwritten holographic will, given from Troy to his lawyer. The family had just had cameras in the room, and had videotaped three psychologists saying he was in his right mind when he signed the will they thought would make them all enormously rich. They are in for a shock when, one month later (after they’ve gone out and spent the money they thought they were getting), they learn that the will they saw him sign was no longer valid; the new will left his 11 billion to his long-lost illegitimate missionary daughter, Rachel, currently living somewhere in Brazil. Troy’s lawyer, Josh, sends one of the other lawyers in his firm to Brazil to find Rachel. I thought this was really good. Boy, that family was hateful! We didn’t really get to know Troy, and apparently he wasn’t likeable, either, but you could sure see why he wanted to cut those ungrateful offspring (and ex-wives) out of the will altogether! Much of the novel was Nate trying to find Rachel in Brazil, which was entertaining, which leads me to mention that here were a number of humourous moments in the book, as well, which was kind of fun.
    • 5/5
      Enjoyable.
    • 4/5
      The Testament is different from your usual John Grisham novel in that it does not focus so much on courtroom action and legal debates but rather on the personal life of the protagonist, Nate O'Riley. When Troy Phelan, a billionaire, jumps off a balcony into death, his children immediately start spending the money they have not yet inherited. What they do not know, however, is that Troy Phelan has changed his will in the last minute before his death and his children will not get anything. Phelan has an illegitimate daugher, who does missionary work in the Pantanal region in Brazil and she is to be the sole heir of his fortune. In order to find her, Nate O'Riley is sent on a trip to Brazil. Before he can take the trip, he has to leave his rehab facility, though. Nate is in rehab for the fourth time, fighting his alcohol and drug issues of the past. Having lost two families and almost his license to practice law, he takes the trip in order to make a fresh start and get out of the country that will only make him fall back to his old habits. Nate's trip into the Pantanal is a life-changer for him.I liked the character of Nate O'Riley a lot. Especially when he goes back to a courtroom to question witnesses, you see how good he must have been at his job. At the same time you can perfectly understand why he wants to quit his job in order to start a new life. The ending of the novel was a little unsatisfying to me and I think the story was a little drawn-out in certain parts. Still, not a bad read. 3.5 stars.
    • 4/5
      I used to be an avid reader of the likes of Grisham, Patterson etc but found myself moving away from secular fiction after I became a Christian. I remembered that a few of Grisham's novels had moral or Christian principles--The Testament is one of these.

      The story centers around the suicide of billionaire Troy Phelan. He has effectively lived a careless life of self indulgence treating those around him with contempt. He married three times and was believed to have had six grandchildren whose lives he also ruined by spoiling them with million dollar payouts at intervals. No longer able to bear the weight of living he chooses instead to plunge to his death triggering an inevitable fight over his will. But what if there was a mysterious illegitimate daughter serving as a missionary in a remote country.....?

      Nate is a recovering alcoholic. He is also a lawyer and assigned to the Phelan case. His task, to track down the elusive Rachel whilst resisting the allure of the bottle that has wrecked his life to date.

      I enjoyed this the second time round. The biblical principle that the love of money is a route of all kinds of evil is clearly shown through this story. The author also does a good job in highlighting how an alcoholic will always struggle with the temptation to drink.

      The author claims to be a Christian and as already noted I have seen these themes in his books at times. He states in his bio that a close friend of his is a Baptist missionary. In this novel he nearly explains the way of salvation in a manner understandable to all readers. However, he also states elsewhere that he believes that faith is a private matter....how can it be private when we have been given the Great Commission by Jesus Himself and when people are perishing on a daily basis? This author has a great platform for evangelism should he choose to use it. He has spent millions of dollars on football stadiums which maybe shows where his priorities are....

      There are a few swear words in the book but it is not strong language. There is no graphic violence or sexual content apart from a few innuendos. I recommend this book.
    • 5/5
      How have I never read Grisham? This book. Spiritually fulfilling, relaxing to read, like meditation, yet a pageturner, pardon that cliche. Good thing I have the next book in hand already. Absolutely fantastic, this book.
    • 4/5
      Mind boggling!
    • 4/5
      Good story, man is in rehab , learns to trust in God and learns to live.Lawyer - hates job, drink & drugs ruined his and family life.
    • 4/5
      Simplistic but enjoyable
    • 3/5
      Grisham is a great writer and delivers an interesting plot. However, the end is rushed and there are some legal holes you could drive a truck through. Plus one of the story lines just sort of dies.
    • 2/5
      With this book, I did something rare.. I didn't finish it. I didn't like it al all. The idea of the story was good, and so was the beginning. But after about 100 pages, it started to bore me. :(
    • 1/5
      I quickly skimmed my way through this one, but even then was it worth it? No, not really. I've read The Firm and The Pelican Brief, but this didn't make it up to even those low bars. Apparently Grisham isn't going to work for me as a guilty pleasure.
    • 2/5
      I liked this at the start, but then it got too preachy for me. The protagonist's "conversion" wasn't the least bit believable. He prays once and is no longer an alcoholic. And I didn't like seeing him proceed to lie about things even if the family didn't deserve the money. Just really a weak, weak book.
    • 5/5
      I haven't read John Grisham, since This is my first Grisham read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
    • 3/5
      I only give it three stars because the story just fades out at the end. Still a satisfying read, but 3/4 through, you wonder how he's going to tie up the loose ends, and he does it rather quickly without the richness of prose he's given the first part of the book.
    • 5/5
      Loved this book! The main charactor is a louse, he's made a mess of his life and he knows it. His boss is his best friend and has his back through it all. His last assignment allows him to exercise his demons, and finally find peace. Mr. Grisham has created a believable cast of charactors and sheds terrific insight on a dark and lonely condition in life.....addiction.
    • 5/5
      John Grisham has done it again. I had read this book originally a year after release. And I just finished my second read. And though it all started to come back to me as I read it...It was still an exciting page-turner as it was the first time. That says a lot about this book. A self-made billionaire, the tenth richest man in America, has all his heirs come in to prove he is sane and competent before signing his last Will and Testament. Which he does, right before he commits suicide in front of those still present. And of course as he leaves out each and every known heir from his will. And as you learn how greedy and selfish they are, you are pleased he did. He does pay off all his children's debt and leaves the remainder of his holdings to his illegitimate daughter no one knew he had. Nor does anyone know where she is. His law firm sends a drug/alcohol addict just out of rehab for the fourth time to find her. He finds her an M.D. who has dedicated her life to God and is working deep in the jungles of Brazil. I found the book a very fast read that has some plot twist and is well written. Well worth the read.
    • 2/5
      READ IN DUTCH

      This is my first - and so far last - John Grisham novel. I didn't like it, although the blurb sounded quite interesting.



      A very rich eccentric finds a way to troll his greedy grandchildren, by cutting them out of his will and committing suicide right after he's made the change. The grieving grandchildren employ lawyers of course, and another lawyer is sent in to the middle of nowhere in the Brazilian jungle to break the news to a woman, who now is very rich.



      What follows is a long story, that was incapable of holding my interest. The writing wasn't bad, but I didn't care for the characters and couldn't think of why they would go to such great lengths to tell her about it. I'd say that if you choose to life so far from anything, you don't really want to be found. At the end, I'm not curious to read any more novels by John Grisham, as this one disappointed me.
    • 5/5
      Another great Grisham novel. I really enjoyed this one, and couldn't wait to find out how it ended. An interesting contrast of the good and bad of life.
    • 5/5
      My favorite Grisham book, so far. I like the issues of redemption and struggling for the right actions, not just the ones which are logical.
    • 5/5
      Legal mystery thriller, fast paced, kept reader very interested about what was going to happen to the main character, one of his best
    • 4/5
      Excellent story line which was very well written and easy to read. Got to know the main characters and in particular empaphised with Nate. Inevitably drawn to happy ending but not the case and overall I thought the last chapters were realistic and well thought out.
    • 3/5
      Solid, page-turner Grisham. Satisfying quick read.
    • 5/5
      The theme of the story is about reaching out. Reaching out to anybody especially the poor and the less privileged. Giving up something for the passion of helping one another .. For Rachel, she gave up the inheritance as she will never need it or perhaps she will need a portion of it just to buy stuff needed at the place she loves. We are all children of this Earth, so we should reach out to those who need us.
    • 5/5
      Full of intrigue and no smut.
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this book.
    • 4/5
      Nate has spent his career as a lawyer trying to find himself in a bottle. When he has to find a long long and unknown heir to a fortune, he finds more than the heiress, but himself sans that pesky bottle.
    • 4/5
      This book is like eating a huge ice cream sundae: You're happy you ate it, but your stomach hurts afterwards. It was a good book, but I hated how (**Spoiler**) Nate only met Rachael once. I wish they could have had more interaction. But the heirs of Troy Phelan keep you laughing. Not my favorite ending, but it fit.
    • 4/5
      I thoroughly enjoyed this Grisham tale. I spend many hours a week working on estate planning issues and more than once thought while reading The Testament that much of the story is plausible. A good read even though a billion dollars isn't what it once was . . .
    • 5/5
      This was the first Grisham book I ever read. I enjoyed it so much I kept reading his other stories. A gripping tale that surprised me all along the way through.
    • 4/5
      A Super book that Ranks right up there as his best. I got this book from the book club. I've read just about all of John Grisham's novels, but for some reason I missed this one. I'm certainly glad I didn't, because I thought The Testament was close to being one of his best. I really enjoyed "The Partner", but this book ranks right up there. The characters were likable and believable. Mr. Grisham has demonstrated once more that he has a social conscience. He created a lovely and easy to understand description of the Gospel of Jesus. Certainly, the best that I have ever read. I'm sure that if people read this book they will get a better understanding as to how God works and that he his there for them in their time of need. Just a wonderful story