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THE WILL is a complex story that defies simple categorization. It is nominally a legal thriller; its title certainly reinforces that impression but little of the action actually takes place inside a courtroom. The legal maneuverings instead form the basis for a complex tale that is part mystery, part political intrigue, part romance, part religion and philosophy, and primarily a study of human relationships and psychology. If you enjoy simple mysteries and action thrillers, this storyline may be too complicated and slow moving for you. However, if your reading interests incline towards stories with a more leisurely pace and substantial character development, then I highly recommend this book. I decided to read it after immensely enjoying the THE LAST GOODBYE (review 2/17/2004) by this author. While this differed in many significant respects, I found it to be an equally compelling read.

Henry Mathews is a young associate at a prestigious Chicago law firm with a high powered partner as his patron. His drop dead gorgeous girlfriend Elaine is on an equally fast track at her brokerage firm. Together, they seem to be the prototypical unstoppable power couple with everything within their grasp. Suddenly an apparently minor detour appears in Henry's path; he is notified that Tyler Crandall, the richest man in his tiny hometown of Council Grove, Kansas has died and Henry feels dutybound to return to unseal and execute THE WILL. It had been prepared by Henry's father shortly before he and Henry's mother were killed in a tragic automoblie accident several years earlier; its contents have remained unknown to everyone except Ty Crandall and Henry's father until this moment. When Crandall's family (as well as the residents of the town and several powerfully and poitically connected Kansans) learn that the estate was left primarily to a local resident nicknamed The Birdman (Raymond Boyd), chaos erupts! Ty's son Roger wants to challenge the will, but can only do so at great potential cost to both his mother and himself. Henry is forced to confront his feeling about his father's relatively unsuccessful career and his loss of faith resulting from the accident. (Upon the death of his parents, Henry had immediately left the seminary where he had been studying.) He can still recall his fear of and fascination with The Birdman during his childhood days in Council Grove. Now he quickly has to determine if he should attempt to enforce the provisions of a will that makes a multimillionaire of an apparently crazy man who has spent most of his life in the town park with a huge bird as his only companion and who had no known contact with Crandall. (I found Raymond Boyd to be a wonderfully drawn character, the gradual insights provided into his seemingly mad ravings with spiritual overtones were very well handled.)

There are an several intertwined threads to the story; a full description would both be beyond the scope of this review and also impossible without spoilers. The reader is soon introduced to Amanda Ashton, whose efforts to convince the Kansas legislature that she should be allowed to investigate the environmental hazards which old oil wells pose to local groundwater has raised the ire of Carl Durand, a powerful state senator with ties to Crandall and his son Roger. How their lives all intersect become one of the major threads in this novel. Finally, as Henry attempts to balance his time in Council Grove with his job in Chicago, a crisis erupts which forces him to reexamine his goals in order to avoid his own potential "moral deconstruction". The latter part of this book gradually uncovers the mystery that has lain hidden below the surface of Council Grove for decades and caused the mental anguish of Raymond Boyd. It is about how the cancer of lies can kill souls and destroy lives, and major segments of the book involve Henry wrestling with the deep spirtual emptiness that followed his rejection of a role for God in his life following his parents' death. The author handles this element incredibly well and I believe that it is essential to the storyline and enhances the narrative, but it certainly separates this from the usual action thriller.

This is a powerful story of how Henry's attempt to find redemption and perhaps even salvation for Raymond leads to new insights into his own life as well. There are some characters here who are as complex as the story itself; the reader comes to appreciate their struggles to overcome the roadblocks put in their way and the costly mistakes which they have made. My only minor criticism/caution is that while the action is almost continuous and often compelling, there are so many elements to this tale that it takes quite a while for them all to coalesce. Although this book is very differnt in plot construction than THE LAST GOODBYE. I found it every bit as enjoyable. The philosophical discussion of the characters' lives and the role of their ethical choices was an integral element in the richness of both stories; the major difference was the central role which the element of spirituality played in this book.

Tucker Andersen

Reed Arvin has done a great job with this novel. The story moves along at a steady pace and really picks up toward the end. As a matter of fact, there really aren't any slow spots in this novel, and that's a major accomplishment for a thriller like this. You really can't call this a "legal thriller", though some of the action takes place in the court room and the main character is a lawyer. It's not so much about the law as it is about the strange characters that populate the town. Each has their own little secret to hide, and most will keep you guessing until the ending. And the ending...what can I say? The revelations make everything make sense in a way that says "Ahhhhh, so THAT'S what was happening!".

There is profanity sprinkled unnecessarily throughout the story, but it's not to the level of some books out there. When it comes, it's from out of nowhere and it's strong. Be prepared.

All in all, this is a great story of faith. It was shopped in the Christian market before Reed gave up and went secular. Obviously the story got some extra treatment after that decision (the language and a sex scene), but it still retains a good "moral of the story". I enjoyed it much more than his other novel, "The Last Goodbye". I hope we see more like this one from him in the future.

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.

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5.0 out of 5 stars MARVELOUS!!! It's a must for legal thriller readers
What made me read this book: The Will? I didn't know Reed Arvin until he was introduced by Bookreporter.com web site. Read more

Published on Dec 29 2003 by John P. Fine

5.0 out of 5 stars The Will is a Winner!!
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. Read more

Published on Dec 3 2003 by John R. Linnell

3.0 out of 5 stars A good effort
I wasn't aware of a lot of the comparisons to Grisham that many people have made regarding Reed Arvin. Read more

Published on Nov 27 2003 by N. Bernadsky

4.0 out of 5 stars Roaring Lamb Alert
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,... Read more

Published on May 6 2003 by Steven Elliott

3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read, incredibly well crafted
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... Read more

Published on Jan 18 2003 by Mark Stephen Warren

4.0 out of 5 stars REAL GOOD BOOK
This was a good read at times it was a little predictable but a good book none the less

Published on Oct 4 2002 by T. A Kelley

4.0 out of 5 stars clap clap clap (where is the icon?)
this is a great book. it started off pretentious, but soon
developed into a good story (intriguing) that kept twisting
and turning. Read more

Published on Jan 7 2002 by addyrphoto

4.0 out of 5 stars Great effort from Arvin
I love Reed Arvin's production work on albums from Rich Mullins and others, and I was frankly surprised that he was able to transition over to write quite a good novel. Read more

Published on Nov 13 2001 by P. Hamm

4.0 out of 5 stars The Birdman
Henry Mathews left the seminary the day his parents were killed in a car crash and never looked back. Read more

Published on Sep 22 2001 by K. Fromal

5.0 out of 5 stars A suspenseful well-paced novel

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. Read more

Published on Mar 30 2001 by Joseph H Pierre

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