This week’s CFBA book is the The Heir by Paul Meier.

It is part of a trend in the books I’m seeing from Bethany House. More of the ones I’m getting are targeted at men — a shift my husband is enjoying, and this one is no exception. My husband thoroughly enjoyed this book, and beat me to finishing it off. He’s been waiting for me to finish it so we could talk about what worked and didn’t.

Mr. Robertson chose to write this book in first person from Jason Boyer’s perspective. We see everything through his eyes. At first, this made it very hard for me to care about Jason and his story. Jason has been given much more than a silver spoon by life, and anticipates things continuing as they were for a very long time. His life is purposeless, but he doesn’t really care because he has a beautiful wife, more money than he can spend, and a life without care. And life will continue this way since he’s been told to expect a very large monthly stipend for the rest of his life with no strings attached.

Then his father is killed unexpectedly in a car crash, and Jason is stunned to learn that instead of passing to his father’s foundation as everyone had been told, the estate is now his. And only his.

He finds himself with power, wealth and fame he never wanted. And frankly he doesn’t know what to do with it. He’s being handled by everyone from his father’s attorney to the governor, and trying desperately to figure out what to do. Then people start dying and he’s not sure who he can trust.

This book built in intensity and after a few chapters I was firmly in Jason’s corner wondering what on earth he would do with all the money and power. The plot spirals into a tight web of intrigue as power rushes to fill the vacuum left by his father’s death, and Jason tries to right the wrongs of the past.

Reading Jason work his way through to a purpose was like watching a newborn calf stand for the first time. However, everything does not tie up in a neat package at the end of this book – much like life refuses to fall into simple lines. In fact, I’d call the ending ambiguous and rushed. Many of the plots are tied up, but the big questions remain. Even so, it is a satisfying read.