What would you do if you woke up one day and discovered that you were a billionaire? That you were the sole meaningful heir of a fabulously wealthy aunt you barely knew you had? Your life as an ordinary boy would certainly be over, but what about you would not change?
In Richard Newsome’s The Billionaire’s Curse, Gerald Wilkins is an ordinary boy, looking forward to spending his school holidays skiing with his best friend as usual, a welcome break not only from school but from his distant, self-absorbed parents as well. Then comes the news of this unknown aunt’s death, and his parents inexplicably insist on attending the funeral in faraway England.
His parents offer no clues as to what is going on, from why they are flying on a private jet instead of on a regular airline, to why each member of the family has received letters from this aunt that are not to be opened until the will is read.
It is at the will reading that the light begins to dawn for Gerald. All of his relatives, and all of his aunt’s friends and staff, all of whom deemed themselves worthy of inheriting the great fortune, have received mere pittances in the will. Gerald received more than 20 billion pounds, a butler/valet who seems to hate him, a yacht, a Caribbean island and a note from his aunt requesting that he find her murderer.
His unbelievably insensitive parents immediately take off by themselves for a lovely holiday in the Caribbean on Gerald’s new yacht, leaving him all alone in London in a very dangerous predicament.
The aunt’s murder seems to be connected to a fabulous diamond she helped bring to the British Museum and which has been stolen. The only person who may have a clue is the professor at the museum who was also involved with bringing the diamond to London. When Gerald goes to see him, he is almost kidnapped by a mysterious man who also seems to be looking for the missing diamond.
Gerald is saved by Ruby and Sam, twins he meets by chance in the lobby, and the three of them race against time to find the diamond, the killer and a mysterious box that will unleash the stone’s incredible powers.
This is Newsome’s first young adult novel, and he is the recipient of Text Publishing’s inaugural Young Adult Writing Prize. This award is well-deserved.
The twists and turns of the plot will keep the reader fully engaged and guessing until the very last page. There is danger, and the children often find themselves in scary situations, but always manage to extricate themselves with ingenuity and grace.
Some of the villains do meet bad ends, but these occur off-screen and are left to the reader’s imagination. This sensitivity makes this mystery suitable for readers from fourth grade and up.
» The Billionaire’s Curse (The Archer Legacy Series No. 1)
» Richard Newsome
» Hardcover, 344 pages
» ISBN: 9780061944901
— Carol Ann Chybowski, who received a bachelor’s degree in linguistics from UCSB, is an aspiring author with short stories in the local anthologies A Community of Voices. The former Santa Barbara resident resides in Southern California.