Fatal Trust ~ Review

Fatal Trust
By Todd M. Johnson

Following his father's death, Ian Wells took over his father's portion of the law practice. But his portion of the practice isn't doing as well as Ian had hoped. And caring for his mother who is suffering from Alzheimer's has added an additional strain to his growing pile of bills and worry. So when an unexpected case is offered, one where he must determine where the three beneficiaries meet all the qualifications, he accepts the case.

Ian agreed to take on this unusual case because of the payout, one that could end many of his current financial difficulties. But the deeper he digs, the more concerned he becomes at what he is discovering. And even more disturbing are the questions he is uncovering. And with time at a premium - one week to decide who is worthy of a share of nine million dollars he suddenly finds himself moving, not so slowly, to center-stage of a criminal investigation.

With time ticking down Ian needs to uncover the truth about the trust he has been charged with handling before it is too late. If he doesn't discover the secret that someone has been hiding for years this could be his last case ever.

Todd Johnson has created a page-turning mystery that will keep the reader on the edge of their seat as the suspense and danger steadily rises. Ian is a likable character whom one is rooting for throughout as he comes across the unexpected and deals his own past. This is a mystery where what you know could be as dangerous as what you don't know and Ian is caught between both.

I highly recommend this book to fans of legal thrillers. Having read Todd Johnson in the past I knew I would not be disappointed and my expectations were exceeded in every way. The story opens at the climax before taking the reader to a point 20 years in the past to an incident that seems unrelated to the story and yet has a bearing that is only fully understood when the climax is again reached. The motivations and layers that are revealed as the story unfolds in no way hints at what is to come so that the mystery is not given away early.

I was provided a review copy of this book by the publisher Bethany House through their blogger program with no expectations of a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.



About the Book:

A Simple Job. 

An Unbelievable Payout. 

But in Risking It All On Blind Trust, 

He May Just Lose Everything . . .

Ian Wells is a young, ambitious Minneapolis attorney struggling to build up a law practice while caring for a mother with Alzheimer's. As the stress and bills mount, Ian is nearing the breaking point when everything changes with a single new case. All Ian must do, the client demands, is judge whether three men qualify for nine million dollars of trust funds soon to be paid out by determining whether they've been involved in any criminal activity for the past twenty years. Ian's fee for a week's work: the unfathomable sum of two hundred thousand dollars.

The job seems too good to be true, and Ian wants to turn the offer down, but his needs weigh more heavily. He warily accepts the job--but is quickly dragged deep into a mystery linking the trust money to an illegal enterprise dating back to Prohibition and the greatest unsolved crime in Minnesota history. Ian soon finds himself the target of a swiftly tightening criminal investigation--realizing too late that this so-called simple job has spun out of control and now threatens his career, his future, and his life.