The Doorstep of Depravity: A Tale of Lawyers, Heirs, Greed, Deceit, Lust and Death.

• Author: McAdams, Christina C.
• Position: Book review

The Doorstep of Depravity by Noah Bond

Events move from improbable to mysterious to incredible in Noah Bond's new legal thriller, The Doorstep of Depravity. The dust jacket promises "A Tale of Lawyers, Heirs, Greed, Deceit, Lust & Death." Add to that biological weaponry and identity theft and you have the stuff of the typical Grisham-wannabe novel. Although this book is somewhat long on plot and short on character development, Mr. Bond takes the reader on an unpretentious and enjoyable trip through the door and into the heart of depravity.

A simple prologue warns of ominous things to come. On a cold and stormy evening in upstate New York, a young woman sheds her jacket, sweater, and umbrella before she walks up the lane to a mansion. For some reason, she wants to arrive looking wet and bedraggled. Even more foreboding: She carries "tools of the trade" in her waterproof backpack--makeup, insulin, and a syringe--although she is not diabetic.

Once we cross over the threshold into the mansion as well as the novel, we quickly learn that money and greed define the very heart of depravity. The young woman who wants to appear to be something she is not is Kay Claussen, a doctoral student. Most improbably, she daydreams about viruses and epidemics while learning that she is the beneficiary of a multimillion-dollar inter vivos trust established by her recently deceased uncle. Kay has been out of touch with her family for many years, including her cousins Elke and Gunnar, who are to receive smaller but substantial specific bequests and legacies. The catch for Kay is that Uncle Rupert feared that she would turn into a spinster, so he inserted a proviso into the trust declaration requiring that any beneficiary must not only survive him by 60 days but also prove an intention to procreate.

This starts the wheels turning. Cousin Gunnar, the successor trustee, hires a bright and savvy big-firm lawyer, Bob Brandt. Kay turns to Grace O'Higgins, an equally attractive but somewhat inexperienced solo practitioner. Grace files a lawsuit to protect her client's...