The Billionaire's Curse (The Archer Legacy Series #1)

by Richard Newsome, Jonny Duddle

Overview

Gerald Wilkins never considered himself a particularly exceptional thirteen-year-old. But that was before he inherited twenty billion pounds, a Caribbean island, a yacht, and three estates from a great-aunt he never knew. With this fortune, however, comes a letter. One from his great-aunt Geraldine. One that tells Gerald that she was murdered, and that it's up to him to find out why.

Along with his friends Ruby and Sam, Gerald embarks on a journey that will lead him from the British Museum to dodgy social clubs for the disgustingly rich to mansions in the English countryside to secret places far underground. Who was Geraldine Archer? And what secrets was she hiding? Unless Gerald, Sam, and Ruby can find out before the killer does, they may be next.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061998324
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	05/18/2010
Series:	Archer Legacy Series , #1
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	384
Lexile:	730L (what's this?)
File size:	959 KB
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Richard Newsome is the author of the first two books in the Archer Legacy, The Billionaire's Curse and The Emerald Casket. In researching the trilogy, Richard traveled to England, India, France, Italy, and Greece, visiting many of the historical sites featured in the books. He lives with his family in Brisbane, Australia.

Editorial Reviews

There’s no letup in the pacing, and all the tried-and-true mystery elements add up to an Anthony Horowitz-style romp.” — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

Gerald, a seemingly ordinary Sydney teenager, rises to the occasion when a previously unmet great-aunt in England leaves him 20 billion pounds and a note asking him to find her murderer. He doesn't have to look too hard, because the killer is after him, too. It all has something to do with an ancient casket that he knows nothing about, a huge, recently stolen diamond-and, as events unfold, lots of hidden doorways, underground chambers, cryptic clues, artifacts with mysterious powers, etc. Endowing his protagonist with two doughty British twins for sidekicks and blithely sweeping away most of the lifestyle complications that sudden, massive wealth would normally entail, Newsome pitches the trio into one fruitful but dangerous foray after another on the way to a properly bloody and suspenseful climax. The author is too fond of the "overheard conversation" ploy, and as this debut is the opener for a planned trilogy, there are plenty of questions left unanswered. Still, there's no letup in the pacing, and all the tried-and-true mystery elements add up to an Anthony Horowitz-style romp. (Adventure. 11-14)

Kirkus Reviews