The Philanthropist's Danse [Kindle Edition]

I figured that this was going to be a "Cluedo" type murder mystery when I read the synopsis of this story, I couldn't have been more wrong.

Paul has taken 12 beautifully written characters (15 if you count those involved in the story but not the invitees) and placed them into a fantastically woven plot that kept me captivated to the point where i'd be very annoyed when I had to put the book down due to work commitments etc etc.

12 people, family, associates, enemies & employees are invited up to a billionaire's mansion in the middle of nowhere to find out that they have to agree on how to share their late benefactor's inheritance.
It's not until the rules of the danse start coming into effect that things start to turn nasty for the majority of the 12.

This story has it all, murder, mystery, suspense, prostitution, blackmail and a small mixture of romance intrically woven together, masterfully.

You get an in depth knowledge of the characters through a mixture of storytelling and flashbacks and you are in a constant turmoil of emotion as to who is good and who is rotten. Then just when you have them figured out you are thrown back into turmoil and start doubting your judgements.

The story is very fast paced with plenty of little twists to keep you enthralled right up until the very last page.

This is Pauls first book and i'm looking forward to reading his next one.

Johnston Thurwell has died. After his death 12 people including his children, employees and even his enemy are told to come to his house. They have a week to split his fortune between them, however it will be reduced by 20% at midnight each day, so the clock is ticking. There also has to be a majority consensus on how the money is divided. It soon becomes clear people are prepared to double cross each other and go to extreme measurers to insure they get what they feel they deserve.

I really enjoyed this book from the start. I thought it was great the way different groups and people tried to manipulate each other, in order to get what they feel they deserve and then how their allegiances would change in order to secure themselves a better deal.

Throughout the book I kept changing my mind about who I felt should get the money and why as we got to know each of the characters better. All the different twists and turns were great and I think this book could easily be adapted into a great TV drama.

I felt that the characters were all really well developed and, especially as the book goes on, you feel you have a really insight into who these characters are and what makes them tick. The only negative comment I have is I think there could have been more description of the characters physical appearance. At the start we are very quickly introduced to twelve people and I think it would have been easier to remember who they were had more time been spent describing how they look.

Other than that I thought it was a brilliant book with a great concept and loads of twists and turns. I highly recommend it.

..and ended up in Cheltenham instead; and all because I couldn't put this book down.

A gripping and compelling read, I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a jolly good, well written finger flipping (not really page turning as I read it on an iphone) story.