THE HEIR HUNTER **AWARD FINALIST**

New York, New York, U.S.A.: Delacorte Press, 2000. 1st edition, with complete number line. Oversize wrappers, near fine copy of the Uncorrected Page Proofs. A SHAMUS AWARD NOMINEE. 1st edition, February 2000, so stated, with complete number line beginning with 1. Fine in fine dust jacket, not price clipped, in protective mylar cover. A SHAMUS AWARD NOMINEE. "An unclaimed $22-million estate is up for grabs in first-time novelist Larsgaard's ingenious thriller. Sexy attorney Alex Moreno-the Albany, N.Y.-based partner to former cop Nick Merchant who now specializes in finding heirs to unsettled estates-slips a county deputy attorney a $10,000 bribe to get a sneak preview of four probate files 10 days before the official release date. One of the files contains the mind-boggling multimillion-dollar legacy of Gerald Jacobs, an 87-year-old Hudson, N.Y., recluse who died with no apparent heirs. Since Nick's customary finder's fee averages about 30%, this represents the proverbial jackpot. Unfortunately, there is absolutely no record of the deceased's life earlier than his final three years at the Hudson address, so leads for Nick and Alex are meager. Unaware of clandestine forces working to quash any probe into the dead man's background, the intrepid heir hunters stage a daylight burglary of Jacobs's residence, but are interrupted by a mysterious intruder who shoots a cop investigating the reported break-in. Accused of attempted murder, Nick follows sketchy clues obtained in the burglary and winds up in Germany, where he finds an old lover of Jacobs and learns that the mysterious retiree was part of the FBI's witness protection program. The plot thickens and the chase picks up speed as Nick investigates in Iowa and Geneva. Grim reminders of the Holocaust and Swiss bankers' collusion with the Nazis--plus a sobering look at federal agencies operating outside the law--are well drawn, as is an artful undercurrent of sexual tension. ..." -- Publishers Weekly. 1st Edition. Pictorial Wrappers. Fine/No Jacket. Uncorrected Proof.