Janette Turner Hospital — The Claimant

HarperCollins Publishers Australia 2014 Trade Paperback, 609pp. A brilliant and compulsively readable story of truth, lies and identity from one of Australia's finest writers. 'So then, here it is. the unadorned un-self-flattering gospel, the never-before-told story our intricately intertwined lives. Listen: I know things that no one else knows. trust me. ' Manhattan, 1996: the trial of the Vanderbilt claimant is finally coming to an end. the case - long, complex, riven with unknowns, attracting huge media and social interest - has been seeking to establish whether or not a certain man is the son of the fabulously wealthy and well-connected Vanderbilt family. the son went missing, presumed dead, while serving in the Vietnam war. there is huge fortune, prestige and status at stake. But is the man - a handsome cattle farmer from Queensland - really the Vanderbilt heir? And if so, why does he seem so reluctant to be found? Heavy. Small tear to the dust jacket at the spine. (ISBN: 9780732298135). Very Good.