The Testament

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The Testament is a legal/suspense thriller by American author John Grisham. It was published in hardcover by Doubleday on February 2, 1999.

Troy Phelan, an eccentric, reclusive, ruthless billionaire businessman, commits suicide.Troy is very smart. In order to leave his family out of his will, he made a fake will a few hours before his suicide, putting his family into that will. Then minutes before his suicide, he made a new will and showed it to his lawyer. That will held no mention of his family, instead he leaves everything to Rachel Lane, an illegitimate daughter no one has heard of before.

Josh Stafford, Troy's lawyer, confidante and executor, must find Rachel, but he knows only that she is a missionary somewhere in Brazil. He decides to assign Nate O'Riley, former high-powered litigator and recovering alcoholic, to find her. Nate is just emerging from his fourth stay in rehab, and he reluctantly agrees to go.

While Nate is in Brazil, trying to find Rachel Lane, Troy's family does everything in their power to contest the new will. They argue that although Troy was examined by three of the top psychiatrists in the nation, he was lacking sanity at the time of the new will.

The journey into the jungles of South America by way of Corumba, Brazil nearly kills Nate, for the he drinks nearly two bottles of vodka. He recovers and locates the tribe in which Rachel Lane is, and she refuses to accept the legacy. Nate is unable to convince her otherwise, and returns to America after contracting dengue fever from a mosquito.

In the meantime, the ex-wives, children and respective lawyers ae attempting to destroy and disprove all evidence of Troy Phelan's sanity and even the will itself.

Nate is persuaded to return to the jungle, but when he arrives he learns that she has died from malaria. She has, however, left instructions that the money be put into trust for the benefit of the indigenous peoples and that Nate will have control the trust. In the end of the book, the relatives of Troy Phelan finally get around twenty five million each, after the lawyer's fees, to stop Troy's family turning the will into a legal mess.

Preceded by The Street Lawyer

John Grisham Novels 1999

Succeeded by The Brethren

John Grisham's novels (as of 2006)
1980s: A Time to Kill 1990s: The Firm — The Pelican Brief — The Client — The Chamber — The Rainmaker — The Runaway Jury — The Partner — The Street Lawyer — The Testament 2000s: The Brethren — A Painted House — Skipping Christmas — The Summons — Bleachers — The King of Torts — The Last Juror — The Broker
Non-Fiction
2000s: The Innocent Man