Last Train from Mendrisio - Hardcover

The tycoon in question is Trevor Thomson, a "successful, money-grubbing, red-blooded American of Scottish descent and rich as hell," who, at the beginning of the story is fast approaching his ninetieth birthday. Trevor falls, or is he pushed, from a train traveling at high speed over Lake Lugano in Switzerland. With no children of his own, the bulk of his fortune, an offshore trust fund established in the 1960s on the Caribbean island of Grand Turk, seems destined to go to his step-children, Sam and Judith. But an attractive young "mulatto" woman, Felicia Fountain, appears on the scene claiming to be Trevor's rightful heir.

In a series of flashbacks to 1963 we see how Felicia's mother, Chiarra, was raped twice in the same day, first by Trevor Thomson and then by a local pilot. As the narrative unravels we witness the battle between Felicia and Sam for Trevor's inheritance. They both have to contend with the double-dealing of Dr. Giannini, the corrupt Swiss coroner, who seems intent on selling a favorable report on Trevor's DNA to the highest bidder. The interested parties gather on Grand Turk for the postmortem hearing. Sam meets Felicia for the first time and falls hopelessly in love.

In everyday life Felicia is an inner city social worker in Los Angeles. She wants to spend the Thomson millions on improving conditions in the ghetto. Sam's main interest in life is archaeology, and, as a professional historian, he wants to advance the "Thomson-Columbus" Museum on Grand Turk along with a recently discovered shipwreck that may or may not be Columbus' ship, the Pinta. The museum and the wreck were the pet projects of his late step-father.

Trevor Thomson's postmortem hearing falls apart under the weight of conflicting evidence, and a recess is called. Sam and Felicia, independently, rush off to Switzerland to find Hans Kubler, the financial advisor to the Thomson estate who is diligently carrying on with Trevor's wishes to take over a Mafia-controlled pharmaceutical conglomerate with a corner on the world market for condoms. Sam tracks down Kubler at the Mendrisio Easter Pageant and learns that he is about to gamble the entire Thomson portfolio on the purchase of the drug company. Can he be stopped?

The novel's distinctly playful and tongue-in-cheek feel and the taught, snappy dialogue that the authors give to the range of creditable and interesting characters is very much in keeping with the bold, sweeping style of the piece.