Alive and Kicking by Michael Levin

Alive and Kicking by Michael Levin For years the members of the large and pathologically litigious Gaines family have seen one another only across the courtroom or across the casket. For this family, a revered and time-honored tradition has been, as soon as one member dies, to lose no time in contesting the will, aided by the warring (and related) law firms of Shapolsky and Shapolsky and Shapolsky & Shapolsky. Now their endless family squabble takes a new turn when fresh-faced young banker Amelia Vanderbilt helps Harry Gaines, 92-year-old patriarch and possessor of a multimillion-dollar fortune, draft a will requiring his fractious heirs to "get along" - or lose the whole $60 million bundle. But each of the many Gaineses has his own ideas about how to spend the money - and "getting along" happens only when two join forces to sue a third. Will Sam David's bribes work and allow him to construct three Trump Toweresque skyscrapers with the money? Or will Dwight David, ne'er-do-well and Cap d'Antibes denizen, open a disco? Will the money be used to fund homeless shelters or to open a museum of stunt car driving? What will the two Shapolsky law firms do if they lose their best (and only) clients? And what secrets is Amelia hiding as she tries to shepherd the Gaineses into an agreement? But can the Gaineses agree on anything? Or will a hundred years of spite and an army of greedy lawyers spoil the last hope for family Paperback. Used-good condition. All pages intact. Smoke free.