The Stanton Succession

When the founder of a successful engineering company learns that his chosen successor is an ex-con, he dies, leaving his tainted replacement to duke it out with the CEOs. By the author of Outlaw. 40,000 first printing. National ad/promo.

The fully dimensional, credibly drawn executives at Stanton Technologies scramble from a corporate ladder to an escape hatch in Kiefer's ( The Perpignon Exchange ) tightly woven novel of industrial and legal intrigue . High-tech exec Avery Stanton dies of heart failure when he learns that his handpicked successor, brilliant marketing director Adam Walsh, is a paroled ex-con. Company lawyer Colin Draggett, associated with an ultra-conservative Wall Street firm, finds himself condoning a buy - off plan worked out with the other two CEO candidates (one of them Stanton's philandering but capable son-in-law) to remove Walsh from the scene without triggering a crash in the value of Stanton stocks. The pressure s on the usually unflappable Draggett approach crisis level when his co-conspirators' fumbling attempts at violent solutions land them in deep trouble just when his personal life is in turmoil due to a terminally ill wife, a demanding mother and a plunge in the junk-bond market. The trio seethes as Walsh becomes the darling of Wall Street and market insiders' pick to take over Stanton's reins. Events hit the fast track at the annual stockholders meeting when Walsh's payoff deadline looms. In his deft and amusing style, Kiefer leads the reader through many plot twists, although he needlessly telegraphs the outcomes of several ploys. The legal and financial antics illustrate the joys of wheeling and dealing betwixt a rock and a hard place.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

On the eve of visionary chemist Avery Stanton's retirement as chairman of the Stanton Technologies board, the news that his anointed successor has a long prison record sparks a confrontation that kills Stanton and leaves the question of his successor up for grabs. The two chief grabbers--Stanton's philandering son-in-law Ken Fairchild (Sales), and his abrasive rival Brian Redfern (Finance)- -are united for once in their determination to oust smooth economist/jailbird Adam Walsh. But Walsh, unimpressed by the puny buyout offers tendered by Stanton's chief counsel Colin Draggett, digs in, threatening to go public and send the value of Stanton stock plummeting unless he gets a $12 million handshake. As Redfern concocts phony company deals to get the down payment ready, things get soapier on the distaff side: Ken's long-suffering wife Barbara, the old man's daughter, catches her husband in flagrante; Brian's wife Fionna schemes to round up board votes for her man; and Colin, watching his beloved wife Joyce slowly dying, finds himself in bed with Barbara. Meantime, even as questions about Walsh pile up--if he never finished high school, how can an old Princeton friend be vouching for him, along with the wife who knew him from childhood?- -Colin, fearful that Stanton's crash could reduce him to poverty, tries to persuade board members to elect a caretaker candidate, and Brian plots secretly and ineptly to kill Walsh--first by hiring muscle, then by doing the job himself. None of the infighting matters in the end, and the tale winds down with a distinct air of ironic anticlimax. But while it lasts, Kiefer (Outlaw, The Perpignon Exchange, etc.) grabs you and doesn't let go. He's a much better grabber than his hapless executives. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

When delicate health forces Avery Stanton to step down as head of his successful engineering firm, he promptly begins to consider who among his three favorite administrators should take his place. Before a final decision is reached, however, he is fatally stricken, shortly after his preferred candidate is exposed as a fraudulent ex-convict. The balance of this intriguing tale centers on the efforts of the other contenders to oust the bogus executive without triggering extensive devaluation of corporate stock. Attempted and/or actual bribery, embezzlement, extortion, and murder all wreak havoc in schemes that involve a host of well-drawn savory and unsavory characters. A dash of adultery and a car chase add extra spice. Suspenseful plotting heightens the finely developed sense of irony in this impressive novel. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 1/92.
- Will Hepfer, SUNY at Buffalo Libs.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.