What People Are Saying About The Secret Trust

"In these troubled times, it's fun to read a book so upbeat, patriotic and romantic, and with an intriguing plot. A must for pure enjoyment."

Nancy Brinker
Former U.S. Ambassador to Hungary
Chief of Protocol of the United States
Founder, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation

Review by Sally  Hansen
Producer/Host, Freedom to Read, retired

    Lee Charles, the hero of Robert Taylor’s novel The Secret Trust, has created a flourishing career and a full life, yet he nonetheless tells us at the start of his dissatisfaction with his very happy, stimulating life.
    “What  could possibly be missing? No adventure. That was it.”
     So naturally, he gets what he wishes for, but, unfortunately, only because of the death of a close, longtime friend.
     Charles is about to have more than enough adventure in this legal, romance and mystery novel set among immense wealth, ancient intricacies of the law, the arcane customs of it s practitioners, glimpses of the use and abuse of power, and more.
     Author Taylor provides charm and surprises through storytelling that is both engaging and literate. He gives us Lee Charles, a very successful self-made attorney whose practice affords him connections in his home state of Texas, across the U.S. and inside international cities and capitols.

     

    Charles‘ good life is thrown to the wind, or almost, through the thoughtfulness and generosity of a best friend, an Englishwoman, and her wish that he finish piecing together the story she had begun unraveling. Their friendship is just one of the many types of love between men and women that our hero enjoys, for he is “absolutely fascinated by females” and appreciates them in every way and with affection, delight and enthusiasm.  This story arises from Charles’ love of women. As Charles says, “It had to do with a woman, of course, but not in the way you might think.” And that holds true a few times.
     At the core of the puzzle are law and power, both their simplicity and their complexity. Charles’ pursuit  of the solution shows us the use of power in government, politics, business, the law, American’s power elite, the British aristocracy, and the super rich.
     Lee Charles’ legal career has given him a strong appreciation of experts, and his own reputation provides ready access to them, in the law and other fields. Also among his contacts are those with both expertise and power, some extraordinarily  so endowed. All these characters help define the puzzle, pick out its parts and extent, remove obstacles, and answer the questions posed by its solution. But Charles is left alone to figure out the bigger mystery and how to respond to it.
     Taylor gives us the barest start to the adventure and then shows his storytelling talents in intriguing reminiscences of Charles’ past. Though these postpone our starting on the puzzle, the stories are not to be missed because they are great fun, reveal Taylor’s ability to firmly grab our attention, and provide critical keys to the mystery.
     Taylor has Charles’ puzzle start in Texas, fly to Washington, and then off to London, both capitols Charles (and, one imagines, the author) knows well. Since an attorney who represents himself has a fool for a client, our Texas boy hires London representation to pursue his interests.
     The author includes us in his obvious pleasure with the history, geniality and gentility of the English legal profession, while keeping the volatile aspects of the puzzle at a civilized simmer. In the end, what overwhelms Charles is not the answer to the puzzle, nor even its outcome, but what waits behind the door of a London law office.
     The Secret Trust has no murders, no gore, no crimes or misdemeanors, but plenty of surprises.  It involves losses, more than most of us would ever dream of, and gains that no one could expect. The author and our hero untangle a convoluted legal puzzle and wend their way through a maze to a secret that continues to evolve until it staggers all involved. As Charles’ London solicitor says, “I have not seen the like in my lifetime, and I do not expect to again.”

Review by Pam Lange
Senior Lecturer
Department of English
Southern Methodist University

      A warm feeling lingers after finishing The Secret Trust. Like the good fiction of times past , the novel presents a strong moral point of view: not a sanctimonious, holier-than-thou, self-righteous tract, but a wise consideration of a life well-lived. In this novel, love is more important than money, women are as challenging as men, and the love of country and knowledge of its history and law are very important.
     Laced with humor and mystery, this surprisingly earthy novel brims with suspense and well-developed characters.
     The lead character, Lee Charles, is a successful lawyer in mid-life, who is recently divorced. Coming from a family of many women, he adores his daughters and respects his former wife. In fact, he loves women in general and displays none of the fear of women’s power that many men display. The engaging story of Lee’s childhood as the quintessential nerd and the manner in which he evades the inevitable bullying of his classmates is one of the funniest parts of the book. The possessor of a strong libido with no outlet, the teenaged Lee parlays his skill at golf into lessons for one of the most beautiful girls in his school. This intelligent, athletic, thoughtful girl becomes Lee’s idea of the ideal woman. The reader will not soon forget the scene in the dark car overlooking the swimming pool at the country club.   Lee learns early that shared hysterical laughter can cement a relationship better than any soulful declaration of love.
      Another strongly drawn female character is Val, Lee’s secretary. Her quick wit and magnolia-scented Southern accent can placate the most irate client. Val is invaluable to Lee and he treats her with utmost respect.

       The legal profession has a strong advocate in Robert Taylor and his character, Lee Charles. Lee loves American history and the American legal system, based on English common law and the Constitution. From childhood, he has been fascinated with the stories of the Founding Fathers and their accomplishments.  Lee is a true patriot, not in a xenophobic, isolationist sense, but in his belief that the American Dream works and that the American form of government is the greatest in the world. As the novel works out, Lee’s populist belief in the equality of all people will turn out to be one of his greatest motivators. Woven into the plot of the novel are numerous pieces of legal information about international taxation and trusts that might prove ponderous in the work of a writer of lesser skill. Robert Taylor seamlessly educates the non-lawyer while entertaining his readers.
     In the central moment of the plot, Lee Charles receives a phone call that will change his life. His friend, Winifred Stowe Henderson, has died and left a mysterious letter that Lee must read at the offices of Remington and Ray, the law firm in Washington, D.C. that is handling the probate of Mrs. Henderson’s estate. Lee’s relationship with Winnie is another that reveals Robert Taylor’s understanding of women.  Winnie is a British ex-patriate, much older than Lee, but a true soul mate. Just as laughter is central to a relationship, so is conversation, and Lee and Winnie talk in abundance.    
      Devastated by news of Winnie’s death, Lee goes to Washington, D.C. and reads Winnie’s letter. It directs Lee to go to the Isle of Man and begin the investigation of a “secret trust” that might have been set up for Winnie’s grandmother, an American married to a wealthy Brit during the Victorian Age. Since Lee is an expert in international tax law, Winnie knows he will be familiar with the Isle of Man, a tax-favorable jurisdiction.  Thus the mystery of the secret trust begins. Has Winnies’ grandmother been the beneficiary of a “secret trust” settled on her by a wealthy lover many years ago, a trust now conveyed to Lee by the terms of Winnie’s will? If so, who is the unknown benefactor and what might be the contents of the trust? Lee determines to find out.
     As the story moves to England, Lee is amazed to discover that the head solicitor of the firm charged with solving the mystery of the secret trust is female. The plot thickens as the existence of a possible second secret trust seems likely. He is dumbstruck when the investigation reveals what the trust actually owns.
     Suffice it to say that his female solicitor’s firm does solve the mystery, in a manner that the reader must find out for him-or herself. The working out of the mystery provides a perfect forum for a telling comparison of the attitudes of some of the British aristocracy with the vitality of the common American man or woman who has worked his or her way up in the world. Again, this is not an indictment of Great Britain, but an indictment of snobbery. Lee Charles loves British history as the source of much of American history.
     Will Lee Charges renew his infatuation with the woman of his dreams? What really proves important to him? This rewarding novel will provide the answers. All “values” readers should read this book as a key to living a good life.