The Bastard’s Trilogy: Book #
Publication Date: September 1, 2021
In the 1970s, in western Pennsylvania, a multi-millionaire’s singularly selfish decision destines his two sons, half-brothers, to wage war in a winner-take-all battle for the family legacy.
The father, wealthy Henry Molnar, shares a secret with his lawyer and best friend, Murray Applebaum; a secret so damaging and powerful that neither has ever dared to reveal its truth. But the final whispered directives of Molnar set in motion a series of events with far-reaching consequences for his family. With his last breath, Molnar instructs Applebaum to disclose the existence of his illegitimate son, Phillipe-André Desforges. The surprise revelation at Molnar’s funeral thrusts the family members onto paths of deception, corruption, and blackmail.
Revenge infused hatred and contempt for his father and his empire permeate Phillipe-André’s daily thoughts. It compels him to employ an arsenal of devious strategies to wrest control of Molnar Enterprises from his benevolent brother, Jason Molnar. With such high stakes, Jason as the bequeathed chairman of the board must garner the psychological strength to withstand his half-brother’s siege. The consequences of failure will deliver to Phillipe-André what he has long believed to be rightfully his.
Attorney Murray Applebaum, mourning the loss of his good friend Henry Molnar, faces a dilemma. Does he present the Molnar family with Henry’s original will, or does he deliver the addendum signed by Henry on his deathbed? Either way, the Molnar family is about to learn Henry’s deepest secret.
Author Dennis Roth puts together a dynamic set of characters in The Bastard’s Inheritance. There’s Henry, whose death set a series of actions into play; there is Joan, the widow who turns to retail therapy. The two adult children, Jason and Stacey, both with their own set of problems. And then there is Phillipe-Andre Desforges, the bastard son with no connection to the Molnars except by blood.
The author skillfully weaves in scenes from the past, so readers get a better understanding of the storyline and the motivations behind a character’s actions. The fight for control of Molnar Enterprises takes a dark turn as some intriguing plot twists play out.
It’s not until the very last page that the author reveals how Murray handled the dilemma, but it was well worth the wait. With Henry’s death, the vultures start circling to see who will come out on top. The Bastard’s Inheritance stands out with its cast of characters, but the author takes it to another level with an unexpected twist.
An outstanding book requires a remarkable author writing interesting characters.
Dennis Roth is always stretching his boundaries and does the same for his readers and fictional characters. This has led to a remarkable life. When he has become an expert in a field, he moves directly off to another. After earning an engineering degree from MIT, he founded what has become one of the largest structural engineering firms on the east coast of the US. He retired young and lived with his wife on-board their 35-foot sailboat, Second Wind, in the Caribbean. After enjoying a thousand magnificent sunsets and then burying the anchor, he moved to watercolor painting. His innate skills blossomed into beautiful, nationally shown, and awarded landscapes and seascapes that he exhibited and sold in his art gallery, Studio Phase 3. Since 2012 he has dedicated his creative energies to writing poems and stories which in addition to being published in journals and magazines, have been collected in his two chapbooks, Reflections & Other Musings and Harry & Other Stories. And now he has created The Bastard’s Trilogy anchored by the new novel The Bastard’s Inheritance.
Dennis Roth is a teacher at heart. Since high school, he has shared his knowledge, serving as a tutor of students in math and science, as an instructor and lecturer to architectural and engineering students at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, and as a teacher of his unique watercolor techniques to budding watercolorists.
On the side, Dennis Roth has learned Spanish and Italian to help him understand more fully the cultures of Mexico and Italy during his months-long visits to those countries.
These broad and extensive experiences provide Dennis Roth the material to weave his imaginative and thought-provoking writing, writing that is about life and living, its joys and sorrows, its thrills and disappointments. Whether in his poems inspired by his struggle with depression or in his stories of love and loss, we find he writes about reality with depth and conviction that can only be achieved by someone of his vast experience. He inspires us as he has his hundreds of students to use our minds to improve our souls.
Be sure to read The Bastard’s Inheritance available for pre-order starting July 18, 2021, with a release date of September 18, 2021. Look for the remainder of The Bastard’s Trilogy in 2022. And don’t forget to pick up your copy of Reflections and Harry to receive a discount on future purchases from Dennis Roth.
Meet him between the covers of his books. His wife, and children, and grandchildren, and even his dog, Cuatro, thank you. Dennis thanks you, too.
