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Death Benefit: An Elliot Lerner Novel
Suppose it were legal to gamble on the time someone else is going to die. It is, if you invest in a life insurance product called a viatical. When the sister of a law firm client dies in her sleep of carbon monoxide poisoning because of an apparently malfunctioning hot water heater, third year law student Elliot Lerner is asked to determine whether anyone could be held responsible in a wrongful death lawsuit. As he looks into the circumstances surrounding the death, he learns about viatical settlements — investment products designed to provide terminally ill patients with immediate cash in exchange for the right to their life insurance payouts when they die. The amount investors are willing to pay for a patient’s death benefit depends on how much longer the patient is expected to live, because the investor must take over payment of the insurance premiums. If it looks like the investor’s gamble is not going to pay off as planned because the patient is living too long, and the cost of premium payments has exceeded expectations, there’s only one way to eliminate that expense.
382 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 6, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 15, 2018
A clever twist on a classic thriller model — the dead body with a mysterious insurance policy — with a bright young investigator who asks all the right questions, and an all-too-plausible gallery of suspects and motives. Law student Elliot Lerner's career is just starting in DEATH BENEFITS, and I can't wait to see what he does next.
February 25, 2018
( Format : audiobook )
"Who are you, Mollie Hill?"
Elliott Lerner is a conscientious law student working as a Summer associate for a small, friendly law firm and hoping they might keep him on part time once college recommences. The sister of one of the firm's clients dies intestate and the car dealer brother asks if the firm can sort out the estate: As the brother is the sole beneficiary, it should not be too difficult, especially as it didn't l
seem that she could leave too much for him to inherit, anyway. A nice little job for the student.
But as Elliott looks into the accidental death by carbon dioxide poisoning from a faulty heater, it becomes increasingly obvious that the divorced waitress was not all that she seemed and that the accident might possibly have been deliberate, even part of something much bigger...
Well written, in the first person, the character of Elliott himself is nicely developed and grows as the story unfolds. From the earliest pages, the story proceeds in an inviting 'get to know him' fashion, talking to the readers and including them in Elliott's thinking whether this be about his ongoing long distance romance with his mostly absent girlfriend or his new friends and attraction to the people he meets, as well as the guilt he feels if anything goes wrong. The mystery, is intriguing at first, also, although, for this reader, it was flawed by the author's attempt at over-complication towards the latter part of the book.
Key to the audiobook is, of course, the narrator and Kyle Tait is superb. His very warm easy reading glides through the text with good pace and pleasant timbre, becoming that of the student, Elliott Lerner himself. Every character is also given a distinctive and individual voice, and even the English accented protagonists are usually reasonably attempted. This narration certainly raised the enjoyment of the novel by several points for this particular reader.
I have to thank the rights holder of Death Benefit for freely gifting me with a complimentary copy, at my request, via Audiobook Boom. It was clearly presented, easy on the ear, an enjoyable mystery with a lead protagonist of whom I hope we will hear more. An enjoyable listen.
"Who are you, Mollie Hill?"
Elliott Lerner is a conscientious law student working as a Summer associate for a small, friendly law firm and hoping they might keep him on part time once college recommences. The sister of one of the firm's clients dies intestate and the car dealer brother asks if the firm can sort out the estate: As the brother is the sole beneficiary, it should not be too difficult, especially as it didn't l
seem that she could leave too much for him to inherit, anyway. A nice little job for the student.
But as Elliott looks into the accidental death by carbon dioxide poisoning from a faulty heater, it becomes increasingly obvious that the divorced waitress was not all that she seemed and that the accident might possibly have been deliberate, even part of something much bigger...
Well written, in the first person, the character of Elliott himself is nicely developed and grows as the story unfolds. From the earliest pages, the story proceeds in an inviting 'get to know him' fashion, talking to the readers and including them in Elliott's thinking whether this be about his ongoing long distance romance with his mostly absent girlfriend or his new friends and attraction to the people he meets, as well as the guilt he feels if anything goes wrong. The mystery, is intriguing at first, also, although, for this reader, it was flawed by the author's attempt at over-complication towards the latter part of the book.
Key to the audiobook is, of course, the narrator and Kyle Tait is superb. His very warm easy reading glides through the text with good pace and pleasant timbre, becoming that of the student, Elliott Lerner himself. Every character is also given a distinctive and individual voice, and even the English accented protagonists are usually reasonably attempted. This narration certainly raised the enjoyment of the novel by several points for this particular reader.
I have to thank the rights holder of Death Benefit for freely gifting me with a complimentary copy, at my request, via Audiobook Boom. It was clearly presented, easy on the ear, an enjoyable mystery with a lead protagonist of whom I hope we will hear more. An enjoyable listen.
January 7, 2018
•audiobook•
Overall, I enjoyed getting to know Elliott Lerner in this first of the series.
Breaking the fourth wall was used “if you didn’t know” in areas most adults would know... There is a LOT of telling and not showing. We learn a lot through info dumps, and not living the events and moments as it happens. Too much legal jargon ... too much explaining the law.
Verb tense changed from present to past tense, jarring me from the enjoyment of listening. This cleared up more as the story progresses, but it still needs a through editing.
As a first person POV, I felt some details were over the top. This book could have been more solid as a third person POV, with the design of the writing style. It most likely would have clipped all the legal explanations.
Elliott seems to seek legal advice and brain storming from "regular" people. Or a banking official. Seems odd, since he certainly knows law professors or his firm to bounce ideas. This made it seem highly unrealistic- and dulled the story. A lot.
The last time I checked ... any one working in a law office wouldn't blab about their cases to outsiders ...
The book started off, feeling like Elliott had just recently started his internship; yet he makes comments that made it seem like he was seasoned (like when he emailed his boss, seeking advice).
Overall, I did like the characters, as characters in a book; although I wasn't crazy about them.
I wasn’t keen with the love interests. Again, it started off with a warm and cozy relationship ... then he becomes aloof and goes out with another girl. Almost as if the author decided to •not• go against the grain, and fall into the thinking thst most MC’s are prone to change relationships and cannot stay with the first significant other introduced to readers.
The mystery thriller was interesting and learning the who was motivating to keep me committed to continuing until the end.
Kyle Tait narrated this book. His storytelling and voice fluctuations was pivotal in sorting through the characters and deceit. He kept my attention in a way reading the book probably wouldn’t.
Death Benefit is better than most Indie books out there. I had expected more, and for that reason, I more likely would pick up the next book in the series -on audio, of course!
Overall, I enjoyed getting to know Elliott Lerner in this first of the series.
Breaking the fourth wall was used “if you didn’t know” in areas most adults would know... There is a LOT of telling and not showing. We learn a lot through info dumps, and not living the events and moments as it happens. Too much legal jargon ... too much explaining the law.
Verb tense changed from present to past tense, jarring me from the enjoyment of listening. This cleared up more as the story progresses, but it still needs a through editing.
As a first person POV, I felt some details were over the top. This book could have been more solid as a third person POV, with the design of the writing style. It most likely would have clipped all the legal explanations.
Elliott seems to seek legal advice and brain storming from "regular" people. Or a banking official. Seems odd, since he certainly knows law professors or his firm to bounce ideas. This made it seem highly unrealistic- and dulled the story. A lot.
The last time I checked ... any one working in a law office wouldn't blab about their cases to outsiders ...
The book started off, feeling like Elliott had just recently started his internship; yet he makes comments that made it seem like he was seasoned (like when he emailed his boss, seeking advice).
Overall, I did like the characters, as characters in a book; although I wasn't crazy about them.
I wasn’t keen with the love interests. Again, it started off with a warm and cozy relationship ... then he becomes aloof and goes out with another girl. Almost as if the author decided to •not• go against the grain, and fall into the thinking thst most MC’s are prone to change relationships and cannot stay with the first significant other introduced to readers.
The mystery thriller was interesting and learning the who was motivating to keep me committed to continuing until the end.
Kyle Tait narrated this book. His storytelling and voice fluctuations was pivotal in sorting through the characters and deceit. He kept my attention in a way reading the book probably wouldn’t.
Death Benefit is better than most Indie books out there. I had expected more, and for that reason, I more likely would pick up the next book in the series -on audio, of course!
May 30, 2018
Another lawyer book...Not! During the summer before his junior year of Law School, Elliot Lerner has taken a summer job working at a small firm. Although he is sure his job will mostly be the usual fact checking, computer searches and “grunt” work, he gets more than he could have imagined
.
While doing routine summer intern work, he comes across several facts in a particular insurance case that will lead him to murder, millions of dollars, Swiss Bank Accounts, and too many suspects. His primary responsibility is to follow the money, but when the facts begin to point to something bigger, Elliot is determined to find the truth.
Easy to read. I liked Elliot, and I’m looking forward to the next Elliot Lerner novel.
.
While doing routine summer intern work, he comes across several facts in a particular insurance case that will lead him to murder, millions of dollars, Swiss Bank Accounts, and too many suspects. His primary responsibility is to follow the money, but when the facts begin to point to something bigger, Elliot is determined to find the truth.
Easy to read. I liked Elliot, and I’m looking forward to the next Elliot Lerner novel.
December 11, 2017
A decent novel featuring a rookie lawyer acting as a gumshoe. While the story doesn't break any new ground, it feels like the first book in a series. The book engaged me enough to be willing to give the next one a try, as well.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews