The Billionaire's Curse
Billionaire (Archer Legacy) Series
Author: Richard Newsome
Book 1 in the Billionaire (Archer Legacy) series
Pages: 368
Published: 2008
Age: 11+
Someone has stolen the world's most valuable diamond and a constable lies unconscious in the British Museum, two sedative darts protruding from his backside. Not something Gerald Wilkins knows or cares anything about.
Not until he finds himself on a private luxury jet heading for London to attend the funeral of a great aunt he has never met. Not until he inherits her estate, worth twenty billion pounds. Not until he opens a bundle of envelopes from his dead great aunt.
Was she murdered? Who stole the diamond? And what is the mysterious casket that everyone seems to be looking for? With the help of the Valentine twins, the rat-fearing Sam and the gymnastic champ Ruby, Gerald's got a mystery to solve. A mystery that will take them into secret passageways, a musty bookshop, an ancient crypt, a ruined tower and a colossal cavern where the secret of a priceless treasure lies protected by deadly booby traps.
Text Prize for Young Adult and Children's Writing (2008); NSW Premier's Literary Awards nominee (2008); Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature (2008); ABIA Book of the Year for Older Children nominee (2010); Esther Glen Award (2010)
About the Billionaire (Archer Legacy) Series
Books in series order
- 1.The Billionaire's Curse(2008)
- 2.The Emerald Casket(2010)
- 3.The Mask of Destiny(2011)
- 4.The Crystal Code(2012)
- 5.The House of Puzzles(2014)
- 6.The Curiosity Machine(2016)
Reading age: 9+ years
This series should be read in order.
"Hello, Gerald. I hope this isn't too weird for you - a letter from beyond the grave! By now you are my heir and worth a good deal of money. I hope you don't mind . . . I expect you've figured out that I was murdered. I would like you to find out who did it."
Gerald Wilkins never considered himself a particularly exceptional thirteen-year-old. But that was before he inherited twenty billion pounds, a Caribbean island, a yacht, and three estates from a great-aunt he never knew. With this fortune, however, comes a letter. One from his great-aunt Geraldine. One that tells Gerald that she was murdered, and that it's up to him to find out why.
Now he’s got a mystery to solve. With the help of his new friends, Sam and Ruby Valentine, Gerald follows the clues into secret passageways, a musty jumbled bookshop, an ancient crypt and a colossal cavern where the secret of a priceless treasure lies protected by deadly booby traps.
This series of irresistible adventure stories features an array of curious characters, ancient folklore and Lots of Indiana Jones-style action. Young and not-so-young adults, get ready to stay up late...
Note: In some countries, this series is called the Archer Legacy.