The Unexpected Heiress

A Nick Williams Mystery, Book 1

By: Frank W. Butterfield

Narrated by: Brian Rollins

Length: 3 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's Summary

Nick Williams, heir to a vast fortune, lives with his lover, Carter Jones, in the Eureka Valley neighborhood of San Francisco in an unassuming bungalow. Little do the neighborhood ladies, who do their daily marketing on Castro Street, know that just down the street their neighbor is the richest homosexual since possibly Alexander the Great. 

His no-nonsense secretary Marnie Wilson keeps things together at the office in the Tenderloin. To her frustration, Nick is always turning away clients. He doesn't really need the money, after all. 

In The Unexpected Heiress, Nick is called in to see his lawyer and friend, Jeffrey Klein, whose mystery client, under contract to Metro, was just arrested at the Kit Kat Club on Polk Street but somehow got off with a bench warrant. Jeffrey wants to know who in the police department worked things behind the scene for the star of the upcoming blockbuster It Was Raining Then. 

Meanwhile a late night phone call from his estranged father sends Nick into a tailspin and a family secret, along with a lot of other things better kept hush-hush, are all splashed on the front pages of the daily newspapers. It ain't pretty. 

In the end, for Nick and Carter, it's actually the beginning of a whole new way of doing business. 

Long before the Summer of Love, pride parades down Market Street, and the fight for marriage equality, San Francisco in 1953 was all about the Red Scare, F.B.I. investigations, yellow journalism run amok, and the ladies who play mah jong over tea.

©2016 Frank W. Butterfield (P)2018 Frank W. Butterfield

I love Nick!

I am so glad to have experienced this audiobook. Despite sad events and hostility, the story actually had me laughing out loud several times. Nick is unapologetically out and proud, during a time when that wasn't acceptable. Thankfully, he's much too rich to care. Nick loves Carter and taking care of his friends. He's a good man with a sharp wit, and I couldn't love him more. The narrator was terrific at portraying Nick as a man in charge of his world, and he did an excellent job with the other characters as well. I hope other books from this series are soon made into audiobooks as well. Until then, I'm going to be buying several e-books to keep up with Nick and Carter!

Expect the Unexpected

Frank's books always tell a great story and Brian adds another dimension. His narration is spot on.

Absolutely Fantastic!

This audiobook was my introduction to Nick and Carter. The story is a crime noir story with a mystery, social commentary on the biases of the time, and plenty of twists and turns to keep the listener engaged. The mystery gets teased out against the backdrop of homophobia and political machinations, where being gay could get you fired from your job, and money talks loud and clear. I loved Nick and Carter and also their friends and co-workers. The gay community exists as a sub-culture and the members worked together to help each other out. I loved the way Nick was out and proud and didn’t hesitate to speak his mind. (A lot of money helps. LOL) Although Nick’s family drama was in ways tragic, it was also downright funny sometimes for me as a listener, especially the way Nick dealt with them. I really enjoyed this listen and the wry humor throughout. I am definitely interested in exploring more of these characters’ history and stories.

The narration was very good. The voices of different characters were distinguishable and unique, and the emotions and attitudes came through very clear.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Such a fabulous story!

I love everything about it: the setting, the descriptions, the characters... everything!

The way Butterfield portraits San Francisco in the early '50 when being gay could (and would) get you in a lot of troubles is great. And yet, this is not a sombre story. Love and friendship shine brightly here, and it's a thing of beauty. Nick Willams and Carter Jones are the kind of characters that you can't avoid to fall in love. The pride they feel for each other, for their love...

The plot is well-constructed and will keep you deeply engaged until the end. And I love the way historical insights are woven into the story, how you can submerge in those time and place and simply enjoy the ride...

The narration is excellent making the experience even better. A most recommended audiobook.

Loved it

I loved this book, and I was sad when it ended. The main characters are likeable, and it's funny without being silly. It took me a while to get used to the cadence of the reader, but I was won over after listening for a while.

Audible, please add the other books in this series to your library.

A Wonderful Start to the Audible Series

I love this book and was absolutely thrilled to find out the series was coming to Audible. I had such a good time listening to this, revisiting Nick and Carter, meeting everyone for the very first time. And the narrator did a great job. The series has a lot of characters and Brian Rollins is doing a great job of bringing them to life, Nick especially. I am very much looking forward to the release of the second book in the series, The Amorous Attorney, which I know he's already working on.

Great start to a truly fun series! Listen to this!

In the 1950's, Nick Williams lives with his lover, Carter Jones in San Francisco. Long before gay people could be out, long before pride parades, etc. Everything was on the down-low. Nick is an independently wealthy man, but he likes to keep busy, so he runs a detective agency. He takes a call one day with a case of a popular male actor who has run off with his male lover, who also happens to be Nick's ex. The studio needs to keep this hush-hush, so they want Nick to find the actor right away. Then Nick gets a call from his father and all hell breaks loose! Throw in exotic locales, a little murder, and some lesbians, stir, and you've got a fun little story for an afternoon of listening.

Brian Rollins does a great job with the narration. He was perfect as Nick and Carter, and did great voices for the others, too.

This is a short one, but you'll love it and want to continue the series!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

love Nick and Carter

I have read all of the 27 (so far) Nick and Carted books and was so pleased to learn that they were being made into audiobooks so that I could revisit them in a different way. I enjoy the vicarious fantasy of what would I do with a great fortune as a gay man. The settings and time portrayals are really evocative. Can't wait to see listen to more.

read book, loved audio

Nick Williams books are a peek into a history of 1950s and illegality of " Deviant behavior" Really an eye opener. Mr Butterfield make that time live. He has a writing style makes the book enjoyable and fun