The Christmas list

Evans' latest heartwarming tale opens with a man reading his own obituary. Utah businessman James Keir is shocked to open the newspaper one day and find himself greeted with the erroneous news of his death. The mistake allows Keir, whose success is the result of his ruthless business tactics, to see what others really think of him. Strangers cheer his passing, friends turn on him, his girlfriend goes shopping with his credit card . . . and his only defender is Sara, the cancer-stricken wife he's divorcing. The incident spurs him on to make amends for his wrongs. He asks his assistant to make a list of the people he's most wronged in business and resolves to pay them each a visit. The efforts don't go well at first a former business rival punches Keir, and another committed suicide after Keir wrecked his dreams. Keir eventually realizes that there are people even closer to him that he's wronged much more deeply. Fans of Evans' work will find here what they've come to expect from his books: a touching story of redemption that offers hope for the future if not a pat happy ending.--Huntley, Kristine Copyright 2009 Booklist

It's possible that Santa just won't come if there isn't a new Evans (A Christmas Box) holiday tale in his bag. This year, it's the story of real-estate mogul James Kier, who gets the chance to read his obituary-before he dies. What he discovers unnerves him as the death notice portrays a ruthless, friendless man. James decides to make amends to the many people he's hurt over the years. Sure to be a best seller, so buy accordingly. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/15/09.] (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Chapter One Saturday , Three Weeks Before Christmas James Kier looked back and forth between the newspaper headline and the photograph of himself, not sure if he should laugh or call his attorney. It was the same photograph the Tribune had used a couple of years earlier when they featured him on the front page of the business section. He had worn a silver herringbone-weave Armani over a black silk Tshirt for the photo session, the corner of an ebony silk handkerchief peeked strategically from the breast pocket. The black and white photograph was carefully posed and lighted to leave half his face in shadow. The photographer, a black-clad young Japanese man with a shock of bright pink hair, chose to shoot in black and white because, in the photographer's words, he was "going for a yin-yang effect -- to fully capture Kier's inner complexities." The photographer was good at his craft. Kier's expression revealed a leaky confidence. While the photograph was the same, the headline could not have been more different. Not many people get to read their own obituary. Local real estate mogul dies in automobile crash Utah real estate developer James Kier was pronounced dead after his car collided with a concrete pylon on southbound I80. Rescue workers labored for more than an hour to remove the Salt Lake man's body from the wreckage. Authorities believe Kier may have had a heart attack prior to swerving off the road. Kier was the president of Kier Company, one of the West's largest real estate development firms. He was known as a fierce, oftentimes ruthless, businessman. He once said, "If you want to make friends, join a book club. If you want to make money, go into business. Only a fool confuses the two." Kier is survived by his son, James Kier II, and his wife, Sara. See page 1 of the business section for more on James Kier. Kier put the paper down. Some idiot's going to lose his job over this , he thought. He had no idea what the article was about to set in motion. Copyright (c) 2009 by Richard Paul Evans Excerpted from The Christmas List: A Novel by Richard Paul Evans All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.