Starter Villain by John Scalzi

 

This isn't the life Charlie had imagined for himself.  He had been a business reporter and then business magazines and newspapers had hit a wall and made massive cuts.  Charlie is back home in the house he grew up in, taking whatever work he can find to keep body and soul together.  Plus feed his cat Hera, his best and sometimes seems only friend.  

Then Charlie gets a phone call from a lawyer.  His rich uncle has died and left Charlie a legacy.  Charlie knows that his uncle had scads of parking garages and that he was rich but he didn't know he was a billionaire.  Or that his real empire hid behind the legitimate garages and that he was a super villain, making money from technology and government grants and foiling other villains.

Now Charlie is supposed to take over.  He goes to headquarters, which is an island built on a volcanic system.  There he finds talking dolphins and cats who are spies, one of which happens to be his cat Hera.  There is a cohort of villains who hated his uncle and now they want to take out Charlie and get all the money.  Can Charlie foil their plans and stay alive?

This is one of the best books I've read lately.  John Scalzi is known for his science fiction, having been a past president of the Science Fiction And Fantasy Writers Of America.  His work has won a Hugo and several works are in development as television series.  This work is much lighter and Charlie is a hero that the reader will fall in love with.  There is lots of treachery and double-dealing but Charlie remains the good hearted person he always was.  This book is recommended for fantasy readers.