Quotes from the original tale open this book, immediately signaling that Heir Apparent is inspired by The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, the 1886 gothic story by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Michael Mullin’s retelling centers on photojournalist Scott Finch, who learns he was adopted as a child and inherited $36 million from his biological parents when they died. He also learns his biological father, Milton Lang, was a controversial scientist convinced that human consciousness could be downloaded and transferred, like a software program via Wi-Fi.

Lang’s assistant, Ogden Tillman, was a suspect in a series of murders and sexual assaults who mysteriously disappeared. “Because of the dynamic of a scientist and his assistant resembling the gothic novella,” the narrator tells readers, the media dubbed those crimes the Jekyll and Hyde Murders. Now more copycat murders seem to be starting, attracting media attention once again.

Flush with his inherited money, Finch agrees to join filmmaker Kaitlyn Riddle as producer and cameraman for a movie she’s written about the Jekyll and Hyde Murders. The film is to be shot in the house where Riddle grew up. But Finch’s sister Hannah, who has been his protector and confidant all his life, is hesitant about Finch’s involvement in the project because of the possibility that his biological parentage is more complex than he knows. Her instincts prove right as the novel progresses.

Mullin is a fine storyteller and renders authentic-sounding dialogue, from Finch and Riddle to various actors and crew, and particularly to Hannah. The characters are believable and likable, even as red flags begin to appear. The author’s descriptions are well-wrought, and Mullin makes Finch’s ability as a journalist feel authentic. Unfortunately, the book’s pacing stumbles as the narrative gains intensity and speeds toward the twisty ending; the finale comes too suddenly, without much buildup or explanation.

The abrupt conclusion is unfortunate. Still, overall, this is a worthy tribute to the original Jekyll and Hyde saga.