Reviewer Mary Lignor: Mary is a retired librarian, originally from Connecticut but now living in New Mexico. All her life Mary has loved books and has passed this love on to her daughters. Mary started working in a library when her children were young as an Assistant Librarian and ended up as its Director. Her favorite books are suspense, political intrigue and anything involving the World War II era.
Author: Simon Tolkien
ISBN: 978-0-312-53907-8
Click Here To Purchase The Inheritance
A
very intricate English mystery of deceit and treachery that
includes a very interesting puzzle with origins that go back to
Christ's death on the cross.
The story begins in 1944
Normandy during World War II when Colonel Cade and two of his men are
looking for a book that describes the place where they will find the
Cross of St. Peter, a historical religious relic that was made from
the original wood of the cross that Christ was crucified on and later
embedded with precious stones. They find the book but the place
where it was taken from was burned to the ground and they had to
leave France without ever looking for the cross.
The
story then jumps ahead to 1959. Colonel Cade, now a private
citizen, and a noted historian from Oxford College is found dead in
his study. His youngest son, Stephen is arrested for the murder
as all the evidence points to him. The Colonel has decided to
turn his estate into a museum to display old historical manuscripts
and to disinherit his two sons, Stephen a natural son and Silas, who
was adopted. Stephen had lived away from his family for many
years but, had recently come home when he was told by his brother
that there would be no inheritance for either of them. It so
happens that when he came home to speak with his father that was the
night that his father died. There were others in the manor
house that night and they each have a story to tell. It is
revealed that Colonel Cade and his men, one of which now lives in the
manor house with his wife, were involved in a search for the Cross of
St. Peter during the war. This group in the manor is really a
motley bunch. They include Ritter the former soldier and his
wife; Sasha who was helping Cade to catalog his manuscripts; Silas
the adopted son who is an amateur photographer; and Mary Martin who
is Stephen's girl. These people all have secrets in their past
that have to do with the Cross. Also, Detective Inspector Trave
who investigated the crime and has taken a liking to Stephen and is
trying to delay the trial so he can look for more evidence against
someone else.
This book is an excellent family
drama/thriller. A psychological mystery that includes an
excellent puzzle on how to find this famous religious relic that has
been lost for ages. (A bit like the DaVinci Code but,
different) You have a World War II story, plus a courtroom
drama that is sometimes a bit tedious and a historical riddle to
solve. A wonderful story of allegiance and/or betrayal.
An excellent read.