THE WILL by Rebecca Reid

There’s nothing better than a juicy story about a tense family reunion, but Reid spices her tale up even more by throwing in the last will and testament of the family’s matriarch, Cecily, which will decide who gets to inherit the family’s estate Roxborough Hall. The Mordaunts have never held with the tradition of bequeathing the estate to the eldest son. Instead, after the death of the latest custodian, the family must gather for supper, when each member will receive a letter telling them whether they are the lucky recipients of the family fortune. It could be anyone, and every single member of the Mordaunt family secretly hopes that it will be them. Some of them will even be prepared to fight for the privilege …

I found THE WILL utterly compelling and unputdownable, as the eight Mordaunt siblings and their spouses gather to find out who will be the next custodian of Roxborough Hall. The dynamics between the siblings were fascinating, and it wasn’t long before all the skeletons came dancing out of the family’s closets. Jumping back and forth between the past and the present, we soon get a first-row insight into this family’s complicated past, including those things they had wished would stay forever hidden.

Each person is vividly drawn and complex, and there were so many surprises in store that I could not tear myself away until I found out who matriarch Cecily had found worthy to bequeath the old mansion to. The answer was also quite unexpected! Reid writes with insight and a vitality that made this story come to life for me, and I can’t wait to read more from her in future.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 all the stars!

THE HIDDEN LEGACY by G. J. Minett

Old family secrets are always fascinating for me, especially when they come packaged with an old, cluttered house that was gifted to the (un)lucky recipient in a will. The premise of snooping through mildewed papers and looking for treasures in dark, hidden crevices has a certain thrill that always draws me in.

When Ellen Sutherland finds out that she has been gifted an old, picturesque cottage in the Cotswolds in the will of an old lady, Eudora Nash, she is surprised and a little bit sceptical. She has no idea who Eudora Nash was, and how they were related, because Ellen has never even heard the name. Since her mother’s diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer’s, there is no one in the family she can ask, and Eudora’s solicitor also doesn’t have the answers to that particular puzzle. Then follows the arrival of an investigative journalist posing as an old family friend, and a break-in at the cottage, which sets off Ellen’s alarm bells. What secrets lay hidden in the old cottage? And how will she get answers to the many questions she wants to ask?

Unlike Ellen, the reader has the advantage of getting a few early clues as to the identity of the mysterious Eudora, though the way the story unrolled through timelines in the past and the present still held plenty of surprises in store. I loved the slow unravelling of clues as Ellen sets out on her quest to find answers, whilst the chapters set in the past held their own morbid fascination. Revolving around a horrific playground killing by a twelve-year-old boy, this was a mystery all of its own, as horrific and shocking as it was thought provoking and moving.

Minett writes with the ease of a seasoned writer who knows how to bring his characters to life, and yet I found out that this is a debut novel. I particularly liked the way I was determined to have my loyalties firmly set, and yet had all my beliefs challenged along the way, thinking quite differently about one of the characters towards the end whilst feeling this was no manipulation on Minett’s part, just a gentle nudging to remain open minded. I love novels that challenge our fixed belief systems, and THE HIDDEN LEGACY managed to do just that. I am trying to not give too much away here, so will stay purposely vague, though I would love to discuss many aspects of this novel in a book group, as different emotions and opinions will undoubtedly be triggered in different readers.

I’m surprised that this novel hasn’t gotten a lot more hype because it is a solid and very intriguing psychological thriller that kept me enthralled until the very end. I opted for the audio version narrated by Jessica Carroll, whose narration brought each character to life and made for great listening. If you appreciate a dark psychological thriller that is set to challenge your thinking and may give you an ethical dilemma or two, then you can’t go wrong with his book.

🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2