The Inheritance

If you enjoy locked room mysteries and family drama, then look no further than The Inheritance by Trisha Sakhlecha. This novel takes place on the private island of Kilbryde, located off the coast of Scotland.

The Agarwals have gathered for a family reunion to celebrate their parents’ fortieth anniversary and their father’s retirement and succession plan for his billion-dollar Delhi-based company.

Ray is the business tycoon. Shalini is his somewhat fragile wife. Myra, the oldest child, owns the private island and is hosting the celebration. Aseem, the son and supposed heir, is torn between his love for his wife and his duty to his family. Aisha, the youngest child, is a party girl. Zoe is Aseem’s wife and has always felt like an outsider. She’s a social media influencer and Aisha is her best friend. However, everything is not perfect in this family. They’ve all got secrets that they would die to protect. Who will survive and what secrets will be revealed?

The author does a great job on characterization and world-building. It was easy to visualize each person and the island. Combining multiple mysteries, secrets, and family dynamics made this a fascinating story. Add to this, the island’s dark history and severe storms, and readers will experience a wild ride.

The story is told from the alternating viewpoints of Zoe and Myra, with a few snippets from “now,” but most of the story is from “before” an event happens on the island. While this is not my favorite style of writing, it worked reasonably well. However, it did adversely affect the pacing of the novel.

It was fascinating to watch the conflicts unfold and readers learn the backstories and secrets of each family member. This gave a fantastic insight into their behaviors and actions towards the other family members. I enjoyed how the author brought in threads to the plot that hinted at things to be unraveled, but I did not see the ending come. That was a wake-up call surprise. Various themes are woven into the story including meddlesome and intrusive family members, loneliness, grief, obligation, guilt, strategy, murder, love, money, control, secrets, motives, protecting others, and much more.

Overall, this was a twisty and fascinating look at family dynamics and secrets between members of a wealthy but dysfunctional family. The book did a great job of giving the reader plenty of interesting, but not very likeable characters, and a rich storyline.

PENQUIN GROUP Viking – Pamela Dorman Books and Trisha Sakhlecha provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The publication date is currently set for January 21, 2025.